In 2012 I started hiking Qayaqpuma, amazed by its rock paintings, and its steep rocks.
This served me as a way to learn photography and eventually, to develop some sort of personal style.
Sheltering thousands of rock paintings, many pre Inca structures and one of the oldest circular squares in the region, it is one of the most important archaeological spaces in Cajamarca.
While documenting the mountain, I got to meet Alfredo Mires, who had been investigating Qayaqpuma for more than 30 years and also ran la "Red de Biliotecas Rurales de Cajamarca", organization that has been compiling oral tradition for over 50 years.
I also met José Rodríguez and family, who were protecting the part of the mountain close to their land.
Abandoned by local authorities, Qayaqpuma has been affected by looting, trash and the pass of time.
Developed between 2012 and 2016, this series were shown in Lima, Arequipa, Cajamarca and Shanghai and finally in Shaullo Chico, one of the communities at the slopes of the mountain. This was a great way to get to know more people besides the Rodríguez family.
In 2017 I managed to self publish a photobook, however due to health issues I was forced to stop for some time. If you want to see the photobook, please click here
Even though this project brought many joys to my life, I felt that I had "satisfied my ego" but now I needed to do something tangible, so during the pandemics, after almost 4 years with a group of friends, we started designing a "Community Project" which we later shared with the community. This process was full of learning, as we realized, there was much we didn't know about the reality. Slow but constant, this project has strengthened the community. To know more, please click here or here
While walking through Qayaqpuma, I asked Alfredo Mires to teach me how to make an offering to the earth. He told me he would introduce me to José Isabel Ayay. We met in March 2014.
José Isabel is from Chilimpampa, Porcón, a peasant community located next to the Yanacocha mine, one of the most important mines in the country.
A Quechua speaker, knowledgeable about herbs, a health agent, guardian of seeds, artist, photographer, radio broadcaster, collector, and naturally curious. José Isabel is an encyclopedia that never stops walking. In one of the many conversations we had, José Isabel asked me to help him make a herbarium, difficult task that we undertook.
In 2022 we were selected for E/CO by Vist Projects (as a collective along with Sandra Rodríguez and Leslie Searles), and later in 2023 we received the VER VOIR award which will cover the cost for the printing of a photobook that will include the herbarium, aswell as a photo essay about José Isabel and his relationship with his territory and culture.
