Nocturnal Being

What habit has been sustaining you lately?
Photography has helped me disconnect from routine. A few years ago, I understood that I probably won’t be able to make a living from what I love, so I dedicate myself to it without pretensions — simply with the desire to learn, improve, and feel at ease while doing it.

What time of day do you feel most like yourself?
For most of my life, I’ve been a nocturnal being. I prefer the silence of the night, accompanied only by music. Lately, because of work, I wake up early and reach the end of the day feeling tired, without much energy.

When recently did you feel out of place?
I tend to struggle a bit with impostor syndrome, so whenever I’m surrounded by photographers, I often feel out of place.

What are you still holding onto even though you know you’ll eventually have to let go?
This question made me reflect deeply because, at first glance, I don’t feel particularly attached to anything. Perhaps I’m just holding on to routine, knowing that at some point it will change — the present that never stays.

What scares you more today: change or staying the same? Why?
I recognize that change unsettles me a bit, and I prefer the comfort of routine — breaking it occasionally with a somewhat chaotic night out.

Tell us about a recent experience that made you change your mind or stop believing in something.
I don’t have a specific anecdote that made me change my mind, but over time I’ve come to understand that we cannot blindly admire or defend our idols. Human beings are imperfect; each of us has light and shadow to deal with. We can’t justify their mistakes just because we admire some of their qualities, no matter how exceptional they may be.

I’ve seen how, as I’ve learned more about their lives over time, my idols have gradually lost the idealized image I once had of them. I feel that the healthiest approach is to take the best from each person and reflect on their less admirable sides, without idealizing or defending anyone unconditionally. At least, that perspective has helped me avoid disappointment.

Recommend a movie, an album, and a book and tell us why you liked each one.
I couldn’t limit myself to just one film, album, and book, so I’ll recommend the first ones that come to mind among my favorites. I should say that each of them marked me during a particular moment in my life, so much of their importance is shaped by that experience.

Movie: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind by Michel Gondry. I trained as a graphic designer — though I don’t practice — so my admiration for almost everything Gondry has done stems partly from that. I also watched the film during a period of emotional breakup and sudden changes that forced me to reconsider how to face a whirlwind of emotions that, deep down, I was also enjoying. The dialogues, the cinematography, the performances, and the surreal way of telling such an ordinary yet unusual story captivated and moved me in equal measure.

Album: Turn on the bright lights from Interpol. If Eternal Sunshine of Spotless Mind shook my emotional foundations at the time, this album completely shattered them — and I loved it. Melodic, melancholic, raw. Raw in a deeply emotional sense. During the period when I listened to it most, the internal atmosphere each track created left a profound mark on me. It’s one of the few albums I’ve listened to from beginning to end and from end to beginning. Without pause. Without rest. It’s curious how today, when those emotions are no longer as present, they resurface during the few minutes a song lasts, whenever shuffle brings one of them back.

Book: Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. To close this trilogy of melancholy, this literary work couldn’t be missing. Norwegian Wood, or how to learn to live with loss.

Now that I think about it, as I write these lines, I realize that that period of my life — so marked by emotional vulnerability, introspection, and melancholy — was represented visually, sonically, and literarily in each of these three works, even though I didn’t notice it at the time.

What is your favorite restaurant and what do you recommend we order?
Ceviche 103, a Peruvian restaurant in Barcelona. I’d recommend ordering the lomo saltado.

Which friend have you admired lately, and why?
Reentering the world of analog photography has allowed me to meet wonderful people, but the person I admire most is Nuria Cabrera. For her intelligence, her kindness, and her willingness to help whenever she can. A great professional, a great person, and, above all, a great friend.

Dev/Scan at VisualKorner