Valparaíso

As the road from Santiago enters its last turn, rows of colorful houses sitting on the hillside pass before my eyes. Valparaíso, at last.

I never imagined I would live in Chile one day, it is a stroke of luck, an incredible adventure. Anyone who has been to Valparaíso will understand the siren call of the port, the invitation to rest a moment on its shores. The poetry I saw in Sergio Larraín's images is there, intact. Wedged between land and sea, Valparaíso has a particular aura. It is a city of mysteries and contradictions, filled with beauty and shadows, injustice and solidarity, calm and storms. A true collage. Wandering its streets, I found improvised choreographies, full of life, and moments of tranquility. I saw unexpected situations and others imbued with a gentle everydayness. I turned my eyes towards the horizon, and closer, to its people, its stray animals and, thanks to these encounters, to myself.

By photographing in black and white, I want to remove Valparaíso from the here and now, take a step aside, ask questions and suspend the answers. While firmly anchored in everyday life, my images are a tightrope between the world I see and the one I would like to present, to imagine. It is a matter of always keeping the balance—wonderful in its fragility—step by step, image by image.