YUCA MADRE — Amazon, Colombia
(On going project) In the depths of the Colombian Amazon, YUCA MADRE immerses itself in indigenous communities, highlighting the essential role of women in the ancestral connection with bitter cassava. This project not only embraces the tuber as a foundational food source but also reveals a sacred process entrusted to female knowledge.
In the Amazonian soils, rich in evolution but limited in fertility, bitter cassava emerges as an essential food, demanding ancestral wisdom to confront the cyanide in its natural composition (100mg/kg aprox). Indigenous women, guardians of the chagra (cultivation area), possess the knowledge to extract the poison and provide food to the community, becoming symbols of fertility and care. YUCA MADRE, weaving together mythology and daily narratives, seeks to immortalize these women in their unique connection with the jungle, challenging patriarchal thinking in the face of the environmental crisis and recognizing the jungle as a living entity, mother, and territory of care.
CHILDREN OF THE WATER — Nueva Venecia, Colombia
Children of the Water is a documentary photographic series that is based on the fishing tradition of Nueva Venecia, Magdalena; a stilt town of houses suspended over the waters of the Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta. A resilient town with remnants of a historical war in Colombia and that today is made up of approximately 300 wooden houses painted in different colors, a town that hosts traditional work and ancestral knowledge that is transmitted between generations: fishing.
For the children of fishing families, the future is in fishing, unless they leave the town. The panorama consists of going out with the nets day after day, moving away from the “Morro” and waiting for hours to collect the greatest number of fish; and then sell them in their community to small distributors who send them to the large cities of Magdalena. Meanwhile, life goes by peacefully and the children paddle more than they walk between houses, shops, a square and school.
Fishing is the future of New Venice, at least until the fish supply and demand continues. The children of the water are the future fishermen and in charge of continuing the tradition. These are some of the many children of the water, their faces, their houses, their nets and their fish.
SHE QU 社区 (The neighbourhood) — Madrid, España
Upon settling in Madrid with a fervent curiosity for documenting stories, my initial focus turned to the "Latin quarter" of the capital, a neighborhood called Usera. Initially intending to delve into the lives of Latin American inmigrante families, my perspective took an unexpected turn upon discovering the pronounced presence of the Chinese community in this enclave, designated as Madrid's authentic (not touristic) Chinatown. This revelation gave birth to She Qu 社区 (that means neighborhood or community in chinese), a photographic project that immerses itself in the complexity of this community in Usera.
More than a documentary project, "She Qu 社区" aspires to be a experience that challenges expectations and transcends cultural barriers. Shifting away from Latin American migration, my lens is focused on the Chinese community, exploring their resilience, adaptation, and interculturality amid mystery and otherness. This project stands as a visual exhibition seeking to uncover the unique everyday life of Usera, unraveling the China that is not China. Confronting limitations from both the community and personal perspectives, "She Qu 社区" offers an insightful perspective on a coexistence marked by seemingly insurmountable cultural and linguistic barriers, challenging and redefining the visual narrative of this captivating enclave in Madrid.
THE EDEN OF HAPPINESS — Valencia, Spain
One night in January 2022, two years ago, I stumbled upon a fair in the city of Valencia, Spain. As I wandered between food stalls, games and attractions, the lights dimmed and the colors faded. The fleeting humans full of joy gradually drifted away, leaving only those who resist and remain resilient: those who make the fair possible, those who make a living from it. By observing them, I discovered a way to capture the loneliness, the saudade, the longing for a happy moment, an Eden of happiness that fades each night when darkness falls.
TRANSHUMANCE — Madrid, España
Every year in the month of October, transhumance takes place in various regions of Spain, a process dating back thousands of years in which shepherds walk with their herds for several kilometers to the South, fleeing the winter and looking for greener pastures for feeding the flock. On October 24, 2021, a herd of approximately 1600 sheep including sheep, goats and rams passed through the center of Madrid, this being a well-known cultural event in the capital.
After the parade through the most emblematic and touristy streets of the center (a parade accompanied by music, dances and characters dressed as shepherds), César, Javier and David, the only three shepherds actually in charge of the flock, headed towards Casa de Campo, a protected rural area next to the city.
There I waited for the herd and accompanied them during the afternoon pastoral journey, learning about their stories and surprising myself with their ability to shepherd. Together with seven dogs and a small cart full of food and tents, these three shepherds - and Lizeth, David's wife - have traveled several kilometers from Palencia to the final destination of Colmenarejo, where the herd will finally spend the winter. They told me that the most difficult thing is the nights, since they must camp in tents next to the herd and, above all, be aware of the stalking wolves. The guard dogs that accompany them not only graze, but are trained to detect wolves and alarm about their presence. Once the tour is over, some will return home for a while, others will continue to tend the herd.
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NUEVA VENECIA — Nueva Venecia, Colombia
Nueva Venecia, a town of houses suspended over the waters of the Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta, Colombia. It is a town made up of 400 houses, which lives mainly from fishing. People navigate more than they walk, and they move between houses, small hops, the main square, the church, billiards and the school.
Thus, between nets, rafts, water, and sunsets, the days of this stilt houses town pass, among the murky waters of northern Colombia.
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LA SIERRA — Santa Marta, Colombia
Nueva Venecia, a town of houses suspended over the waters of the Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta, Colombia. It is a town made up of 400 houses, which lives mainly from fishing. People navigate more than they walk, and they move between houses, small hops, the main square, the church, billiards and the school.
Thus, between nets, rafts, water, and sunsets, the days of this stilt houses town pass, among the murky waters of northern Colombia.
LIFE IN TITICACA — Lago Titicaca, Perú
Since years ago, the native communities of Peru, Quechuas, Incas, Aymaras, fled the conquest and stayed in the waters of Lake Titicaca, forming one of the most iconic islands in the world. Uros, and Taquile.
WAYUÚ — Guajira, Colombia
In the north of Colombia, there is the region of La Guajira. A huge desert, home of the Wayúu ethnic group. There, water is scarce, heat and sun abound. But above all, the magical landscapes and the warmth of a town that seems taken from the imagination, take your heart away.
