MEXICO CITY -- Famed Mexican photographer Manuel Alvarez Bravo, best known for his dream-like evocations of longing and solitude in daily Mexican life settings, says the essence of life remains the same even at the age of 100.

What has always inspired Alvarez Bravo to take photographs is: "Life itself, natural reactions and human character -- people's way of being, walking and expressing themselves."

"My work is completely natural and spontaneous," he said in an interview at his home and studio for the last 40 years in Coyoacan, in the south of Mexico city. Despite his years he is alert and healthy.

Alvarez Bravo, who turns 100 years old on Feb. 4, is being honored with three retrospectives of his work in Los Angeles, Mexico City and Paris, Reuters reported.

His images of street scenes, signs and vendors have been likened to those of Paris photographer Eugene Atget (1856-1927), and his work has also been called modernist and surrealist, influenced by a group of foreign photographers who lived in Mexico in the 1920s and 1930s.

Don Manuel, as he is known to family and friends, acknowledges the influence of others on his work, but resists attaching political or philosophical meaning to his photographs.

Bohemian revolution the promise of a new, post-war idealistic order in the 1920s and 1930s attracted to Mexico the likes of Russian film maker Sergei Eisenstein, French surrealist writer Andre Breton and photographers like Edward Weston, Paul Strand, Tina Modotti and Henri Cartier-Bresson.

This was also post-revolution Mexico, where a band of politically active local artists led by Diego Rivera, David Siqueiros and Jose Clemente Orozco were busy splashing public buildings with murals about class struggle and themes of Mexican history, identity and customs.

Against this backdrop, Alvarez Bravo started to discover and teach himself the marvels of the camera and its workings. He went on to win several amateur contests and in 1931 left his desk job at the ministry of finance to pursue his passion for photography full time.

During this time, Alvarez Bravo traveled throughout Mexico to take photographs for Mexican folkways magazine, an assignment that resulted in some of his most poetic images of Mexican life and festivities.

Experts say Alvarez Bravo has applied modernist or surrealist styles to the social realities of Mexico.

"He speaks with a modernist vocabulary, but in Mexican vernacular," said Roberto Tejada, professor of art theory at state university of New York.

Alvarez Bravo speaks fondly of his friendships with the artists and intellectuals of that period and refers to some of them as his teachers, especially Diego Rivera, whose paintings and murals he photographed.

Part II

Q: Some believe that IRIB has given priority to pop music, which has weakened the role of Iranian traditional music in society. Of course, some think that the ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance is responsible for this through the licenses they have granted.

A: Well, it is likely that certain organizations have encouraged the spreading of low-quality pop music, and I also accept that IRIB is a worldwide media and, therefore, covers many aspects and styles of music. Every step we take is probably interpreted as a model, and in following our example, some might go to extremes.

Q: So, you accept that IRIB has taken the first step in developing pop music?

A: I do not accept that our method has damaged traditional music, however, Radif and traditional music do not hold the position they had before in the world, because times, places, and people change. In fact, because of the change in circumstances, the best musicians have lost their motivation and feelings, and some of the traditional musicians have chosen to break the rules and traditions.

Now I would like to ask a question: who can claim he is the fundamental sponsor of Radif music? Nazari, Alizadeh, Lotfi, or Shajarian? Which one? Do they have the same interpretation of traditional music?

At present, the only one who is working in Radif music is the master Majid Kiani. He who rarely performs, as he is busy teaching some of the best young musicians, but we will have to wait to hear them.

In any case, we can cooperate with the ones who work in the ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, and the Art Bureau. They make use of the thoughts and experience of masters such as Shajarian, Lotfi, Alizadeh, and Kiani, and pave the way to strengthen the culture of our country.

IRIB has asked them to cooperate on several occasions, but they did not respond. We hope that our brothers in the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, as well as those in private institutes, will cooperate with us in cultural affairs because there is no reason for disagreement. Cultural development is multifaceted and as such can easily accommodate two opposing sides.