Who I Am.

I’m a Colombian photographer, filmmaker, storyteller, and author of the photo book We Belong based in the US, I have spent a decade capturing content and helping form supply chain narratives for different coffee farm-level projects throughout Latin America for some of the world’s leading coffee companies. As I am one of the few photographers specializing in coffee, it may very well be that the next photo of a farmer you see on your package of coffee was captured by me.

Tell us in your own words why you do what you do, keep this positive and relevant including the passion and vision you had to live this new life you have created for yourself.

I’d say what I do is create bridges to translate tough topics, find the places that tie us together as humans, and ultimately share my vision, and my experience in this world to connect at a universal and intimate level with my audience. And how do I do this? I’ve spent 10 years as a coffee storyteller and most recently I embarked on publishing my first book We Belong: An. Anthology of Colombian Women Coffee Farmers and pickers, and through this physical legacy I hope to forge a movement to make the invisible VISIBLE!!

What was it that prompted the change in your journey?

In my 10 years working in coffee, I constantly felt like an outsider, continuously looking for my place and voice within the industry. I got the impression that, as a photographer and filmmaker specializing in coffee, I would not be granted the key to open the door to belonging in the coffee industry. One day in 2019, while flipping through my portfolio, it dawned on me: there was not a single photo or video where a woman coffee farmer was the protagonist. When a woman did appear, it was almost always in family portraits. Right then, I became aware of how invisible and underrepresented women were and still are in the industry. So, if I wanted a voice in the industry, and to help female coffee farmers find their voice, I figured why not try to do something about it? I’ve always believed the most effective way to make a difference and shine a light onto an issue is to create from your own craft or expertise, in my case: photography. Thus, at the end of 2019, I decided to embark on the project “We Belong”. I had to pause this project for a year due to the pandemic but re-started it in mid-2021 and it has been the most remarkable professional and artistic experience of my career so far. “We Belong: An Anthology of Colombian Women Coffee Farmers” is my debut photography book. It is an artistic declaration, a tangible record, that I hope prompts further discussions and shifts in the existing paradigm of Colombian women coffee producers. Across the 196 pages, you would find a collection of intimate photography accompanied by short vignettes that unveil the life stories of 25 Colombian women coffee farmers. Through my lens, I explored their lives with a human approach, breaking down the common depiction of female coffee producers as women toiling in coffee fields and vividly revealing each woman’s unique story. Ultimately, the goal is to lift their voices and allow readers to better see the broad and glorious spectrum of their life experiences.