Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide, 83, has been awarded the prestigious 2025 Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts, recognizing her groundbreaking work documenting Indigenous communities and forgotten regions of Mexico. The veteran artist, who famously stated in a 2018 interview that "a photograph will never change the world," has spent decades capturing poetic black-and-white images that dignify Indigenous peoples and challenge condescending portrayals of marginalized populations. Her work represents what many consider a silent revolution in Mexican photography.

Iturbide's artistic philosophy centers on respect and authenticity rather than sensationalism. "It is society, we, who have to change the world, not the photographs," she asserts. The photographer, who has said that photography saved her from madness, has led by example throughout her career, traveling to remote locations to present intimate and respectful portraits of their inhabitants. Her work focuses primarily on documenting Indigenous culture and examining the relationship between these communities and their natural environment.

One of Iturbide's most significant early projects took her to Sonora in northern Mexico during the 1970s, where she photographed the Seri people. This experience produced "Those Who Live in the Sand," one of her most memorable bodies of work. During her time with the Seri community, Iturbide gained the trust and complicity of the inhabitants of these inhospitable desert regions, resulting in some of her most iconic images. These include "Self-Portrait as Seri," in which she appears with her face painted in the traditional style of Seri women, and "Angel Woman," captured while descending from a cave in 1979.

Iturbide's path to photography was unconventional, shaped by the constraints of her conservative upbringing. Born into a religious family governed by strict dictates, she originally aspired to become an anthropologist, but this was considered too ambitious for a young woman of her background. "My aunt had a small chapel in her house with the Blessed Sacrament exposed, and there were always archbishops, bishops, and people from Opus Dei around," she recalled in May after learning of her award. She also wanted to be a writer but wasn't allowed to pursue that either. "I always went to a religious school, to the Sacred Heart. Being at that boarding school helped because they had a very good library of the Spanish Golden Age where you could read. Because they didn't let you speak, it was like being a nun. My father never let me go to university to study literature," she explained.

Although she started working in cinema, Iturbide's artistic direction changed dramatically when she met the extraordinary photographer Manuel Álvarez Bravo, who introduced her to the art of photography. While she never became a writer or anthropologist by profession, she developed both passions through her photographic work. Her anthropological gaze has illuminated parts of Mexico that had previously remained in darkness. "I love all the ruins, all the history of Mexico. In a way, photography helps me discover the archaeological side of Mexico, the poetic side. The camera gives you so many possibilities," she says.

Iturbide's passion for Mexico led to her most celebrated project in the 1980s, when she spent six years in Juchitán, a municipality in rural Oaxaca located on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. There, she documented the daily life of an Indigenous community known for its rich Zapotec traditions. This work catapulted her to the top of world photography and remains perhaps her most acclaimed achievement. The project began at the invitation of artist Francisco Toledo, who was born in that town. "Toledo was a great artist and a very generous man. He gave me some prints to sell so I could travel to Juchitán," Iturbide recalled. Toledo also recommended her to the people of Juchitán, who welcomed her with remarkable hospitality.

During her time in Juchitán, Iturbide was amazed by the power of women in what she describes as a matriarchal utopia. "I lived in the houses of the Juchitán women and in the end I was able to write a book called 'Juchitán de las Mujeres' with Elena Poniatowska in 1989," she explained. Her working method involved staying for two weeks at a time, participating in the community's festivities and daily life. "I would go and stay for two weeks, because there was partying and drinking there, so I would say: Okay, okay. I would accompany them, take my photos, come back, develop them, and see. And after six years of going back and forth, what Toledo told me, for which I am very grateful, was: When you have the photos, you have to exhibit them at the Juchitán House of Culture, so that the women can see what you did."

This approach of giving back to the community became a defining characteristic of Iturbide's work. "We did that exhibition, my first. It was very nice to give back to the people what I had done. Toledo was another of the key people in my life," she recounted. The Juchitán project resulted in some of her most famous images, including "Our Lady of the Iguanas," which has become one of the best-known photographs by the Mexican artist.

Pablo Ortiz Monasterio, a Mexican photographer who worked with Iturbide as an editor on the Juchitán project, speaks highly of her approach and influence. "My own growth has come with Graciela," he says. "She has those feminine qualities that we appreciate so much today: sweetness, motherhood, the ability to see death, and respect. She represents an attitude of rectitude and honesty with those she portrays, with what she portrays. Furthermore, she has been consistent, and it shows, because when you look at her photos, everything has dignity and a great deal of beauty. She is a global benchmark. I would say that today there is no other Mexican with a similar stature," he affirms.

Elsa Medina, one of Mexico's leading photojournalists, emphasizes Iturbide's profound impact on Mexican photography and her influence on multiple generations of local photographers. "You can't help but see her beautiful images, like those of birds, for example, and other terrifying ones, like the ones she took following people to a cemetery. It's admirable that she continues working with analog photography; I think it's worthy of continuing to do so. Her work is a great legacy she leaves behind for this country within the field of photography, with her name, but also on behalf of the women of Mexico."

Iturbide's philosophy is rooted in respect and dignity for her subjects. "I want to capture people with the respect they deserve, not to photograph poverty for the sake of it. I've never been interested in that; I hate it. I like to connect with them and try to show their dignity. We have a lot to learn from them; they belong to our culture," she explains. However, she acknowledges the subjective nature of photography: "Photography is subjective; the images of the women I took from Juchitán are my own Juchitán. It's not like when they come from outside to see the exotic," she insists.

The Princess of Asturias Award ceremony will take place in Oviedo, Spain, this Friday, honoring a career that has fundamentally changed how Indigenous communities are portrayed in Mexican photography. While Iturbide maintains that a photograph will never change the world, her poetic black-and-white images have managed to decolonize condescending gazes and present life with dignity, without treating it as exotic. Her work stands as a testament to the power of respectful documentation and authentic cultural exchange, proving that while photographs may not change the world directly, they can certainly change how we see it.