WORKSHOP AT GUADALUPE

Cuando era fotoperiodista en 2015, tuve que cubrir para un sitio de noticias local la historia de Guadalupe, un pequeño pueblo en la frontera con Tornillo Texas, ya que el gobierno estatal había pintado las casas abandonadas de colores intentando maquillar el abandono y la gran violencia que atañe al municipio. Desde entonces he querido aportar algo a Guadalupe que es uno de los poblados con mayor número de población adolescentes del Valle de Juárez.

Me acerqué al director de la preparatoria local Lorenzo Tarango Méndez del Cobach 23 y con mucho entusiasmo acepto mi propuesta y nos brindó el espacio y equipamiento necesario.

La estrategia en esta escuela fue solicitar al director que enviara al taller a jóvenes que tuvieran dificultades con el comportamiento, calificaciones o ansiedad social además de quienes quisieran suscribirse.

La metodología del taller incluyó fotografiar la vida cotidiana, el hogar, los amigos, la familia, las actividades económicas, el paisaje y autorretratos para practicar las funciones básicas de la cámara. Hicimos ejercicios de expresión y manejo de emociones, caminatas y nos incorporamos a actividades culturales de la comunidad como el CultuFest que se lleva a cabo cada ano en distintos poblados del Valle de Juárez.  De esta manera pude brindar una guía para adquirir imágenes significativas que ejemplifiquen la vida y la resiliencia en el Valle de Juárez.




When I was a photojournalist in 2015, I had to cover for a local news site the story of Guadalupe, a small town on the border with Tornillo Texas, since the state government had painted the abandoned houses of many colors, but what lied behind was abandonment and great violence. Ever since I have wanted to contribute something to Guadalupe, a town that has suffered greatly in the last years and whose community has the biggest teenager population in the Valley of Juarez.

I approached the local high school principal Lorenzo Tarango Méndez of Cobach 23 and with great enthusiasm received my proposal and provided allocation and equipment necessary. The strategy was to request the principal to send to the workshop kids who were struggling with behavior, grades, or social anxiety plus whoever wanted to subscribe.
The strategy at this school was to ask the principal to send youth who had difficulties with behavior, grades, or social anxiety to the workshop in addition to those who wanted to sign up.

The workshop methodology included photographing everyday life, home, friends, family, economic activities, landscape, and self-portraits to practice the basic functions of the camera. We did exercises for expression and management of emotions, walks and we joined cultural activities in the community such as the CultuFest that takes place every year in different towns in the Juárez Valley. In this way I was able to provide a guide to acquiring meaningful images that exemplify life and resilience in the Juárez Valley.