With my camera slung over my shoulder, I venture into a community near Los Mochis, Sinaloa, in northern Mexico. My goal: to capture one of the country’s most mystical dances: La Danza del Venado.

   The morning is warm, the sky is a deep blue, and the sun pierces the reeds on the roof of the enramada, drawing fragmented shadows on the ground. From my position, I watch the dancer. His preparation is a ritual in itself: piece by piece, his clothing becomes a bridge between man and deer, an intimate process of introspection, pride and respect.

    The stillness of the moment is broken by the sound of pre-Hispanic instruments; the dance has begun. The dancers' ayales and tenábaris tinkle at their ankles, reproducing the rustling of the leaf litter under the feet of a deer. The violin murmurs like the wind, the raspador imitates the deer's footsteps on the ground, and the water drum marks the pulse of his heart. Each sound is an echo of nature, a link between the present and the sacred.

   The deer, much more than an animal, is a symbol of vitality, strength and freedom. In the worldview of indigenous peoples, it represents natural balance, the connection between man and nature, symbolizing the struggle for survival and sacrifice as part of the cycle of life. It is, in essence, a metaphor for life itself: a struggle for survival and acceptance of destiny, a reminder of our fragility in the face of nature's eternity.

   Beyond its connection to nature, for the Yaqui and Mayo peoples, La Danza del Venado is also a spiritual offering. The dancer does not interpret the deer; he becomes it. His body becomes a channel between humans and the divine, and his sacrifice is a gesture of surrender to the higher forces.

   This photodocumentary is an invitation to step into the symbolic and ritual world of La Danza del Venado, where each movement and each sound is a tribute to the living memory of the indigenous peoples and their eternal connection with the earth.