Photography
“We are not Colombian, we’re African”
Portraits of Palenque, Colombia
San Basilio de Palenque, Colombia, was created by slaves who had escaped their captors. In 1961 it became the first free African town in all of the Americas, issued by a Royal Decree. It guaranteed the freedom of the towns residents on the condition that they stopped freeing new slaves coming into port in the nearby Cartegena.
It is now the only place in South America to speak it’s own Spanish-based creole language. Should you ask a resident, they always reply passionately, ‘No somos Colombianos, somos Africanos’. Founder Frances Freeman lived in Palenque, documenting the town and the strong sense of African identity held within it.
Portraits of Mompos, Colombia
Mompós, Colombia is the town that time forgot. A thriving trading post a century ago, as silt and debris built up on the river larger boats stopped taking the route past Mompós and it became a city forgotten by both Colombia, and the world.
Mompós was the inspiration for Gabriel Márquez’s book, One Hundred Years of Solitude. And quite rightly so. This is a sleepy town, where horse and cart is still a main source of transportation.The locals, living in huge old colonial buildings now vacant are warm and friendly, with a sense of local pride and happy to take life at a slow, meditative pace.
Vietnamese New Year
During February 2019, I was honored to spend the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, or Tet Holiday, in Vietnam with the 4 generations of the extended Cao family. Translating as the “Feast of the First Morning of the First Day”, Tet Festival is the most important celebration in Vietnamese culture. Families get together to drink tea, give the gift of money for good luck in the new year, visit their local Buddist temple and prepare a special meal.
Vietnam holds a very warm and welcoming, family orientated culture that I tried to capture for this photo series. With thanks to the Cao family.
Final Selection
