Lugares

My Photo scholarship 2010 entry

Colombia | Wednesday, September 22, 2010 | 3 photos

Taganga used to be a small town of fishermen localized on the northern Colombian coasts, along the Caribbean Sea. Due to its gorgeous sights, beaches, and sea, it has become very popular among foreign tourists causing it to grow.

Since its increase in popularity, the main beaches of Taganga now receive more tourists than ever, causing fishermen to move to new beaches along the coast where they can further develop their activity.

When I was there I was leaving behind my career in International Relations and making my first steps in photography. Now I continue on the same path, developing my capacity of observation, and communicating myself through images.

A an hour of exploring Taganga's deserted beaches, I found a small beach between the rocky and dry slopes of the coast. As I went down to the small beach, I found that there was a small group of old native fishermen who were preparing themselves to fish with their net just before sunset.

Interested on what they were doing and trying to figure out how they fished in the old and traditional way, I sat down and observed them. But what other better way of observing than taking photos! Taking advantage of the light conditions and the situation I took some shots with my camera until the sun allowed me.

A month later I was in Buenos Aires, where a I could develop the film and I could look at these photos with renewed eyes and in another context. I felt nostalgic about not being there anymore, and glad for having had the chance of enjoying and sharing small parts of the daily life of the local people in Taganga. It was a cultural feedback full of tradition and intimacy with a part of a community that everyday tends to disappear in a world of wild globalization and capitalism.