Presentation of the book of Fr. Pedro Pablo Hernández, mccj: “A Face of Africa”

Alberto Macias Paez, Director of the General Archive of the State Congress, welcomed the author of the book, the other legislators present and other participants. Father Pedro Pablo then took the floor to clarify that, although the book is about photographs and ethnic proverbs, he is not a professional photographer, nor has he studied literature or anthropology. He then made the presentation of the book, which he divided into three points.

Congress of the State of Guanajuato, Mexico
Presentation of the book “A Face of Africa”
P. Pedro Pablo Hernández
November 9, 2022

1/ The context of the book

The author pointed out that the book comes from many years of living with the Guyi, the local people; of being in communion with them and participating in different ways in their lives; it comes from being a missionary, visiting their villages, sitting with them in their huts, eating with them and praying together; it comes from walking with them and knowing many of their names, their stories and their feelings; it comes from recognizing their cultural richness and admiring the wisdom of their elders. In short, the book is born out of love for them, a love that arises, as in all missionaries, from witnessing to the Gospel among the people to whom they are sent. 

2/ The content of the book

Physically, the book measures 30 x 30 centimeters and weighs almost 3 kg. It is a work of 500 images showing the Guyi people, their physiognomy, and their environment. There is a lot of portrait photography and many of their faces are framed by elements of nature or human constructions, such as tree branches, trunks, windows, doors, fences, etc. Unlike many other books that talk about Africa, showing only the negative aspect, (wars, famine, poverty), this work wants to expose the natural beauty of its people and their ordinary environment. The printed material, besides being visual, is also literary, showing part of the thought of the people with their proverbs, their philosophy of life. It contains 500 proverbs that are written in three languages: Guyi, the local language, Spanish and English. As the Guyi are still a people of oral tradition, this is the first time that these proverbs have been published, which adds value to this literary work. The book also includes, in an indirect way, the author's gratitude to the Guyi people for allowing him to enter their culture and to let him know the richness of their wisdom.

3/ The impact of the book

The main impact of the book, besides seeing the beauty of the Guyi people and learning about their wisdom, is to discover the great variety of feelings that are shown on each face inside the book, at the moment each of the photos was captured. There are images of people expressing delight and happiness, boys with great frenzy and girls playing happily; there are people who show serenity in their faces while others show sadness or are absent in their minds; there are men with pensive faces, women who look with curiosity and young girls who show vanity in their gazes. By observing the printed material, the reader is led to identify, on the one hand, the feelings expressed in the person graphically portrayed and, on the other hand, to discover which of those feelings he or she could identify with, at that moment. The author's intention is that, by contemplating the face of the Guyi people, the person can see his own face and, ultimately, the face of God that is shown in each person when seen with love.

Conclusion

On behalf of the Congress of the State of Guanajuato, Deputy María de la Luz Hernández Martínez, took the floor to address the audience present and express her opinion regarding the contents of the book:

"Father, thank you for the presentation of this book. We are very happy to have this work in the Library of the State Congress because it is clear to us that this book is made with love; each photograph and each proverb is impregnated with the love, beauty, and wisdom of the Guyi people.

The presentation of his book is an action that the Congress carries out in conjunction with the people and society of Guanajuato to transmit knowledge and culture. The Congress is not only a space to legislate, it is also a cultural space, assuming as a commitment the collaboration with artists, creators and authors of our region to promote works that stimulate sensitivity and analysis on important issues of our society.

Today we are very pleased to attend the presentation of the book A Face of Africa, photography and proverbs of the Guyi people, the result of 20 years of effort and dedication. Its pages lead us to know and marvel at the Ethiopian culture, through the Guyi people.

Our appreciation goes to you, Father Pedro Pablo Hernandez, missionary and photographer, because you reflect with your photographs this wonderful part of the Guyi people. You were born here, in Leon, but you have been living on the African continent for more than two decades where, over the years, you have developed a passion for portraying the faces and daily life of the people, in addition to collecting their proverbs. The latter are written in their original language, Guyi, along with their translation into Spanish and English. This is also a great richness of this wonderful book. And all this he shares with us now, in a single publication.

Thank you, Father, for bringing us a little piece of the life and wisdom of this people through the pages of your book with images full of charm that transport us to another continent and to a "world" that many of us do not know.

In its pages there are two proverbs that have caught our attention and we liked them. One is: "Although we are neighbors, we do not see each other, said the eye". The other is: "A good conversation is the best food for the ears". To this one, we wanted to add two more sentences: "A good photograph is the best food for the eyes, and a good proverb is the best food for the soul". And these two things, food for the eyes and food for the soul, can be found in this book.

Father, thank you very much for this presentation. We are at your service, the 36 deputies of this Congress of the State of Guanajuato. And welcome always."

At the end of the event, the author of the book was acknowledged, and the presentation of the book was concluded.