Biography
Im a bi-cultural photographer, born in Mexico City and raised in NY and Mexico City. Growing in such diverse cultures has given me a unique point of view on life and how I understand it.
I specialized in Commercial food Photography, and I have been living in NYC for 6 years now as a freelance photographer as well as a freelance digital tech.
Photography has not only become my way of life, it's also what I use to express myself, it's my main outlet of creativity and storytelling.
Every photograph I take is an extension of me, it's something that I am trying to express, and that is even truer for my personal projects, like this "Quarantine Project".
Quarantine Project
This project was created thanks to Covid-19 and the conversations of experiences that I had with the people closest to me during this trying time. This project helped me stay motivated and with the hope that one day this pandemic will also end and I will be able to once again go out and take pictures in person.
My thought was that no one was really talking about the mental and physical challenges that the pandemic and quarantine were causing. In social media we saw many people posting their “zoom reunions” with friends, games played with family on the “house party” app. But no one was really focusing on the alone moments, the silent moments at home,either alone or with a partner or with family. These moments for me personally were and still are the most challenging and also the most rewarding. This quarantine has forced us to feel all of our feelings all the time.
These are audio and visual testimonies of what and how people have been dealing and living through covid-19’s confinement. They are all living different situations, all from different parts of the world, all from different backgrounds.
Through out these portrait sessions I was able to witness the beauty of ordinary moments of peoples lives, watching them read, make breakfast, workout, work from home, take care of their family and all while we had conversations about how they have been feeling through all of this. I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity of capturing intimate and beautiful moments of self-refection, acceptance, fear, anxiety, gratitude and hope all at once; and expressed in every participant’s unique way. This project helped me with my own introspection and helped the participants as well, to find a bigger meaning to our collective experience of the pandemic.
I hope you find something here that helps you get through your quarantine...or at the very least, help you not to feel alone.
(Video 1) Sofia Quarantine from Madrid.
"Sometimes I forget that this confinement is caused by an exterior reason and is not being a decision that I am making.
There are days when I feel very good...there are days when anxiety paralyzes me, anger pours out of me and I think Im discovering new emotions and a new array of feelings in my body as well.
Theres another part of me that likes teh activities that Ive been discovering and sharing, the meditations that help me be in contact with my loved ones.
I feel myself...missing...and with nostalgia towards my plants and my home. Im in a home that I did not build, but Im slowly turning it into mine and I like to see the capacity of resilience and adaptation that exists."
(Video 2) Carolina Quarantine from Mexico City
"Pausing life is not a strange thing for me, Ive had to pause many times in my life...
This time I am calm...Ive had lots of pain, Ive been sad sometimes, but...strangely Ive been calm, because everything is stopped, in a way I don't feel alone, I feel accompanied and almost every time that Im sick I feel alone...and sometimes a burden and I don't like it...
I want to go out again I want to do things but... I know that reality is going to change and its a matter of patience... thats not really my strength but... Im still practicing it..."
(Video 3) Megan Quarantine from Mexico City
"Me he estado sintiendo...muy agradecida por todo lo que me rodea y algo que mi mama siempre nos enseño que hicieramos fue que si nos sentiamos aburridos con algo, que busquemos algo que nos entretenga...busquen algo que les entretenga.
Y esto me regresa a cuando estabamos chicos y no teniamos la tele o la luz se apagaba muy seguido. Siento que he regresado a esos tiempos...a entretenerme.
He estado leyendo, he estado bordando es algo que recientemente descubri que me relaja mucho.
He estado ayudandole a mi mama a hornear pan, cocinar, limpiar un poco la casa...He estado haciendo mascaras para los vecinos, no tengo mucho material porque las tiendas estan cerradas.
Estoy cuidando el huerto, de vez en cuando jugar nintendo...ver una pelicula.. a veces acuarelas y eso es lo que estoy haciendo...entretenerme.
(Video 4) Constanza Quarantine from Verona Italy.
"I have ideas and projects on pause. In the last few days I have been living on memories and hope.
I have adjusted pretty well to quarantine...but I have also had mental breakdowns...Its not the first time that my life stops in uncertainty, those other times was different and a lot harder, because it was my body that asked for that pause...almost like a truce to be able to move forward.
In the beginning of this time, I began doing things that I had put off for a long time with the excuse of not having time, now Ive realized that most of the time its not the lack of time that stops you from being productive, but the bad organization and obviously laziness as well.
I try to keep myself occupied as much as I can to prevent anxiety from taking over and blocking me mentally.
My anxiety attacks intensified during this quarantine because as soon as I stop my productivity, I feel like im wasting my life.
We cant go outside, so maybe this moments is for us to go inside ourselves and change the way we think, the way we speak to our selfs, to be kinder with our thoughts and be able to flow with life with more harmony...at least thats how Ive been taking this very particular moment."
(Video 5) Adri Quarantine from Switzerland
"I never imagined living my pregnancy in a situation like this...
Ive been through many moments...in the beginning I was very scared and I didn't want to hear the news or social media or even read anything, because I knew it was bad for me, sometimes I felt like I couldn't breath...
So I tried to put it behind me..start to eat healthier, I began to meditate more, move my body more and it helped.
I realize that feeling this baby inside me, this life...it fills me with so much hope and thats what also had me very worried.
I feel more confident as time passes and I also think that I am very fortunate to be living this moment with the person that I love, with my partner being full of love.
Sometime we both agree that we don't want this to end but on the other hand when this baby comes I want to be able to go outside and hug the people that I love and I want to move with more freedom, kind of like before...but different."
(Video 6) Dani Quarantine from Tulum
"Social distancing has given me the opportunity to reconnect with my inner world...Its not something strange to me, becasue I am the kind of person that enjoys solitude and space.
I usually work from home, Im very used to spending time at home, but Im also the kind of person that really enjoys socializing, being in nature and activities outside.
These are things that I miss a bit but it hasn't really been a big deal for me because Ive chosen to take advantage of this time at home and in solitude to restart projects that Ive been procrastinating for some time now, or even learn and start new activities that I have fun with, that challenge me, that make me feel good.
Its been hard at times because my mind takes over and it can be very tricky, but Ive learned to give it the right amount of time, to listen to it and then let it go, not letting it win me over and to try to maintain myself productive and optimistic.
Its been a very interesting time...its not perfect...but its a necessary one."
(Video 7) Pedro Quarantine from Sweden
El 2020 y covid 19 han sido frustrantes para mi, estoy seguro que es igual para mucha gente pero me he sentido tan frustrado y cansado de ver a la gente reaccionar y no reaccionar.
Ha sido una crisis y nos han forzado a estar dentro de nuestros hogares, en mi caso vivo solo. Y esta distancia es probablemente la razon mas grande de porque me siento como me siento.
Estoy lejos de todos mis amigos y toda mi familia y para la mayoria la distancia no es solo fisico pero tambien temporal. Estoy a 7hrs de distancia de mis amigos... Y esto ha sido molesto, pero ha podido acercarnos mas, ese ha sido la bendicion de covid. Y es algo que estoy seguro todo el mundo necesitara.
Espero que todos puedan ser tan bendecidos como yo, con amigos que me tienen cariño y familia que me ama, porque es la unica cosa que me ha ayudado a mi a seguir adelante.
(Video 8) Tatiana from Colombia
"Quarantine has been hard to live, the first day I cried and day and had no energy to do anything, there are days when I feel very overwhelmed with work because I have so much to do, planning my clases and deal with everything that teaching remotely implies and all the limitations that my students have.
Being a mom 24hrs a day, 7 days a week, even tho I love my daughter, sometimes its hard to be able to keep her busy, she gets bored, she cant go out, she cant play and I would love to be able to dedicate all my time to her but even if I am home I cant do it because of work. It can be hard...But I think we are getting out of all those feelings and we are trying to do our best to be our best during quarantine and seeing the future with even more hope, seeing that there are opportunities and dreams that for now they are paused or there are a lot of doubts but...we hope we can live them either by the en of this year or in 2021, we still have hope and we are still dreaming and I think thats very beautiful."
(Video 9) Ana Alcocer Quarantine from Torino, Italy
"Well.. Ive learned how to live in uncertainty and with anxiety.
Where my plans dont have a place anymore and dreams get taken over by nightmares,a lot of nightmares.
Where you learn how to live with yourself and your home becomes your body and your mind.
My blood family is so far away from me, this is when Ive truly learned to walk, advance, explore my sensuality, my womanhood. Ive learned to love my body like never before...to appreciate a good cup of coffee on our terrace with people that I have decided are my family and I truly love them.
Reading books that Ive had on hold, and not forgetting that even though Im here because I came to study at a circus school...Im here to grow...to grow as an artist as a person..but mainly and I remind myself every time I go out on stage...Im here to grow as a human..to be everyday... more human.
(Video 10) Arturo Quarantine from Mexico City
"Its both strange and ordinary, its ugly its beautiful, there's chaos and peace...everything is different yet routine is the pattern.
To be at home all day with no one but yourself to deal with, face to face with yourself. And at the end of the day.. this is life..its essence its unchanged...we gave a step out of the ordinary maybe, but we are still the same, we are still who we are, there is no reason to change the things we like about ourselves and there's always a reason to change the things we don't... so this is a really special moment in time... the earth breaths while we wait....It is what it is...and there is where I think one finds peace, change the things you can and let go of the things you cannot... I've loved every moment of this time just like every moment of every other time.
Fear and anxiety can be a constant today but... they have always been constant, present.
And the beauty of it is that... so are love and peace, same as today as it has always been.
(Video 11) Nanya Quarantine from Maldives
Life is strange you know? I was supposed to be in one place doing one things and instead Im in the exact oppposite place to where I thought I would be. So Im intensley missing my life with my fiance, Arturo- being with himand our puppy in our home is everything that centers and grounds me, and I really miss that in my core.
Im feeling incredibly lucky and grateful to be safe and with my family- this time is so precious because I live so far away the rest of the year.
Routines are another thing that ground me when things around me are changing, and I have found ways to build the same routines here - setting a large pot of tea in the morning, meditating and working out, cooking, reading and spending lots of time with the family.
Im making time to work on my creative projects - some with my sister, some with Arturo over distance, some by myself. I've been writing a lot.
I'm thinking a lot about myself and my place in my culture and the world, trying to untangle emotional patterns and see how I can be more open and gracious in the world.
At the end of the day, I think life is fluid and that's what makes it beautiful. Mostly, I'm trying to find my balance.
(video 12) Brenda and Andre Quarantine from Mexico City.
I feel like you and I are like war partners you know?
That our relationship isn't static and that we have accompanied each other in hard moments so... being together during confinement or this pandemic...i'm not scared.. I feel like its common with us.
That's true, we spent about a year and a half at a distance, we couldnt see eachother or touch each other and now... being 24/7 in a small confined space has also been very interesting.
Yeah exactly.. I'm afraid of what's gonna happen after, in the outside world but... I feel very happy to know you are here, you are a great life partner, war partner... and I feel like we have found ourselves, no matter what we always find eachother.
And not only that, but I think its also part of developing a resilient survival instinct against adversity and against all the elements that come towards us day by day...this time it was a pandemic but maybe in the future it could be... I don't know, the world..
But while we are here, I think we can do it... I think so too.
(Video 13) Michaela Quarantine from Leeds, UK.
"For me personally, this was and still is the most peaceful and calm period I have ever experienced in my life. Through this global situation which happened to us all, an absolute stillness entered my life or my existence, which I too have never had a chance to experience before.
But I think, or at least it occurred to me like this, that my soul really wanted to experience this slowness and like this pure state of being for a very long time. Or that it really yearned for this complete stillness which at least for me happened during these days. Also what has been an incredible experience for me is this tenderness and softness, this peacefulness entering my life too through the stillness, and with which I have been spending every day during the last couple of weeks. I have been drinking from this softness and tenderness every day and I cannot get enough of these feelings. These tender and some sort of other type of feelings, which maybe we felt before too, but we were never aware enough of them. And because of all the other things around us, the noise and various other impacts which occupied our consciousness we were not quite able to acknowledge and to be present with these soft sensations."
(Video 14) Fera Quarantine from Mexico
”Since a little bit over a year ago, we decided to move from Mexico City to a little town immersed in nature and with out a doubt this decision has helped us live this confinement in a much more calm and peaceful way, especially living all this with our little 2 year old.
On the other hand this confinement has made me live and take advantage of my daughter as an only child, in a very special, profound connection.
Enjoying ourselves in every moment and valuing and understanding and practicing the importance of being completely present with her.
And concerning my pregnancy and the arrival of my second baby , this confinement has made us take decisions that we would not have taken before, like having a home birth.
Honestly this makes me feel very ... nervous but also very fortunate to be able to take new decisions and new paths and new adventures that with out a doubt they will teach me more lessons then what this confinement has already taught me.”
(Video 15) Ana Belen Quarantine from Mexico
“Acceptance...Today Im accepting... Im accepting my body, my emotions... I accept what Im living.. I accept my thoughts... I accept that.. sometimes its easy to let go and question some thoughts and sometimes they come back again and again.
I accept that its really hard for me to accept my body.. sometimes I demand a lot. Sometimes I test it... I judge it..
and these days have helped me to reconnect with my body, to heal.. to love it to take care of it, to hug it.
I accept that I love movement, I love being in constant movement and these days... Ive had to stop.
I also love to stop, I enjoy being with myself... and to accept the simpleness, accept that I don't need anything else and to accept that everything ends... this to shall end... so I enjoy it.“
(Video 16) Azhar Quarantine from Kazakhastan
“Ive gone through many rejections since this year began..yet I still had plenty control over failures, I had chances to make changes.
This time unfortunately is different with this quarantine..we are very limited in choices.
Following the news became my habit which makes me very upset with all the mood swings I have been experiencing.
At the same time I can feel angry and anxious. I can feel appreciation and fear and jealousy, pain and love and all at the same time. Im learning to handle them instead of avoiding them.
Thats why I started to do sports and music more regularly and I spend time experimenting in the kitchen and learning the language and its very important to me because Ive been seeing a lot of little results that really make me feel... more into it.And by seeing all these results I feel more driven into it and Im enjoying what Im doing.
At the same time I really miss, physical contact with people that I love and its different when you are in distance, you always have to use social networks and you always need ro charge your phone or the traffic thats finishing and its been... a very difficult time for me because Im not a... very good friend of technology.
But of course I know its all temporary and I really cant wait to start talking about these moments in remembrance and with a smile.”
(Video 17) Cesar and Ricky Quarantine
Cesar: I feel like this time I have relied a lot in communication with everyone, and Ive had to spend a lot of time doing that, and...it has been really interesting to keep up with my personal relationship as a couple, because we are too close and at the same time too far.. Ricky: Right, living in the same city but not being able to see each other when ever you want, and even if you do see each other, keeping your distance. At the beginning it was difficult to interact with each other, because we didn't want to... you know.. hurt each other or hurt someone else, but its definitely been a positive thing as well.
Cesar: I guess that first time when I saw you, that was actually our anniversary, it just felt awkward, even getting close and not being able to hug you or to give you a kiss but..I guess this will pass, this will improve and we are just gonna get better.
Ricky: yeah and we will be able to understand the distance and be stronger for it.
(Video 18) Anais and Pam Quarantine
“Anaís: Being with Pam during quarantine has helped me a lot to have a routine, Pam is very disciplined and I like that a lot about her, but its also pulled me to being well... maybe not the last few days but it has during these last months.
Theres something that we always do together and thats breakfast, its a very nutritious breakfast because it has spinach, tomato, mushrooms, egg whites and one whole egg, it also has potato sometimes.
We like to do movie night, when quarantine started we were very coordinated about it and consecutive but, now we are running out of movies to watch... in case you want to recommend one to us.
Do you have anything to say?...
Pam: what she said.”
(Video 19) Mackenzie Quarantine
“We are living in a bubble, I guess everyone is living in a bubble right now...but we have this unit of a mom a dad a baby and a dog in a house with a yard and... we’re existing here with a lot of privilege, during the pandemic.
Jason and I are both able to work from home and... we haven't experienced much financial loss due to covid 19.
Parenting a toddler while working from home full time is... a lot, but I don't really feel like theres any room to complain about that given the state of the world right now.
Im really grateful that we have what we do and I hope that I can continue to try to find ways to help people in our community that are not so fortunate.“
(Video 20) Ceci Quarantine
“Ive always been very visual, I like to understand the world with images.
The way I understand quarantine is by equating it to the ocean.
When you are there floating with out time, direction or a plan, and I simply woke up there one day.
I think many things, the first is that I am fortunate to know how to float and swim, of course I think of those that don't know how...but some how I need all of my energy to take care of myself, so that I can turn around and see the people around me.
Being in the ocean for me can mean to sometimes float and enjoy it, but sometimes the ocean gets rough and out of control and I need to breath and stay calm.
Once I realize that Im not alone I get really happy and at the same time sad, because Ive always had that essence of giving, to take care of others even before myself.
And every day during quarantine Ive been struggling with it. There are moments when everything seems completely calm, my own mind creates a seaquake and I loose sight of the horizon.
I am grateful for this plunge that has allowed me to see who I am, what strengths I have and also how fragile I am. Always with very thin skin but a very strong soul.”