Throughout her career, Tina Modotti promoted political causes through her Modernist artworks. With its sweep of circular shapes, this dynamic image depicts Mexican workers gathered for the annual May Day parade. In Mexico, the ubiquitous sombrero was immediately recognizable as an emblem of the working class. No individual faces are visible, and the mass of sombreros unites the workers as one. The photograph combines Modernist aesthetics with Communist politics, making the artist’s wielding of photographic abstraction socially and politically relevant.