Because the sun looked at me

2018 - Ongoing

Because the sun looked at me is a photo documentary essay that explores the story of the daughters and granddaughters of black women who survived slavery in Latin America.This project aims to remarks women empowerment for black liberation through spiritual legacy that remains alive through the preservation of ancestral practices as a way of cultural resilience, protect their territories, and resist racism.

This project started when one of my friends told me: ¨You are lucky to live with your mother, my people were deterritorialized. I never got to meet my mom, Africa. The only way for us to get back to her is through our spirituality.¨ Karla Viteri. Since that day, I began this journey documenting my friends, their families, neighborhoods, and the ancestral territories in Ecuador where the black spirit expresses itself.

Cimarrona refers to the wild female spirit that holds an African essence and expresses it in all forms of resistance against racism. The diaspora’s cultural migratory reconfiguration in their new territories renewed the African legacy in the so-called “new continent.” Black people arrived in Latinamerica in the XVI century. Thousands of enslaved bodies reached Colombia to be distributed in Ecuador and around the region. Black women planned cultural and military strategies for their liberation. Each expression and all spiritual rituals- currently combined with religious syncretism- are keys to reverting their forced deterritorialization.

In Latin America, one in every four people identifies as an Afro-descendant. Roughly 50% are women. These communities have more than five centuries of black resilience and one of the biggest bio-diversities in the world: mangroves, tropical forests, and mountains are protected by them. The continuance of traditions is fundamental for defending their territory, which, today, is menaced by illegal mining, timber extraction, and pollution by mercury. New cultural influence and mass migration of the new generations challenge their ancestry with the risk of losing it to globalization.

In a world where violence against black people grows, their ancestral rituals and cultural migratory reconfiguration have been adapted to their new territories to settle down as a way to reaffirm their identity into new generations. Cimarron's legacy is also the legacy of the new femininity and humanity liberation.

Actually, I finished a photo essay in Ecuador and I am working on a photographic and multimedia body of work of Cimarrona routes in Colombia. The history of the diaspora is told through orality, stories, songs, and poetry of new generations of Maroon women assembled into a short multimedia piece that you could check in this link: https://vimeo.com/734380508

01. Nicole Gudiño, 19, plays with a cotton plant in her hair. The black slaves who came to Ecuador were forced to work in cotton fields and coal mines . La Loma, 2018. 02.The nighttime sky along the mountains of Ecuador’s Chota Valley, where enslaved Africans arrived in the 16th century. Santa Ana, 2018.
A canoe arrives on the Santiago River. Playa de Oro, 2021.
Rosa María Torres Carcelén, 78, is one of the oldest midwives and healers. She learned about childbirth at the age of 9, helping her mother and sisters in childbirth. La Loma, Ecuador, 2018.
Afroecuadorian women are celebrating La Virgen de la Merced, with songs and candles during the afro religious mass in Playa de Oro, 2019.
Carmen Ayovi bathes in the estuary of her community Playa de Oro. The Ayovi family keeps the legacy of ancestral practices and protects the tropical forest of more than 700,000 hectares. Playa de Oro, 2021.
01. A Christian cross at the entrance of the Carcelen family home. La Loma 2018. 02. Karen Villalba, 23, Anthropology student and an activist at Addis Abeba, pannafrican activist group, is representing “Elegua”, a major Orisha deity in African culture. Quito, Ecuador. Agust 4, 2018.
The house of Rosa María Torres Carcelén and her family preserves the memory of the many families who came to these lands after being released from Jesuit farms in the 19th century. La Loma, 2018
Melani Ayovi and her pregnant cousin pose for a portrait in Playa de Oro. They continue the legacy of their ancestors and pass it on to the new generations. Playa de Oro, 2021.
A woman carrying a statue of the Virgin of Mercy during a pilgrimage of Catholic and African ancestral rituals. Quito,2019.
Rosa Carcelen holds her granddaughter. La Loma 2018.
01. Zulma Espinoza, a midwife, massaging the belly of her pregnant granddaughter. Black midwives preserve their knowledge and apply it in cities where many ancestral practices are threatened by modernity and globalization. Quito, 2018. 02. Family pictures in the house, Quito 2019.
Alba Pavón, a community leader represents "Yemayá", the mother of all the Orishas. Quito, 2018
Katherine Ramos, 23, member of the pan-African activist group Addis Ababa, keeps alive the knowledge that her grandmothers taught her on the use of turbans. She wears them as a loose crown that opened the path for the liberation of her palenque. Quito, 2019
Zulma Espinoza, a midwife who lives in La Roldos, massaging her pregnant granddaughter Margarita to reduce pain. Quito, Ecuador, 2018.
01. Statue of the Black Virgin. Quito 2019. 02. Roxana Jaramillo, 23, member of the pan-African activist group Addis Ababa, keeps her "black hair" as the roots that link her to Mother Africa, and the strength of her liberation. Quito, 2019
01. Children of the Pavon family pose for a portrait after their First Communion Ceremony. Quito 2019. 02. Nancy Placencia keeps the seeds of the red pigeon bean in her hair. These seeds were brought from the African continent, in the braids and the hair of women, and are the main source of the diet of the of Afro-descendant peoples in Ecuador. Chalguyaku, 2018
Melani Ayovi poses for a portrait at her home. Playa de Oro, 2021.
The celebration of the Virgin of San Ana brings families together in the community. Santa Ana, 2018.
Relatives and friends arrive at the marriage of the Chalá-Pavón. Juncal, 2018.
01. Black panther necklace on an African map. Quito 2019 02. A girl dances at a dancehall party. Quito 2019

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Since that day, I began this journey documenting my friends, their families, neighborhoods, and the ancestral territories in Ecuador where the black spirit expresses itself. \r<\/p>Cimarrona refers to the wild female spirit that holds an African essence and expresses it in all forms of resistance against racism. The diaspora\u2019s cultural migratory reconfiguration in their new territories renewed the African legacy in the so-called \u201cnew continent.\u201d Black people arrived in Latinamerica in the XVI century. Thousands of enslaved bodies reached Colombia to be distributed in Ecuador and around the region. Black women planned cultural and military strategies for their liberation. Each expression and all spiritual rituals- currently combined with religious syncretism- are keys to reverting their forced deterritorialization. \r<\/p>In Latin America, one in every four people identifies as an Afro-descendant. Roughly 50% are women. 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Her work is focused on social justice, human rights, and gender related issues.","long_bio":"Johanna Alarc\u00f3n (1992) is a freelance photojournalist and visual storyteller based in Ecuador.\r<\/p>Johanna\u00b4s work is focused on social justice, human rights,identity and gender related issues. She is a National Geographic Explorer and Magnum Foundation Fellow. Also she is member of Ay\u00fcn Fot\u00f3grafas, Visura.Co, Fotof\u00e9minas, Women Photograph and Diversify Photo.\r<\/p>Selected for Inge Morath Award (2022), Photography and Social Justice Fellowship Magnum Foundation (2021), Community Awareness Award Photographer of the Year International (2021), Joop Swart Masterclass World Press Photo (2020), 6x6 Global Talent South America (2019). She is an author of \u00a8Cimarrona: Soy Negra porque el sol me mir\u00f3\u00a8 KWY published book (2022). Her work has been featured in The New York Times, National Geographic, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Bloomberg, Da Volkskrant, Reuters, among others. Selected for the New York Times portfolio review (2019), Eddie Adams and Women Photograph Workshop (2019). Her work has been exhibited in Photoville NYC, Latin American Photography Festival Bronx Documentary Center (2019-2020), Montevideo Photography Center (2021). \r<\/p>Her recognitions include:First Place in Photographer of the Year Latinamerica Health Category (2020), FotoEvidence Book Award - CovidLatam (2021), Grantee of COVID-19 Magnum Foundation Found (2021), Open Society and Gabo Foundation's fund for investigations and new narratives on drugs (2020), Will Riera Award (2019), Everyday Projects and Visura Co Mentorship (2018-2019), AECID Africamericanos Grantee Ecuador (2018), Tutor of the 20f Campament in Bolivia (2018), Honorable Mention in the photobook competition RM (2017) \r<\/p>Currently, she works on assignments, teaching and her personal projects.<\/p>","long_bio_raw":"Johanna Alarc\u00f3n (1992) is a freelance photojournalist and visual storyteller based in Ecuador.\r\nJohanna\u00b4s work is focused on social justice, human rights,identity and gender related issues. She is a National Geographic Explorer and Magnum Foundation Fellow. Also she is member of Ay\u00fcn Fot\u00f3grafas, Visura.Co, Fotof\u00e9minas, Women Photograph and Diversify Photo.\r\nSelected for Inge Morath Award (2022), Photography and Social Justice Fellowship Magnum Foundation (2021), Community Awareness Award Photographer of the Year International (2021), Joop Swart Masterclass World Press Photo (2020), 6x6 Global Talent South America (2019). She is an author of \u00a8Cimarrona: Soy Negra porque el sol me mir\u00f3\u00a8 KWY published book (2022). Her work has been featured in The New York Times, National Geographic, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Bloomberg, Da Volkskrant, Reuters, among others. Selected for the New York Times portfolio review (2019), Eddie Adams and Women Photograph Workshop (2019). Her work has been exhibited in Photoville NYC, Latin American Photography Festival Bronx Documentary Center (2019-2020), Montevideo Photography Center (2021). \r\n\r\nHer recognitions include:First Place in Photographer of the Year Latinamerica Health Category (2020), FotoEvidence Book Award - CovidLatam (2021), Grantee of COVID-19 Magnum Foundation Found (2021), Open Society and Gabo Foundation's fund for investigations and new narratives on drugs (2020), Will Riera Award (2019), Everyday Projects and Visura Co Mentorship (2018-2019), AECID Africamericanos Grantee Ecuador (2018), Tutor of the 20f Campament in Bolivia (2018), Honorable Mention in the photobook competition RM (2017) \r\nCurrently, she works on assignments, teaching and her personal projects.","display_name":null,"website_url":"https:\/\/www.johannaalarcon.com","profile_type_id":2,"show_age":1,"twitter_handle":null,"facebook_handle":null,"linkedin_handle":"Johanna Alarc\u00f3n","skype_handle":null,"google_plus_handle":null,"pinterest_handle":null,"instagram_handle":"johis.alarcon","vimeo_handle":"Johis Alarc\u00f3n","youtube_handle":null,"telephone":null,"company_name":null,"address_1":null,"address_2":null,"city":null,"region":null,"country":null,"postcode":null,"vat_id":null,"codice_fiscale":null,"codice_destinatario":null,"pec_destinatario":null,"show_explicit_content":"0","created_at":"2022-10-04T23:43:48.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-10-06T03:34:03.000000Z"}}}