What pieces or projects have you been working on lately?
A few months ago, I stepped into a darkroom for the first time. It felt like being inside a shared womb, creating life by touch, amid the smell of chemicals, the dance of development, alarms reminding us that time exists, and a sense of faith that what we are doing will end with a “hell yeah, it worked!”.
That is what I have been doing this year: learning the magic of the complete analog photography process, from freezing time with my camera to watching the image emerge on paper.
What did you learn (or unlearn) while working on them?
I learned to trust myself and other creators.
Surrounded by red lights and deep shadows, I learned to fully trust my other senses, my intuition. I learned to trust that, in the act of creating, the body functions as a divine channel through which ideas take shape and art continues to expand.
All of this happened alongside my teachers, Kat and Carlos; my best friend, Luis; and complete strangers who, once inside the darkroom, entered into communion with one another’s work, making sure we encouraged each other to take creative risks and to protect and respect the art of photography. I learned to trust people who CREATE, because they are sensitive to other creations.
What words, ideas or emotions were going through your head?
What I felt most at all times was love… Suddenly, the first time I ever held a camera made sense.
Were there any conversations, movies, music, or books that made their way into that work?
My grandmother’s voice, urging me to follow my heart, and the album Space 1.8 by Nala Sinephro.
What's been the most difficult thing you've faced recently in your creative process?
Naturally, the frustration of failing. I’ve spent three or four full hours working on enlargements that simply didn’t turn out the way I imagined them, and I’ve also missed photographing unrepeatable moments because I was indecisive about the camera’s aperture or shutter speed. Now I know it’s a matter of perspective, and that it isn’t entirely failure if, in the process, I laughed or learned something.
What is your favorite restaurant and what do you recommend we order?
La Fonda del Zancudo en Cancún, para cenar, es lindísimo. Les recomiendo pedir sí o sí los higos horneados; saben como a primavera y otoño a la vez. Me cuentan qué tal.
If your life were a movie this month, what would it be called and who would write the soundtrack?
It would be Her Second Name Is Jasmine?, Sade would compose soundtrack.
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.
Take a look at Marina Mónaco. Her way of capturing the passion, rebellion, intimacy, and transcendence of youth is impressive. Youth, in its rawest form, seeks to be recognized, and she puts it in the spotlight.
I fell in love with documentary photography in my teenage years, and since then I’ve been moving through the world sensitive to its beauty, always seeking to capture it.