1 8 0

What did you learn (or unlearn) while working on them?
So many things. On a personal level, it’s a topic that makes —or used to make— me quite uncomfortable, and it was something I didn’t want to confront. I also never planned for the documentary to be about this. I arrived with a different idea when I moved in with Jeña’s family —Jeña being the protagonist of my documentary— and as the days went by and I kept filming, the project gradually transformed into a story about Jeña’s relationship with her daughter, Marlenis, and the love with which she cares for her every day.

I could say it is one of the most beautiful acts I have ever witnessed, and it taught me a great deal about how a dignified and accompanied old age is indeed possible. It also taught me about the importance of rethinking and changing the narratives we have internalized through the ways this topic is usually portrayed and interpreted. I believe we need to begin shifting those discourses of fear and rejection surrounding aging and start telling more honest and positive stories about it.

What words, ideas or emotions were going through your head?
At the beginning: fear, uncertainty, anxiety, discomfort, excitement.
By the end: relief, reflection, contemplation, affection, and still a bit of discomfort, but with a greater awareness of where it comes from and why.

Were there any conversations, movies, music, or books that made their way into that work?
Several. Being in school placed me in a creative environment, which provided constant references and greatly stimulated my creativity. Another factor that helped was having plenty of time to think, watch films, and review the projects other classmates had shot. This allowed me to understand how I could tell a story with the limited resources I had at the time.

Of course, the mentoring sessions and conversations we had at “Rapidito,” the school cafeteria, were also fundamental in discovering other ways of telling stories, and that inevitably feeds into your work and into who you are as a person.

What's been the most difficult thing you've faced recently in your creative process?
Understanding that it is possible to create with very few resources. This was something I once felt certain about, but over time, and with positive changes in my work situation, I began limiting myself because of a lack of financial support. I realized that many times that barrier is one I impose on myself, and that if you truly commit to it, ideas and motivation eventually find a way to take shape.

What is your favorite restaurant and what do you recommend we order?
These tacos are in my top three in the city: Tacos Manolo, not Manolito, which people always confuse them with. They are on Luz Saviñón, in Narvarte. The Manolo taco is spectacular in my opinion, but if you do not like strong flavors, honestly, anything you order there will be good.

If your life were a movie this month, what would it be called and who would write the soundtrack?
1 8 0. The soundtrack would be a collaboration between Fiona Apple with Weyes Blood.

Recommend one or more artists you follow who inspire you, and tell us what you like most about their work or their way of working.
I love illustration and painting, and I recently discovered an artist named Oona Ode. What I like most about her work is the conceptual discourse behind some of her pieces, such as Everything’s fine, as well as her color palette and technique.

I would also like to recommend the account of the agency I collaborate with in photojournalism, for those interested in these topics and in discovering the work of other photographers who, like me, are just starting out in this field. There are truly many projects worth seeing and following: Obturador MX.

And last but not least, for those who want to discover more women photographers, I recommend following Femgrafia. It is an account dedicated to showcasing the work of Latin American and Spanish women photographers.