The heavy, hypnotic smoke from copal incense and beeswax candles will soon drift over Semana Santa (Holy Week) processions throughout Mexico. Supplicants in elaborate costumes will re-enact the stages of the Passion of Christ from Palm Sunday to Easter, parading through villages carrying rustic crosses and gilded statues. Parts of Mexico basically shut down during this sacred week, which starts today, and hotels fill up in Oaxaca, Chiapas and other regions where large celebrations occur.

Few outsiders have the opportunity to witness the purely indigenous Semana Santa festivals held in small out-of-the way villages, however. Enter Texan George O. Jackson de Llano, a photographer with a passion for Mexican culture so strong he's devoted decades to capturing images of what he calls the “Essence of Mexico.”

Jackson de Llano covered some 300 Mexican festivals from 1990 to 2001, photographing Semana Santa processions with hooded fariseos (Pharisees) in Oaxaca and judeas (Judas figures) in Nayarit. His collection of some 75,000 images covers the traditions of 62 cultural groups, including the Mixtec, Maya and Huichol, during festivals large and small.

“My goal has been to document the variety and beauty of this enchanting but ephemeral art form that will serve as a permanent testimony to the creativity of the members of these communities,” Jackson de Llano wrote in an essay for an exhibit of his work at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

Called “Mexican Cycles,” the exhibit runs through April 15 and is the first stage in a larger show Jackson is assembling for a 2010 exhibit at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.

Working with Mexican publisher Artes de Mexico and his Smithsonian curators, Jackson is preparing a book that will be what the photographer calls “an appreciation of the ethno-aesthetics of Mexican festivals.” He has donated his collection to the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection at the University of Texas and the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Latin American Art at the San Antonio Museum of Art. A complete set of his images is now available to the public for research at the University of Texas.

Jackson de Llano is putting the finishing touches on another exhibit for the San Antonio Museum of Art in Texas running until May 25. Called “El Cuerpo Adornado: Exploring the Aesthetic Spirit of Mexico,” the exhibit focuses on traditions in Mexico's Sierra Huasteca region, a visually and culturally stunning area encompassing parts of Tamaulipas, Veracruz, San Luis Potosi, Hidalgo, Queretaro and Puebla. Far from the beach resorts and big cities of modern-day Mexico, the region remains one of the most indigenous parts of the country, rich in traditions like the elaborate body painting displayed in Jackson de Llano's photos.

I once had the good fortune to drive through this part of northeastern Mexico along the original Pan-American Highway, stopping at markets where barbers, dentists, seamstresses and cooks all practiced their trades for customers from remote mountain villages. Few people spoke even rudimentary English and many conversed in Huastec dialects, slipping into Spanish only when absolutely necessary. Experiencing everyday life in this area is like stepping into history. I can hardly imagine what it must be like during Semana Santa or other festivals.

“During a festival, the celebrants are literally steeped in the cultural activity that defines them,” the photographer said when I asked about his experiences and the significance of his photographs. “Learning about festivals, in addition to the satisfaction derived from appreciating their art, give us some insight into how life was before TV changed the world.”

To see just of few of Jackson de Llano's photographs and learn more about his work, check out his Web site at essenceofmexico.net. His exhibits will soon be traveling to museums and galleries throughout the U.S. and Mexico, giving us all the opportunity to experience the essence of Mexico.

Maribeth Mellin is the author of the Unofficial Guide to Mexico's Best Beach Resorts (Wiley/Menasha Ridge) and the recipient of Mexico's prestigious Pluma de Plata.