CECILIA GUERRERO
All right reserved ©Cecilia Guerrero
Cecilia Guerrero lives in central Mexico. Photographer and documentalist, she creates stories and through them a narrative in which she finds an imaginative place to inhabit . In her images she finds characters and gives them an existence.
Charco Cercado
Trade and exotic species
Tell us a little about the origins of the photographic essay "Charco Cercado". What is the historical background of this geographic region?
CG: Charco Cercado, is located in the municipality of Guadalcázar, at about 100 kilometers from the capital of San Luis Potosí, towards Matehuala, on the edge of the Pan-American highway. It is a community that lacks the most essential services. Without water, without medical services or jobs, in addition to unfavorable climate and environment for agriculture and livestock. Poverty and marginalization have led the inhabitants of Charco Cercado to fight in their daily lives for their survival, dedicating themselves to trading with the flora and fauna species that inhabit that region of the Potosino semi-desert. It is the curative properties, which have been attributed to these species, that have allowed a trade that extends to Mexico City. Likewise, having carried out this activity for more than fifty years has made merchants see it as something natural and legal.
How did you develop the networks necessary to document this place?
CG: I have got the necessary old school discipline to develop a photographic project; I justify and document the issue before addressing it; I prepare letters of references as well as a portfolio to show it to both cultural and ejidal authorities.
“Poverty and marginalization have led the inhabitants of Charco Cercado to fight in their daily lives for their survival, dedicating themselves to trading with the flora and fauna species that inhabit that region of the Potosino semi-desert”
What type of format does your documentation process follow? (For example, do you do interviews with certain subjects? Do you stay for a certain period in the place or sporadically ? Are you are commissioned? ...)
CG: Speaking of the follow-up, first I investigate my point of interest in order to reach the people and request the corresponding permits to spend the night or interview the subjects in question.
What is your intention with this photo essay? Is it an ongoing project or have you finished documenting and editing the images?
CG: This photographic essay is intended to give a point of view in favor of the inhabitants, who like everyone deserve a better quality of life, without forgetting my commitment to nature. I am enthusiastic about the multiple possibilities, giving second or third opportunities to each project, I think that over time one, as an individua, l grows, that is, one learns from the past and from mistakes. I want to spread this more widely and take it out of the trunk of memories.
In the photos you can perceive a kind of ritual. What is it about? Do you focus on documenting the religiosity and traditions of neighboring regions in your native Mexico?
CG: The photograph where the image of San José appears, is the patronal feast of that town. I like to address all aspects of the community in which I work. This allows me to find more anthropological answers and build an atmosphere for the visual narrative.
“ I like to address all aspects of the community in which I work. This allows me to find more anthropological answers and build an atmosphere for the visual narrative”
Your work has stood out for the use of color and shadows, highlighting the contrasts between geography and the rhythm of life of the people in Mexico. What is the reason for the change in the use of color in this particular project?
CG: This project is the prelude to my foray into color photography as well as digital; Since I documented it from 2006 to 2008, my bases are the darkroom and analog photography, I processed this with B / W film and then I worked it with post-production in Photoshop, giving it a warm tone to increase the sensations that the place conveyed to me.
“This project is the prelude to my foray into color photography as well as digital; Since I documented it from 2006 to 2008, my bases are the darkroom and analog photography”
What have been some important lessons you have learned from your subjects in “Charco Cercado”?
CG: I feel that the most important thing that I learned is to value our commitment to narrative or visual discourse. I think we have forgotten the impact it can have when making a documentary nowadays; I find relentless seeing this work as time passes. I am happy or excited to know that I could be a significant part of a change by making this community known.
All right reserved ©Cecilia Guerrero
