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My godfather gave me my first camera. I was then about eight years old in this body and on this planet. The camera was a Brownie Chiquita and the only thing I had to do was press a button. At that moment, a very long road of affection in the capturing of images started.

I was born in Lima, Perú, and after three years of owning the camera I was taking pictures to the Teotihuacón Pyramids in Mexico. My family was transfered to this country, where I lived my adolescence and youg adulthood.

The following location was in Arequipa, Peru. I married and my daughter was born. I took photographs of her as well as of the Arequipa´s country. And in that place—by the late 80´s—my photographic route was finally defined: There was an International Photography Contest “Arequipa en Blanco y Negro” (Arequipa in Black and White) in which I took part. It came as a big surprise (my self esteem was low) : I had won a Fourth Prize and 9 Honorable Mentions. This encouraged me to learn and practice more deeply. I set up a small lab and I took a private workshop with the american photographer David Kachel, that lasted six months. I took part in the same contest—“Arequipa en Blanco y Negro”—the following year and as an outcome of the dedication I got the First Prize and three Honorable Mentions. This settled the road in which—with some bumps and detours—I am walking forward.

First Prize in Arequipa (which motivated me to continue with the photo).

In 1989 I moved with all my family and the photographic enlarger to Chile. The same year I joined the Foto Cine Club de Chile, in which I still take part. In the 90´s my photographic path increased its brightness, shaping and outlining my focus.

In 1991 I gave the first step in the route of exhibitions. I was invited to show my work in the Galería de la Historia, in Concepción, Chile. I have had many more exhibitions ¹, personal and in groups, in Santiago, La Serena, Lima (Perú), Arequipa (Perú). The group exhibit “Artes y Oficios” (Arts and Trades) (1996-1997) that was shown in the Chilean North American Institute of Santiago de Chile, was also shown in the United States (Miami, Seattle, Spokane-Washington State).

Gold Medal Ingleterra Biennale 1998.

I took part in National and International Contests and Biennials ², most of all sponsored by the FIAP, (Federatione Internationale de L'Art Photographique). I received multiple awards. More than 80 prizes ³ and more than 40 Honorable Mentions in national and international competitions, excelling the Gold Medal in England´s Biennial, 1998; an award to The Country´s Best Work, another to Nature´s Best Work in the International Latinoamerican Women´s Contest, in Argentina 1995; and an Honorable Mention en Belgium´s Biennial 1995.

I obtained the following Honorary Degrees:

1.-Artist—from the FIAP in 1996

2.-Master—from the Federación Chilena de Fotografía, in 2002

3.- Excelence—from the Foto Cine Club de Chile, in 1996

Starting the Millennium I took a detour from the road—although not a distant one—to incursion into Education in Human Values. This detour lasted several years and I moved away from public photographic events. In returning—some years ago—to the photographic path, Education and my marriage stayed in the detour. Photography had evolved into digital, and I caught up. I think that the tools may change, but the essence stays in the subtle world that one captures and wants to transmit. Although I do miss the smell of the chemicals…

I live in Algarrobito, a peaceful town in the Elqui Valley—11 kilometers east of La Serena, Chile—nextdoor to my daughter, my son in law and my three grandchildren.

Among the various subjects that motivate me—nature, children, elders, animals—there is the desert. The Desert—with its sands eternally dancing, drawing patterns that last moments—leads me to a state of awareness that gives me the ability to be wholly present with what is, and answer to what is now, from that awareness, and not from a mental condition. Our civilization makes us identify with the mind, with that voice that keeps us in an ongoing conversation, taking us to the past, to the future, that makes us analyze problems that will almost never show up. And, what happens when we are taken by the mind? There might be wonderful sights developing and showing in front of our senses, and we don´t perceive them. When I sense that subtle world which is hiding in the forms—that voice dissapears—I want to capture and transmit it to whoever wishes to see it and perceive it. I invite you to see these images from that peace and mental stillness, being present in the now, giving it all our awareness.

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