Caminando por Chile
During 5 months I traveled and trekked in my own country, from the high plaines of the north, to the exuberance of Patagonia in the extreme south, and from the Andes range to the rough waters of the Pacific Ocean. We walked over 800 kilometers, visiting 20 National Parks and reserves, together with a good friend and naturalist. I documented some of the most remote parts of Chile, the result was the publicationof this 200-page photo book and a detailed trekking guide about the discovered routes -some of them never explored before- in this part of South America. A work commissioned by Copec in commemoration of their 80th anniversary.
Pirquineros
In the Atacama Desert, the driest in the world, situated in the north of Chile, the continuous hammering on the rocks disturbs the absolute silence that reigns over this vast region. It’s in the small veins of gold and copper that surge to the surface that these ancient miners can be found extracting the precious metal. These veins are followed to the depths of the earth, were only a few dare to go. In one of the harshest life conditions on earth, this men risk their lives every day in search of the metal that will solve their economical troubles - and their families- for at least a while. But uncertainty is always present and the line that they have been following for months could disappear in the blink of an eye, and so do their dreams.
Greed is believed to be the cause of the misfortune of many miners. For this reason they have chosen a simple and upright life, free from frenzied ambitions. To be a pirquinero, - Jose, a 80 year old miner - says "you also have to be cook, launderer, geologist, freighter, mill worker, perforator, builder and economist, all learned at the school of life".
This way of life has made these miners bullet proof; but in this solitudes is where the true nature of man blooms (or at least that's how I experienced it), words like selfishness don't belong there. There will be always room, a plate of food, hot tea and good conversation for an outsider; this same person could be receiving you somewhere out there sometime, this is law here or actually the way things have to work.
Every year, a handful of these miners loose their life working in the most unsafe conditions in the mining industry. In their case they'll probably die alone like they have been working thought their life.
Realidades Pendientes - El Chile de los campamentos
The inequity that exists in Chile, finds its most concrete form inthe precariousness in which thousands of slum families live. Their exclusionsituation obliges them to battle day after day with the lack of access to basicservices, little work opportunities and discrimination. With this projectFundación Techo intend to expose this problematic and denounce the urgency to end this situation. This reality involves us all as a society and knocks our doorsnot to remain indifferent. In this way, we try to reaffirm how fundamental thecommon work of the volunteers of Fundación Techo and the families of theshantytowns is in the fight of coming out of the exclusion and to live in decent neighbourhoods, which are close to the city networks and their services.This visual trip through the life of a group of Chilean families is aninvitation to reflect about their reality, and at the same time, to activelyparticipate in its changing process. We’re convinced that to build the Chilethat we dream on, a fairer country, we need everyone’s commitment.
100 Historias de Segunda Oportunidad
In 2013, the Chilean Government made a pilot project that consisted on granting housing subsidies for individuals and families, for the second time in their life. These subsidy benefits are normally given to an individual only once in a lifetime. The project aimed for families living on highly dense populated sectors, which had become dangerous due to narco-trafficking, alcohol abuse and violence. These old block constructions had 24 apartments, where sometimes families of 7 people would cram in 30 squared meters. They were demolished to build green areas instead, and the families moved to better houses, which they got to choose and pay with the governments' subsidy. This book collects the testimony of many families who used to live in very poor conditions and that were given a chance to improve their livelihood, as well as the stories of the people working on the project.