This post is the first in a series exploring the work of five emerging Mexican street photographers. The series will include work from Nayeli Cruz Bonilla, Fermín Guzmán Martínez, Jair Cabrera Torres, Irving Cabrera Torres, and Alfredo Moreno. Mark Powell and Tom Griggs have curated and edited this project to give exposure to these young photographers. All five began their careers as students of Powell's in El Faro de Oriente in Iztapalapa, Mexico City.
Nayeli Cruz Bonilla, 24-years-old, only began photographing in late 2009. Her work can be further explored on Flickr under the name "naya lee."
Statement
I am the daughter of a transport driver, more commonly known as a "microbusero" (microbus driver), and a secretary who wanted to be a dentist. They are people who make me incredibly proud.I studied a bachelor's degree in psychology and for this reason I have a strong interest in human thought, but a camera has been my best tool for feeling and understanding much more about people. It is through the photograph that I have arrived in these spaces of daily life and known the different worlds in which people surround themselves.
I suppose I immersed myself in this language with such pleasure because since I was a child I have been attracted to images, especially to paintings. Remedios Varo was a big discovery for me in those days. It is the photograph, however, that has become an actual addiction in my life and now is a very important part of who I am.
I still think I got into photography by pure chance, but it has been one of the best things I've encountered along my path. It has filled me with many experiences, with friendships, but most of all it has been a rediscovery of myself. I never considered myself a woman of many words. However, I am a person who has much to say, and through the photograph I am doing this.
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