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River of Traps: The Power of Water
In the opening of River of Traps Jacobo Romero admonishes his neighbors (a couple of novice farmers who also happen to be the authors of this book) when they carelessly allow water to trickle to waste. "He [Romero] chided us relentlessly never to 'give holiday to the water,' but to put every drop to work." (DeBuys and Harris 11). This reverence for water is one of the focal points of Alex Harris' photography in River of Traps, a documentary of 80-year-old Romero, an Hispanic farmer who lived and worked in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of northern New Mexico.
In fact, this connection to the land is one of the themes that flows through these photographs and is probably a cornerstone of southwestern art. According to essayist Michael Grant, "A connection...
However, it's the water and how it shapes the land and Romero's life that dominates these photos.
Harris' photography portrays a man who seems to be constantly moving with water, following streams, moving in and out of sunlight and shadows. Sometimes Romero seems contemplative as he walks streamside, leaning on two canes. In other photos, he works relentlessly, canes thrown aside, digging irrigation ditches, chopping at riverbanks, bending the water to his needs.
Water, or its absence, determines where and how people live on the land in New Mexico... The Native Americans and Spanish have been well-versed in the art of Water of Traps 2 dry farming for centuries... By inventing unique irrigation systems of mud dams and canals" (Bix 42).
When William Kittredge wrote about his travels in the Southwest, he marveled at hand-excavated irrigation systems,…
Works Cited
Bix, Cynthia. Art of the State of New Mexico. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
Publishers, 1998.
Grant, Michael, and Till, Tom. A People and Their Landscape. American Southwest. San Diego, CA: Thunder Bay Press, 1992.
Kittredge, William. Southwestern Homelands. Washington D.C.: National
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