TITLE: Until We No Longer Can

In the outskirts of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, the Peña family continues the labor of making Adobe bricks by hand, just as their parents and grandparents did before them. The work is physical and unrelenting. Mud is mixed with water and organic materials, pressed into wooden molds, and left to dry under the sun. Each brick is lifted, carried, stacked, and turned repeatedly until it hardens. The rhythm of the work shapes the rhythm of daily life. And looming over the leased brickyard are the condo projects of concrete, the very materials that threaten the existence of the Adobe bricks.

I began photographing this family in 2023 and have returned regularly to document not only the process of brickmaking, but the multiple generations of the Pena family whose lives are bound to it. The youngest generation is trained in simple tasks like mixing and carrying. Meals are shared in brief moments of rest before the work resumes. The boundary between family life and survival is nearly invisible.

Today, the future of this profession is uncertain. The leased Pena land used for their brickyard has been sold for development, and younger generations face pressure to pursue other livelihoods. The knowledge required to make Adobe bricks—how to judge the soil, read the weather, and work with the body—has been passed down through generations, yet its continuation is no longer guaranteed.


Until We No Longer Can is a long-term documentary project about labor, dignity, and endurance. It reflects one family's determination to continue working as they always have, even as the world around them changes. The title comes from a phrase spoken without drama or complaint by the patriarch, Charro Pena: " We will keep working until we no longer can."

AUTHOR: Deborah Cole (Mexico)

Name
Deborah Cole

Location
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and Austin, Texas, USA

Medium
Documentary and Street Photography (Black and White)

Education and Training
B.S., University of Texas/Austin, M.S., Texas A&M University
Private study in documentary and street photography (United States and International)

Publications
Contributor, Street Photography Magazine (articles, images, and cover photography)
Books
Letting Go: How Less Becomes More - Author and Photographer, 2021
SHE: Believed She Could So She Did - Author and Photographer, 2022
Black Women in Business: Journeys in Resilience - Author and Photographer, 2023
Between Two Worlds – Photographer, 2027

Exhibitions
• Women Street Photography Exhibition, New York, 2026 “Abuelas”
• Leica Fotografie International, 2026, Selected Mastershot image “Super Sunday”
• Where The Streets Lead’, published by Street Photography Magazine, 2025. Selected image ‘Amor’
• Women Street Photographers Exhibition, Finalist. Artspace PS109. New York City April 2025
• The Peoples Gallery, Austin, Texas, 2025, Selected image “Abuelas”
• Leica Fotografie International, 2025, Selected image “Charras”
• Texas Photographic Society, Arlington, Texas, May, 2024, Selected image “Anticipation”
• Women’s Street Photographers Exhibition Finalist, NYC, April, 2024, Selected image “Festival”
• Texas Photographic Society, Lubbock, Texas, April, 2024, Selected Image “Homestead”
• Leica Fotografie International, 2023, Selected image “Amor”
• ASmith Gallery, Johnson City, Texas, 2023 Selected image “Black and White”
• Center for Contemporary Arts Gallery, Abilene, Texas, 2023, Selected image “Luchita”
• Street Photography Magazine, 2022, Podcast co-host
• Dallas Center for Photography, Dallas, Texas, 2021, Solo show “SHE”
• ASmith Gallery, Johnson City, Texas, 2021, Selected image “Life”
• Women Street Photographers, NYC, 2020, Selected image “Frida”
• Arlington Museum of Art, Arlington, Texas, 2020, Selected image “The Best”
• Abilene Gallery for Contemporary Art, Abilene, Texas, 2020, Selected image “Home Alone”
• Elizabet Ney Museum, Austin, Texas 2020, Selected image “We The People”
• Seton Cove Gallery, Austin, Texas, 2020, Solo show “The Heart and Soul of Others”
• Cloud Tree Gallery, Austin, Texas 2020, Solo show “The Friendliest Place”

Speaking and Community Engagement
Speaker on women’s empowerment and visual storytelling — United States and Mexico
Board Member — Vallarta School for Girls
Sponsor — Student Photography Program, Vallarta School for Girls (established 2024)

Current Projects
Escaramuzas: Women Who Keep — Documentary project on Mexican women preserving the tradition of Escaramuza
Between Two Worlds — Long-term documentary project exploring women navigating cultural and social change
Until We No Longer Can — Documentary project on the vanishing craft of adobe brickmaking in Jalisco