Rodero was born in Puertollano, Spain, in 1949, and studied painting at Complutense University of Madrid. She has worked as a teacher. Rodero photographs the persistence of rural traditions in modern times, such as religious rites and festivals in Spain. In Spain she is among the most celebrated documentary photographers. Rodero joined Magnum Photos in 2005 and became a full member in 2009. The city of Puertollano, where she was born, inaugurated the "Cristina García Rodero" Museum in 2018. A large part of the photographer's work is exhibited there. The Cristina García Rodero Museum is located in the old municipal museum of Puertollano.There are more than 2,100 square meters distributed over three floors in which are displayed about 200 photographs of the artist.
Publications
España oculta.
*España oculta. Barcelona: Lunwerg, 1989, 1998..
*España oculta. Munich: Bucher, 1990..
*Espagne occulte. Paris: Contrejour, 1990..
España: Fiestas y ritos. Text by J.M. Caballero Bonald.
*España: Fiestas y ritos. Barcelona: Lunwerg, 1992..
*Spanien. Feste und Riten. Schaffhausen: Stemmle, 1992..
*Spagna in Fiesta. Milan: Jaca, 1994..
*Festivals and rituals of Spain. New York: Abrams, 1994.. Translated by Wayne Finke.
*Espagne: Fêtes et traditions. Barcelona: Lunwerg, 1994..
Imágenes de una danza: Camuñas, "Pecados y Danzantes". Toledo: Diputación Provincial de Toledo, 1994..
Himerareta Supein-ten = España oculta. Mitaka, Tokyo: Mitaka City Gallery of Art, 1994.
Grabarka, el monte de las 6000 cruces: Una peregrinación ortodoxa en Polonia. Granada: Diputación de Granada, 2002..
Cristina García Rodero. Rituale; Fotografien. Munich: Deutsche Gesellschaft für christliche Kunst, 2004..
Cristina García Rodero: Historia de una Pasión.
*Cristina García Rodero: Historia de una Pasión. Madrid: La Fábrica, 2004..
*Cristina García Rodero. Madrid: La Fábrica, 2008.. Second edition. Includes Historia de una pasión by Julio Llamazares.
A peregrinación a Santiago en Haití. Santiago de Compostela: Xunta de Galicia, 2004..
Paso doble - Cristina García Rodero und Giorgio von Arb: Fotografien zur Volkskultur in Spanien und in der Schweiz. Uster: Edition Villa am Aabach, 2005.. With Giorgio von Arb.
Cristina García Rodero: María Lionza, la diosa de los ojos de agua. Madrid: Ayuntamiento, 2008..
España oculta: Colección de arte contemporáneo Fundación "La Caixa". Barcelona: Obra Social, Fundación "La Caixa", 2010..
A 1,20 metros: Los derechos de la infancia vistos desde su altura. Madrid: Consejo General de la Abogacía Española, 2010.. With other contributors.
Transtempo. Madrid: La Fábrica; Santiago de Compostela: Xunta de Galicia, Consellería de Cultura e Turismo, 2011.,.
Cristina García Rodero: Combatiendo la nada. Alcobendas: Ayuntamiento de Alcobendas, 2012..
Los siete pecados capitales. Palabra e imagen. Madrid: La Fábrica, 2014.. With Gustavo Martín Garzo and Elisa Martin Ortega.
1989: W. Eugene Smith Grant for her work documenting the culturally important festivals and rituals in rural southern European communities which are about to disappear.
