The life of nuns, it turns out, is not at all as monotonous as we think

The laity's ideas about life within the walls of the monastery, as it turns out, are hopelessly outdated. Mexican photographer Marcela Taboada undertook to dispel age-old stereotypes. For three years, she filmed nuns of Catholic monasteries in Mexico and found out that, despite many hours of daily work and prayers, women find time to enjoy life.

Abbess and Sister Virginia at a meeting of the nuns of the nine monasteries of the Carmelite Order offer the guests a piece of birthday cake.

"I've always been interested in what's going on behind the scenes," says Marcela. — Whether I'm shooting baseball or ballet, I want to look behind the curtain. Therefore, having won a grant to cover the life of Roman Catholic nuns in Mexican monasteries, I gladly jumped at this rare opportunity. When I first started the project, I thought that nuns are always strict and serious. But it turns out they also like to laugh and have fun."

76-year-old sister Clara believes that exercise is important for health at any age. In her youth, she was engaged in swimming and horseback riding, and now prefers an exercise bike and a treadmill.

"It wasn't so easy to get into the world of nuns. When I knocked on the door of the monastery, they asked me to leave and slammed the door. But I was stubborn and persistent, and in the end they let me in."

Sister Rubicelia is standing near the festive table before the banquet. She says she first heard the call of the Lord when she was 17 years old.

"Every morning I started my day with them — at four-thirty in the morning. Prayer singing was my alarm clock. Then I quietly followed the sisters at their heels during their daily prayers and various chores, ablutions, cleaning and cooking."

Nuns perform many different duties every day. Their chores include decorating the altar with flowers, washing and drying clothes, starching laundry and cleaning tables after a banquet on holidays.

"It soon became clear to me that they know how to have fun. They laugh and dance, play cards and other games. They even listen to rock and roll. One nun turned out to be an incredible football fan. She watched TV and cheered for the teams she liked, prayed for the players and jumped for joy when they won."

Reina's sister Maria plays volleyball. Daytime sports allow you to restore strength for the second half of a hard day.

The photographer took this comic picture of Emma's sister in a crown and with a staff after the sisters told her that they did not have a single photo portrait.

"My task was to show the everyday life of people who, because of their lifestyle, have become invisible to society. I hope, thanks to my photos, everyone will see how much life, humanity and femininity there is in them."

A procession of nuns who were allowed to leave the monastery for one day to visit the Franciscan monastery. Usually, sisters can only go out to see a dentist or another doctor, but not alone.