The Raramuri are an indigenous group who live in the Copper Canyon area of northern Mexico. A reclusive people, they have resisted modernization for almost four hundred years. But in the past twenty, there has been a shift in their culture, due to a prolonged drought, pressure from the Mexican government, and an increase in tourism. As they are coerced into modernity, the key elements of their culture have begun to fade—such as their traditional clothing and their language.

Ruben E. Reyes (México D.F., 1979) is a documentary photographer currently based in Brooklyn. A graduate of the International Center of Photography and Arizona State University, Ruben has been living in the U.S. for the last ten years. His work has been exhibited in San Diego, Phoenix, New York City, and abroad, including in What We Saw—Pingyao Photo Festival in China (2008); D.U.M.B.O. Art Under The Bridge Festival (2008); What We Saw: Dialects—The International Center of Photography, New York (2010). Ruben is a member of What We Saw, a collective of twenty seven photographers from fifteen countries. He is most recently the recipient of the J&J-ICP Fellowship (2010).