eniac was the name of the worlds first computer…..and mexico’s eniac martinez was born at about that time, so his mother thought she would give him a name that fit the times….eniac definitely fits the times, but in a very traditional way….his powerful black & white imagery hearkens to an age of classic documentary in the tradition of manuel alvarez bravo and yet moves us forward to see his vision of mexico today…

martinez has a new book….handsome and tactile……"camino real de tierra adentro" takes us on a modern day journey along the trade route that by 1598 stretched from veracruz to mexico city and then on up to santa fe , a distance of about 1500 miles….but, this is not a travel book….eniac uses the historical context of the "camino real" to give us rich imagery that digs deep into psyche of the "modern’ experience….

our warm neighbor mexico is almost unknown or misunderstood by most americans…..to know mexicans and mexico you must go…not to the border towns where the worst of our culture gets blended with the worst of theirs….drive  south and discover the "real mexico"…….mexicans may be the most self-effacing people on the planet…they have hope, they go to church and thank God for what they have , and then they move foreward in the best way they know how….

eniac martinez’ panoramic work sucks you into the frame and let’s you move around inside…..each photograph is a little adventure…..you never know where things begin and end….he does not tell the whole story…..he lets you invent the photograph’s  reason for being…..

try to find this book…..like mexico itself, so much work being done "south of the border", is unknown by americans…..human nature often dictates for us to look far away….the treasures of mexico and its artists are within easy reach…..thanks eniac, mi amigo, for your humility and your vision…