Mil Besos / One Thousand Kisses: Ruven Afanador - Tapa dura

"The Columbian-born fashion photographer Ruven Afanador has built a remarkable career out of capturing the raw and impassioned beauty of his subjects. His latest book, an homage to the women of flamenco entitled 'Mil Besos' -1,000 kisses, in Spanish--is perhaps his most powerful work yet. The women in these images, dressed in all-black Galliano, Versace and Dolce & Gabbana, their eyes rimmed in inkey kohl, emerge from Mr. Afanador's imagination, inspired by the fantastic tales told to him as a child." "New York Times"" ""The severe drama of the Spanish musical genre comes to life in seductive pictures bathed in Afanador's high-contrast chiara and scuro." "LA Times""Flamenco has fascinated the Columbian photographer Ruven Afanador since he heard stories of Spain as a child...he reinterprets the art in 'Mil Besos, ' a book of portraits coming out this fall." "The New Yorker"

Ruven Afanador--one of today's most respected and in-demand editorial and fashion photographers--presents Mil Besos, a unique and arresting vision of the flamenco women of Spain. Often photographed wearing haute couture creations that were inspired by their dancing, the women's vibrant and dramatic personalities come alive in Afanador's portraits. This instant classic is an homage to the passions and traditions of the soon-to-be-lost culture of flamenco, a singular art form that has influenced the work of filmmaker Pedro Almodovar, as well as fashion designers John Galliano and Diane von Furstenberg, who have contributed insightful texts to this luxuriously produced monograph. Mil Besos will appeal to classic photography lovers, dance enthusiasts, and fashionistas alike.