SANTIAGO: Saint of Two Worlds, photographs...

SANTIAGO: Saint of Two Worlds, photographs by Joan Myers; essays by Marc Simmons, Donna Pierce and Joan Myers (University of New Mexico Press: $25). According to legend, the remains of Saint James the Apostle were miraculously discovered in the Galicia region of northwestern Spain by a hermit in about AD 813. The shrine to St. James or Santiago that was subsequently built at Compostela became one of the most popular pilgrimage sites of the Middle Ages, rivaling Rome and Jerusalem. Because he was often depicted in religious art as Matamoros (Moor-slayer), Santiago was invoked by the knights fighting in the reconquest of Spain and by the Spanish conquistadors in the New World. (Several dozen towns in Latin America are named for him.) Myers’ striking black-and-white photographs retrace the medieval pilgrim’s route, which many pious people follow today. She also captures celebrations honoring the saint in the New World, where his cult has incorporated many indigenous elements.