Jan 12

Jan 12 ESCARAMUZA: A Book That Captures Magic on Horseback

Art, Creative People, Culture, Gift Ideas, Nature, Photography

Picture this: women in vibrant traditional Mexican dresses, riding sidesaddle at full gallop, executing synchronized maneuvers with breathtaking precision. This is escaramuza, and it's unlike anything you've seen before. Swiss photographer Constance Jaeggi spent years traveling across the United States, chasing this spectacle with her camera. But what makes her forthcoming book Escaramuza (published by GOST Books) truly special isn't just the stunning imagery. It's what happens when those photographs meet poetry.

Jaeggi knew she was documenting something she didn't grow up with, so she invited Mexican-American poets Ire'ne Lara Silva and Angelina Sáenz to respond to her work. The result is a book where images and words dance together, revealing stories that go far deeper than what the camera alone can capture.

If you're drawn to work that does more than document beauty, this book will speak to you. Jaeggi isn't just photographing a sport. She's capturing what it means to hold onto tradition while carving out space in a culture that hasn't always made room for you. These are portraits of strength and grace, but also of belonging and defiance. The collaborative approach makes the work richer. By including the voices of Silva and Sáenz alongside her images, Jaeggi creates something that feels complete. You're not just looking at these women, you're hearing them. You're understanding what it means to be a woman in a male-dominated sport, to be Mexican-American navigating two cultures, to be an athlete whose discipline is also an act of cultural preservation. For anyone who loves documentary photography that respects its subjects, that seeks to understand rather than merely observe, *Escaramuza* is essential. It's a reminder that the best photography projects know when to step back and share the frame.

About the Photographer

Constance Jaeggi knows horses. She moved from Switzerland to Texas in 2009 to study at TCU and compete in cutting horse riding. That intimate understanding of the equestrian world shows in every frame. She doesn't photograph horses and riders as separate entities but as partners in conversation. Her formal education spans the New York Film Academy, a Bachelor's from TCU, and a Master's in Art History and Art World Practice from Christie's Education in London. But what really shapes her work is that she understands what it feels like to be in the saddle, to communicate with an animal through subtle shifts in weight and intention. Jaeggi's photography explores power dynamics, intimacy, and identity through the lens of women and horses. Her work has appeared in National Geographic, The Guardian, and The Washington Post, and has been exhibited everywhere from the National Cowgirl Museum in Fort Worth to galleries in Rome, Venice, and Zurich. She's also a member of Women Photograph, contributing to the vital work of increasing visibility for women behind the camera.

The Voices Behind the Words

The poetry in this book comes from two remarkable writers who bring their own experiences of Mexican-American identity to the work. Ire'ne Lara Silva served as Texas State Poet Laureate in 2023 and has an impressive body of work: five poetry collections, chapbooks, a comic book, and a short story collection that won the Premio Aztlán. Silva's voice adds depth and cultural context that transforms how we see Jaeggi's images.

Angelina Sáenz is a poet and educator who brings classroom experience and literary craft to the project. A UCLA Writing Project fellow and alumna of both the VONA/Voices Workshop for Writers of Color and Macondo Writer's Workshop, her poetry has appeared in Diálogo, Split this Rock, and Out of Anonymity. Her perspective helps bridge the visual and the lived experience.

Jaeggi explains why collaboration was essential: "Given my position as an outsider to the culture and the tradition, it was important that the work was made in an empathetic and conscientious way. I felt strongly that the escaramuzas' voices needed to be very prominent in the work." She continues, "The beauty of the sport is easy to appreciate, but the work needed to go beyond aesthetic appreciation. Understanding the riders' experience as women in a male-dominated sport, as Americans, as Mexicans, as immigrants and children of immigrants, as athletes, as horsewomen was essential, hence the interviews. This influenced how I chose to photograph them. These oral histories offered deep insights into the world these women navigate." That's the heart of why this book works. Jaeggi could have made something beautiful on surfaces alone, the swirl of skirts, the dust, the synchronized movements. Instead, she made something true. The photographs are gorgeous, yes, but they're also generous. They make space for the women in them to be seen fully, to tell their own stories, to exist beyond the frame. That's what makes Escaramuza more than just another photography book.