Dance of the Jaguar
Jean Ross | New York, United States
Photographer: Jean Ross
Exhibit Title: Dance of the Jaguar
Location: New York, United States
New York is, and always has been, a city of immigrants. A melting pot for those fleeing oppression or seeking to make a better life for themselves and their families, bringing with them the traditions and celebrations that make New York City a diverse, vibrant, and welcoming community. Now, as the threat of detention and deportation sweeps through immigrant communities across the country, these celebrations take on new meaning.
These images were made in December 2025 as New Yorkers of Mexican descent gathered to celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe and in January 2026 at celebrations honoring the patron saint of Chinantla, the home of many of New York’s Mexican immigrants.
The Virgen of Guadalupe is the country’s most revered religious icon and is omnipresent in Mexican communities across the Americas. Celebrations in Brooklyn prominently feature troupes performing the danza de los tecuanes - the dance of the jaguar - that originate in the Puebla region of Mexico. Through dance, music, food, and religious and cultural observations immigrant New Yorkers maintain and pay homage to their Mexican heritage.
Jean Rossis a California-born documentary and street photographer currently based in Brooklyn, NY.Her photography explores the interplay between people and place, using her camera to explore how people live, work, and play.She has studied at the International Center of Photography and her work has been featured in solo shows at Viewpoint Gallery in Sacramento, California and Gallery 1855 in Davis, California and in group shows at the International Center of Photography; Women Street Photographers 2022 at Artspace PS 109; Centro Fotográfico Manuel Álvarez Bravo in Oaxaca, Mexico; Art on the Ave,New York, New York; Los Angeles Center of Photography; Noyes Arts Garage at Stockton University, Atlantic City, New Jersey; Brooklyn Waterfront Artist Coalition, Brooklyn, New York; Nancy Willard and Eric Lindbloom Artist-Run Project Space, Poughkeepsie, New York; Showfields, New York City; and other galleries.
It has also been published in the Social Documentary Network’sZekemagazine and a number of online publications.Jean has spent her career as a public policy researcher and advocate, seeking to reduce inequality and promote economic and human rights in the U.S. and abroad.
Jean Ross
jean@jeanmross.com
916-712-5472
@jeanmross
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