Artist Statement:
The images in this series include Native Americans, Mexican street performers, as well as people whom I accidentally encountered and started a conversation.
When I am choosing subjects for my portraits, I focus on the subtle details, quirks and flaws that for me deviate from conventional standards of perfection. The beauty of life is in the imperfections that surround us.
In 2016 I traveled to Standing Rock Reservation in the Dakotas to rediscover my love for Wet Plate Collodion with its handcrafted and time intensive technique. It became for me a personal and deep connection to the past.
In the 2 years that I spent creating wet plate images, I have found it to be a celebration of people, understanding and respecting their culture, and paying homage to the beginning of photography. This process taught me to create a genuine bond with those I photograph through meaningful conversations, and seeking to understand their perspective so each portrait is a true reflection of their individuality and spirit. It also taught me to savor the time we have here on earth, to not rush and try to capture fifty images when I can create one with meaning and spirit — finding perfection in the beautifully flawed and the beautifully real.
I was born in Cuba and grew up in Mexico City where my family lived very near an art house movie theatre. I used to sneak out late at night and watch foreign movies with directors like Fellini, Bunuel, Antonioni, and Kubrick. There was nothing else in this world I wanted to do more than to be behind a film camera. When I was 18 years old, I had an accident and lost vision in my right eye. At that time, I felt my dream of being a cinematographer was over. I took up photography because I thought it was my only choice to be behind a camera. I graduated from Brooks Institute of Photography and I started a commercial and fashion photography career.
I worked in Mexico City, New York and San Francisco and learned so much from talented professionals, about lighting, composition, and story telling with a single image. More importantly, I learned not to place limitations on myself. I realized that you have to fight for your dreams and and that one eye was all I needed to look through a viewfinder to create images.
