I have seen and heard many survival stories during and after Hurricane Alex. But this one, has its charm. A few days ago we were told by some good friends that a group of volunteers was coming together to rescue around 13-15 dogs that were trapped in a shelter and ready to be adopted inside the Huasteca canyon. All this time that I have been documenting with Daniela by my side, I must say that I never knew such a story and be witness to such love.
On July 1, the State of Nuevo Leon woke up being different to what it was before. It took one night only for Hurricane Alex to claim its property. The natural channels of the different rivers that surround the city woke up from a long and unexpected nap in a very short time. Hurricane Alex is now officially the most disastrous of the history of Nuevo León leaving thousands homeless and without possibility to work, leaving a paralyzed and afraid city, trembling and praying for it to not happen again.
There are difficult, intense and fun projects. Hennessy was all of that and more. I had the opportunity to collaborate with a team of committed professionals which was a pleasure and a great experience. Starting of with Mercury Mambo; Lynn, Becky, Ruben, April and Erica who trusted me fully in this project. Also, having the participation of Brandy and her wonderful Wardrobe Stylist team. And of course, to Dany for her impeccable production and coordination of the thousands of stuff to do before, during and after the photo shoot.
This post is dedicated to all of you who supported me unconditionally and trusted me. Este post va dedicado a todas aquellas personas que me apoyaron y confiaron incondicionalmente en mi.
Vicente, I will always be grateful for your disinterested support, for believing in my word. Unlike your ancestors, your conquest was done with soul, this conquest is yours too. Vicente, infinitamente te estaré agradecido por tu apoyo desinteresado, por creer en mi palabra, pues a diferencia de tus ancestros tu conquista ha sido del alma, esta conquista también es tuya.
Chiko, thank you for introducing us to an unknown world for us, I now know where I come from and where I am headed. Chiko, muchas muchas gracias por habernos introducido en un mundo totalmente desconocido para nosotros, ahora se de donde vengo y hacia donde voy.
Simon, my friend, since Daniela and I met you, I knew that we would go beyond, destiny brought us together and now you are a part of our story, which I will never change in a thousand years. Thanks! Simon, mi amigo, desde que te conocimos Daniela y yo supimos que trascenderíamos juntos, el destino nos juntó y ahora eres parte de nuestra historia, la cuál, ni en mil años podrán cambiarla. Gracias!
Herlinda, your vission and support were key for us to make this project a succesful one, I wish this is the first of many more to come and that we could still collaborate with MACC and appreciate it as it is: the most important cultural and artistic site in Austin. Herlinda, tu visión y apoyo fueron pieza clave para que este gran proyecto se concretara, esperemos que sea el primero de muchos y que podamos seguir participando con el MACC como lo que es, el recinto mas importante de Arte y Cultura de Austin.
Mando, I will miss our meetings at Benu, thank you for moving heaven, sea and earth! Mando, voy a extrañar nuestras juntas en Benu, gracias por mover cielo, mar y tierra!
To Juan Castillo from Austin Statesman, Leslie Montoya from Univision, Tania Lara from Ahora Sí!, Vicky Garza from The Austin Times, thanks to everyone for writing and giving me a moment of your time. A Juan Castillo de Austin Statesman, Leslie Montoya de Univisión, Tania Lara de Ahora si!, Vicky Garza de Austin Times, gracias por sus palabras y por darme esos valiosos espacios y tiempo.
Cris and Jenaro, what can I say? Thank you for opening the door to your home, for opening our eyes and for being so supportive, let’s drink to that, CHEERS! Cris y Jenaro, que les puedo decir, gracias por abrirnos la puerta de su casa, gracias por abrirnos los ojos, gracias por apoyarnos en todo momento, brindemos por eso, SALUD!
To all of our friends:
Travis, Carrie, Mike, Erin, Holly, Anthony, Jason, Kristy, Russel, Paul, Ahmed, Joe, Ruth and Greg, thank you, it was an honor to have you with me. A todos nuestros amigos que nos acompañaron:
Travis, Carrie, Mike, Erin, Holly, Anthony, Jason, Kristy, Russel, Paul, Ahmed, Joe, Ruth, Greg, gracias, fué un honor tenerlos conmigo.
John, I’m a big Cruz Tequila fan, thanks for the support! John, soy fan de Cruz Tequila! gracias por apoyarnos!
To all of those that shared a moment of your time with me during the event, to those who couldn’t be here but left me messages of support and love through Facebook and Twitter, thank you for the good vibrations and good wishes. A todas las personas con las que tuve el placer de platicar durante el evento, a todas aquellas personas que por encontrarse lejos de aquí no pudieron ir pero que me mandaron mensajes por Facebook y Twitter, gracias por sus buenas vibras y buenos deseos.
To my family, Mom, Dad, Pedro, Marcos, Rossi and Lissa, I know that you would have loved to be here but for different reasons you couldn’t....Sara, I was incredibly happy to have you by my side as a representant of the rest, I love you. A mi familia, mamá, papá, Pedro, Marcos, Rossi, Lissa, que se les hubiera encantado acompañarme pero por distintas razones no pudieron venir, Sara, fuí feliz al tenerte a mi lado como representante de los demás, los amo.
To Daniela’s parents – Tila and Gabriel, thank you for believing and trusting us, for being there, for letting us live our dreams and for lifting us when we have needed a push, thank you.
A la papás de Daniela, Tila y Gabriel, gracias infinitamente por creer y confiar en nosotros, gracias por estar ahi, gracias por dejarnos vivir nuestros sueños y por empujarnos cuando lo hemos necesitado, gracias.
Daniela, without you nothing, for you everything. Ready for the next? Daniela, sin ti nada, por ti todo. Lista para lo que sigue?
And last but never the least, to God, for letting me live and letting me see, for letting me feel and for putting all this wonderful persons in my way, as they are now a part of my life. I don’t know what have I done to deserve this but I will try to compensate for what You have given me by being a better human being everyday. Y por último pero no menos importante, a Dios, por permitirme vivir, por permitirme ver, por permitirme sentir, por haber puesto en mi camino a todas estas maravillosas personas que ahora forman parte de mi vida, no se que he hecho para merecer esto, pero seguiré intentando compensar todo lo que me ha dado siendo mejor ser humano cada día.
A couple of days ago I had the pleasure to be at Juanjo’s studio and being able to see the first printed versions of the 43 photographs that are a part of “Town of Clouds”. I am speechless, WWOOOWWWW, in spite of living with these photos for almost a year, and have been seeing them over and over again, working with them, the printed version is an indescribable feeling. It is inevitable to smile when I see them. For those who are photographers like me, I think you know what I mean.
Juanjo, I do not care if the popular saying is that LA or NY has the best printers, you are the best. Trust me, he is the guy. garciajuanjos@hotmail.com
Hace un par de días estuve en el taller del gran Juanjo viendo las primeras impresiones de lo que serán las 43 fotografías que componen la serie El Pueblo de las Nubes. No tengo mas palabras que decir WWOOOWWWWW, a pesar que he vivido con estas fotografías por casi un año, tiempo en el cuál las he visto una y otra vez, trabajado en cada una de ellas, verlas impresas es una emoción indescriptible, es inevitable dejar de sonreir al verlas, para quienes son fotógrafos creo que saben perfectamente lo que hablo.
Juanjo, me vale madres si dicen que en LA o NY están los mejores impresores de fotografía, tu eres el bueno mi estimado. Creeanme, este bato es el bueno.garciajuanjos@hotmail.com
During my last trip to Mexico I took my time to start a new series that is entitled "This is Mexico". For those who are not Mexicans it will be easy to recognize the Mexican charro figure, one of our most characteristic of our Mexican history. For those who are Mexicans, you won't let me lie, seeing a charro not only makes us proud of our history and traditions but also makes us remember of a Mexico we remember and sometimes miss. In this difficult times were we seem to be hurt by death, it is good to remember our brave nature and that courage makes us strong against any enemy that stands before us. Animo Mexicans! This is Mexico!
Durante mi último viaje a México, aproveché para comenzar una nueva serie que se titula "Esto es México". Para quiénes no son mexicanos les será fácil reconocer la figura del charro mexicano, uno de nuestros personajes mas emblemáticos en la historia de México. Para quienes somos mexicanos no me dejarán mentir, al ver la figura del charro nos hace sentirnos orgullosos de nuestras raices y tradiciones, del México que tanto queremos y que a la vez tanto extrañamos. En estos tiempos difíciles donde parece que estamos heridos de muerte, es bueno recordar que nuestra naturaleza bravía y valiente es mucho mas grande que cualquier adversidad o enemigo que se nos ponga enfrente. Ánimo Mexicanos! Esto si es México!
I woke up today with the wish of photographing my breakfast. I love Corn Flakes, it is normal that I have a full bowl of them in the morning or as a snack in the afternoon. So, I thought of this and had the perfect excuse to show something a little bit different of Corn Flakes, something that I love.
The execution was the following; I took a piece of a paper grocery bag and made a ball with it. Carefully, I used silicon to place the Corn Flakes into the paper. I then placed the spoon in a small flagpole I had laying around and did a couple of tests. I then dripped the milk on top of the Corn Flakes ball. ISO 400, F9, 1/1000, 2 SB900 at ½ and 1/8 and ready.
Let’s eat!
Hoy amanecí con el deseo de fotografiar mi desayuno, me encantan los Corn Flakes, es normal que coma eso por las mañanas, o por las tardes, así que una buena excusa para mostrar algo mas de mis gustos de una manera diferente.
La mecánica fue la siguiente, tomé un pedazo de cartón de una bolsa de supermercado, la hice bola, le puse cinta scotch al rededor, y con una pistola de silicon comencé a pegarle uno por uno los Corn Flakes, incrusté la cuchara y un soporte de una pequeña bandera que tenía por ahi arrumbada, hice un par de pruebas antes de proseguir a vaciar la leche encima de mi bola de corn flakes, ISO 400, F9, 1/1000, dos SB900 a 1/2 - 1/8 y listo.
After a few weeks fully scheduled and almost 9 hours of road from Austin to Amarillo TX, I had the pleasure to shared what I have learned in my career as a photographer with an incredible group of people. This I can assure has been one of the greatest personal and professional satisfactions in my life. Thanks to Brent and Vicky for inviting Daniela and I to be a part of this. Thanks to everyone who assisted to the lecture on Thursday night and being patience with me. I hope you had enjoyed it as I did. Thanks to those who assisted to the workshop on Friday morning. I'm sure that soon I'll see your photographs in magazines, billboards, menus and other types of media that requires a good photograph.
Farewell Amarillo!
Después de un par de semanas llenas de trabajo y casi 9 horas de camino desde Austin hasta Amarillo TX tuve el placer de compartir con un maravilloso grupo de personas lo poco que he aprendido en mi carrera como fotógrafo, y puedo asegurar que ha sido una de mis mas grandes satisfacciones personales y profesionales en la vida. Gracias a Brent y Vicky por habernos invitado a Daniela y a mi. Gracias a todos los que asistieron a la conferencia el día jueves y por haberme tenido paciencia, espero la hayan disfrutado como la disfruté yo. Gracias también a quién nos acompañaron en la sesión práctica de fotografía el día viernes, estoy seguro que pronto podré ver las fotografías de muchos de ellos en revistas, anuncios, carteleras, menus y todo aquel medio que requiera de una buena fotografía.
I have said before and I say it again, I´m not a social photographer, I do not shoot weddings, Sweet 16, Photo Booth or any other type of social photography. I do respect who does it, it is extraordinary to be able to capture moments of happiness of other people, but I DO NOT LIKE IT. I have done it in very very very special occasion because I can (and I have enjoyed it). As I have with MariaJose.
If there is something I can admire in this world is the love of a mother for her children. In my case (and I do not doubt it at all) I have the best mother of the world (sorry fellas, I have it!). MariaJose is a young lady of 19 years old, pretty, noble who has a whole life in front of her. In a month her baby will be born, and I´m sure that his son will see the love, strength and bravery that only a single mom can have. Maybe trough time you won´t remember my name, or where I´m from or where I´we been, but I don´t care. I will be part of the story, of their story, of a true love story, and my photographs will live for many many years.
Ya lo he dicho antes y lo repito, no soy fotógrafo social, no hago bodas, quinceaños, photo booth, o cualquier otra ramificación de la fotografía social, respeto mucho a quién lo hace, es extraordinario poder captar momentos felices e importantes de otras personas pero a mi, NO ME GUSTA. Solo en ocasiones muy muy muy especiales lo he hecho y lo puedo hacer (y lo disfruto demasiado), como es con MariaJose.
Si hay algo que pueda admirar en este mundo es el amor de una madre por sus hijos, en mi caso (y no lo dudo ni por un instante) tengo a la mejor mamá del mundo (lo siento amigos, la tengo yo!). MariaJose es una chava de 19 años, linda, noble y quién tiene toda una vida por delante, en un mes nacerá su bebé, y estoy seguro que su hijo verá en ella el amor, fuerza y valentía que solo las madres solteras pueden tener. Tal vez con el tiempo no recuerden mi nombre, ni de donde era ni a donde fuí, pero no importa, seré parte de la historia, de su historia, de una historia de amor verdadero, y mi fotografía vivirá por muchos, muchos años.
I had the great opportunity to be chosen for my first SXSW experience to create a series of portraits of the many different people during the days that SXSW music festival went on. For those who have never had the chance to be in a SXSW festival, I must tell you that this I recommend you do this must go into your bucket list. The energy that gets you is unique. The bands and the musicians start playing from 12 pm til late am, and the famous 6th street is closed to pedestrians so they can enjoy bars and restaurants from I-35 to Congress. The music gets you and it is easy to go with the flow. You meet music celebrities, movie and TV stars and it is as easy to get to meet them as any regular person. Free drinks, VIP events make this experience a regenerating experience turning aging into something that will not happen soon. This is the Music Capital of the World. This is Austin. This is SXSW.
Tuve la fortuna de ser elegido en mi primera experiencia SXSW para crear una serie de retratos de diferentes personalidades durante los días del festival de música. Para quienes nunca hayan tenido la oportunidad de estar en un SXSW definitivamente es de las cosas que uno no puede dejar de hacer al menos una vez en la vida, la energía que ahi se vive es única e inigualable. Las bandas y músicos empiezan a tocar desde medio día hasta altas horas de la madrugada, la famosa calle 6 llena de bares y restaurantes es cerrada desde la altura de la carretera interestatal 35 hasta la calle del Congreso, la música te envuelve tanto en los bares como en la calle, celebridades de la música, cine y TV es fácil encontrarlas en cada esquina como cualquier persona normal, bebidas gratis, eventos VIP, es inevitable no rejuvenecer, pues esto es la Capital de la Música en Vivo del mundo, esto es Austin, esto es SXSW.
After a few weeks fully scheduled and almost 9 hours of road from Austin to Amarillo TX, I had the pleasure to shared what I have learned in my career as a photographer with an incredible group of people. This I can assure has been one of the greatest personal and professional satisfactions in my life. Thanks to Brent and Vicky for inviting Daniela and I to be a part of this. Thanks to everyone who assisted to the lecture on Thursday night and being patience with me. I hope you had enjoyed it as I did. Thanks to those who assisted to the workshop on Friday morning. I'm sure that soon I'll see your photographs in magazines, billboards, menus and other types of media that requires a good photograph.
