In her book Cañar, documentary photographer Judy Blankenship provides a first-person account of her 2000 return to an Ecuadorian village located between Quito and Cuenca where she and her husband, Michael, had spent time ten years earlier. On initial perusal, one recognizes that this is not an academic-styled ethnography (it lacks index, bibliography, and glossary) but, rather, a sophisticated reflection about an Andean community as seen by a visual artist. Reflecting her background in social science, Blankenship’s interests and methods parallel those of an ethnographer as she participates in the daily lives of the local Cañari people and addresses topics such as kinship and marriage, health beliefs and medical practices, and economics and subsistence. Cañar is a well-written, detailed description of conducting qualitative fieldwork in an underdeveloped community. Even though Blankenship does not present a theoretical position, her observations serve as an excellent source of ethnographic material for a variety of courses and will spur further discussion and analysis in the classroom. Particularly useful are her passages about being in the field, learning to understand a different worldview, and adapting to local ways of life. For Latin American studies, visual anthropology, or even introductory cultural anthropology classes, Cañar will supplement theoretically and regionally focused lectures and provide its readers with significant and relevant details regarding life in an Andean village.

Blankenship’s engaging style whets the ethnographic appetite, and the short, focused chapters make the book easy and enjoyable to read and follow. Blankenship introduces readers to her old friends through historical vignettes and presents her own thoughts as she enters new situations. Each of the 22 chapters considers a facet of her and Michael’s experiences throughout the year. She provides three- and six-month reflections as well as chapters focusing on specific themes, such as birth, marriage, death, healing, fiestas, and so on. Three-quarters of the book covers the first half-year, demonstrating Blankenship’s interest in (re)establishing her relationships with community residents, emphasizing the role trust plays during fieldwork and how her history with the community shapes the success of her return visit. Beautiful, personal, black-and-white photos of various Cañari residents open each chapter, and subsequent pages are illustrated by candid images depicting life in the village.

Latin American scholars, particularly Andeanists, will find Blankenship’s introduction of Quichua cultural characteristics detailed though lacking explanation (e.g., reciprocity, cuisine, health and healing, and compadrazgo), providing an acceptable platform on which to further elaborate and analyze. By contrast, Blankenship’s discussion of urbanization and migration (national and international) establishes a threshold for students to think about the politics of macroeconomics and the ramifications of globalization. Her description of activities, places, and events (e.g., homes, fields, fiestas, and markets) delve below the surface and present meaningful terms and definitions but refrain from much analysis. My only concern is her identification of individuals (apparently without pseudonyms) who have illegally entered the United States to work and then have returned to Ecuador.

Visual researchers, among others, will find the book interesting for methodological and practical reasons. First, the book boasts roughly two black-and-white images per chapter, which seems to be significantly more than similarly sized ethnographies. The first page of each chapter has a 6 cm x 6 cm image, whereas the other images were shot on 35-mm film. Taken apart from the text, these images serve as a photo essay and reflect the author’s profound relationship with the Cañaris. Second, Blankenship does not elaborate much on her use of photography as a documentarian (as opposed to ethnographer), although she employs images to elicit cultural information and teaches locals how to take photographs. Blankenship should have included more discussion regarding her motivation and goals for her documentary at large, as only sporadically do readers get a glimpse of her photographic field methods (e.g., pp. 39, 87) or her philosophy about the nuances of when to make images and when to simply observe. In particular, a short discussion about equipment selection and image management would be appealing to readers interested in including such methods in their work.

Through her thoughtful choice of anecdotes, observations, and photographs, Blankenship weaves a holistic representation of life in Cañar. The book is a testament to the importance of listening and observing in the field, but perhaps most importantly it becomes a commentary on the skill of creating and building rapport with the local people. Only through her relationships does Blankenship obtain an intimate view of life that is usually kept very private and personal, defining herself less as a tourist and more like a documentary photographer (and ethnographer). Overall, Cañar entices the reader to think about the people and their community, recognize the local and global issues that affect their lives, and understand how their worldview is maintained despite the multifaceted influences cascading on them everyday.