Aitor Lara

Spanish photographer Aitor Lara (born 1975) addresses sociocultural values and identity, working in such countries as Africa, India, Uzbekistan and Spain. This issue celebrates his black-and-white portraits of different communities, ranging from indigenous peoples around the world to impoverished neighborhoods in southern Spain.

Ronda Goyesca presents the newest work of Spanish photographer Aitor Lara (born 1974), documenting the astounding Corrida Goyesca--a legendary bullfight that takes place every year in the Andalusian city of Ronda, the oldest bull ring in Spain. Lara’s exquisite black-and-white photographs record all aspects of the spectacle, in which bullfighters, bulls and the audience equally participate, narrating the occasion as it unfolds: the horse-and-carriage processions before the fights; the toreadors praying at altars, or steeling themselves in a hastily snatched moment of privacy; their extraordinary regalia, and that of their wives; their walk along the lonely passageway to the bullring; the wide open space of the ring and the audience tense with expectation; and of course, the moment of confrontation between bull and toreador, which Lara shoots both close up and from ringside, while audience members gesticulate in exultation, encouragement or fear.