Claudia Guadarrama
(Mexico)Claudia Guadarrama is an independent documentary photographer based in Mexico. She began her career as a photojournalist while working on her documentary work, focusing on social justice and gender issues in Latin America. With over 20 years of experience and a self-taught artistic background, Claudia’s work explores themes of power relations, identity, and the sense of belonging. Recent awards include an honorable mention from the Marilyn Stafford FotoReportage Award 2022 and the 2021 LSI Photography Grant. Additionally, she is a recipient of the 2004 Inge Morath Award and the 2005 Canon Female Photojournalist Award. Claudia has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in Mexico, France, Austria, Germany and Spain.
ConnectRewriting memory. Intimate territories in resistance
The deforestation and dispossession faced by Mayan women in their territories and their lives are advancing at an unstoppable pace due to the modernization and development of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. This project explores their resilience and activism and it reflects on their crucial role in conserving and defending the biodiversity around them, which benefits not only their communities but also the entire planet.
BTS Footage
From the Judge
Amanda Maddox
“Claudia Guadarrama’s project will be a welcome exploration of the important interconnections between gender inequality and the climate crisis. Focusing on the Yucatan peninsula, her work promises to expertly weave together Mayan women’s stories of resistance and determination, highlighting their heroic efforts to combat deforestation and environmental devastation.”
Gallery
Mariana Tun Poot, 73. Midwife and healer.
She began attending births more than 35 years ago. She learned her craft from her mother and through the experiences of giving birth to her seven children. Together with her brother, she learned to heal with herbs, which she collects herself. Despite her age, she continues to care for pregnant women and sick people and says she will continue to do so until she is no longer able.
Midwifery has been a tradition in her family for several generations, but Mariana will be the last to practice it, as her daughters are no longer interested in this job.
In the image, Mariana holds a sculpture of the Child Jesus dressed in a doctor’s coat. He has been with her for over 30 years, and she prays to him, asking for assistance to ensure the safe birth of the babies she helps.
Lourdes Marruco Lopez, 64, fisherwoman.
When no other women were fishing in her community, Lourdes began to fish alone at the age of 15. By then, she already had over six years of experience.
She lived in a challenging environment where people criticized her and labeled her a tomboy, while her father expected her to handle housework at home. Despite these challenges, she stood up for herself and maintained her independence.
At 18, she married a man 24 years her senior, who died shortly after, leaving her alone with three children. She fished at night and cared for her children during the day. Additionally, she started teaching the trade to other women in her community. They discovered that fishing, once an exclusive activity for men, provided them with a means to earn money and support themselves. Today, there are more than 40 women fishers who confront the patriarchal and sexist system in their community while seeking equal and equitable access to fishing and recognition.
Guadalupe Reyes, 74. Midwife
Doña Guadalupe has witnessed the birth of more than 300 babies over her 50 years of work. The last time she assisted in a birth was over eight months ago. Self-taught, she only had her first two children with the help of her mother and then had 13 more children alone. She remembers giving birth sitting down, then regaining strength for a few minutes, and finally cutting the umbilical cord of each of her children.
In the past, more than 50 women would come to her for help in a single day; she didn’t even have time to eat. However, things have changed. As time has passed, fewer women have sought her assistance. She explains, “They are afraid and think what I do isn’t right because that’s what the doctors tell them.”
Doña Guadalupe believes that caring for women during childbirth is an act of love. You have to be patient and make sure everything goes well. She thinks that not everyone can be a midwife; it takes passion and commitment to truly want to help women.
Maria de la Cruz Mendoza, 68, birdwatcher and community leader.
Punta Allen, Quintana Roo
Maria was a pioneer as a social leader and representative for Punta Allen, encouraging and organizing women to come together and earn their own income in an environment where only men had opportunities to work.
Over 15 years ago, she and more than 30 other women decided to take a different approach that would not harm the environment around them. They learned about the local flora and fauna and eventually became nature tour guides. From that moment on, Maria observed that the women of Punta Allen began to change their mindset. “We started to appreciate the natural world and learned how to take care of it. We shared our conservation concerns with our children and husbands, and they, too, changed their mentality.”
Today, in Punta Allen, conservation and nature observation have united not only the women but also their families and the entire community.
Socorro Lopez Ku, 57. Since childhood, Socorro has been a farmer. Together with her husband, she grows citrus fruits and vegetables for both personal consumption and sale. Additionally, she is dedicated to planting and harvesting herbs for medicinal use. Socorro has a deep love and respect for the land, believing, “The land is what feeds us, and without it, there is no life.” She passionately defends the land and encourages her children and grandchildren to remember the importance of learning how to work it. She explains that while the city may offer money, it can also enslave you, whereas the countryside offers life and freedom.
Socorro is a member of the “Tierra de Mujeres” collective, which has been providing a space for training and support for women and girls in her community for over ten years. The collective helps them learn, organize, and enjoy their health, freedom, and rights.
