Mi querida Oaxaca and 10 reasons to travel with me
Oaxaca is constantly in my thoughts. Anytime I am not there I miss it so much. And when I back there is like to be at home. My elected land. As many know I organize and I lead photography expeditions there. So why you should consider Oaxaca and my photography expeditions?
1 - A REAL DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP
I teach my students to work as a photojournalist should always do: we don’t use, as others do, models and we don’t push situations to bring home an image. With me you work as a true photojournalist, respecting people, our subjects. We will have the most diverse photographic opportunities, ranging from portrait to street photography, from landscape to…anything you want. We will focus on making visual stories, producing great documentary style photos. Participants will return home from this workshop with a different awareness, and will be able to read the images, choosing the good ones to present a photographic story.
2 - DIA DE MUERTOS IN OAXACA WILL CHANGE YOU
With me it did it. Oaxaca in Dia de Muertos is something unique. First of all I tell you: forget the idea of a sort of Halloween in the Mexican version. Here we are talking about a celebration that derives from Mexica cults and therefore pre-Hispanicos. Photographing the night in the ancient cemetery of the village of Xoxocotlan Santa Cruz put me in a very special state of mind. The perception of life and death has totally changed in me in 2015. For the participants this will not be a simple journey or just a workshop, but a very important stage in their life.
3 - OAXACA
That's right: only Oaxaca, understood as a city and as a state (they are homonymous, but the complete name of the city is Oaxaca de Juarez) and its people, its extraordinary cuisine, the unique atmosphere. Guys, now I'll tell you something. They sent me to Oaxaca to do a scouting on the occasion of the first photographic expedition: I spent three days photographing to get the photos that we would then use for promotion and obviously explore and learning about the state of Oaxaca. The first day we arrived tired at the hotel. It took me two hours on the second day to make my wife say, while we were sitting at a table in a bar: “I want to come and live here.” We have not yet fulfilled this dream but we both have it in mind as a life project. It is not normal to fall completely in love with a city in two hours. And you know what? Whenever I go back to Oaxaca, I feel at home.
4 - THE OAXACA CUISINE
Do you know that in 2018 Oaxaca's cuisine took first place, surpassing even the French and Italian ones? Warning: we are not talking about Mexican cuisine, but that of Oaxaca. Oaxaca alone. And I can't wait to see your faces as you savor a tlayuda or a mole from Oaxaca.
5 - OTHER AWARDS OF OAXACA
In addition to the culinary recognition Oaxaca has recently obtained:
First place as a destination for weddings.
Second best city in the world according to travel + Leisure magazine.
Among the 21 most impressive destinations in the world according to National Geographic.
First place in Taekwondo at the National Olympics by Tuxtepecano Willian Arroyo.
The best trombonist in the world: Faustino Díaz.
New Best Hollywood Actress: Yalitza Aparicio.
First place in the world dance competition in Russia: representation of the feather dance and Flor de Piña.
First place in youth triathlon in Australia: Cecilia Ramírez.
First place to study nursing degree.
First place in the national song: Bistly Madai.
First Soprano Mixe: María Reyna
National Children's Voice Award: Tik Tak's Ship
First place in the national production of papaya, second to Piña and Mango.
Third place in the world fashion competition: Diego Alcázar.
6 - THE KIND OF EXPERIENCE WITH US
But what kind of photographic trip will it be? Oaxaca is a city that I love deeply and that I know very well, and this is all to the advantage of this photographic expedition. The trip will not only include the city of Oaxaca, we will also go to several villages in the state of Oaxaca. We will visit Mitla, Zaachila and much more. In addition to working hard, we will have a lot of fun while working on our visual stories of the many events that will animate Oaxaca day and night. Carmen, my wife, will be our historical / anthropological guide and this will also allow us to know some important aspects that will be of great benefit to our documentation work. We will give you all the necessary information before departure and we will make sure that you experience one of the best trips of your life.
7 - AN EVENT THAT COUNTS WITH MEDIA COVERAGE
The Dia de Muertos event in Oaxaca is international. They come from all over the world to witness the various celebrations that will enliven Oaxaca day and night. The city of Oaxaca fills up. We, on our side, count on the support of the FIOF which will make participating in this photographic journey even more special.
8 - OUR PARTNERS
The FIOF will support the event in an extraordinary way. As the trip approaches, I will inform you about the various initiatives that will be launched. FUJIFILM MEXICO, our historical partner since the first edition, will provide media coverage on their channels, merchandising and cameras that you can try during the 8 days. The FIOF has already dedicated space on its website to this event:
https://www.fiof.it/dia-de-muertos-racconto-di-alex-coghe/
9 - THE EXPEDITION INCLUDES PARTICIPATION IN AN EDITORIAL PROJECT
We will publish a printed book containing our photos, mine and those of the participating photographers. In this way you already know that by participating you will have the responsibility to do a good job and in fact, you will be working on a project. This gives a complete, different dimension to this photographic journey.
10 - A JOURNEY WITH ALEX COGHE
Yes, the 10th good reason is me. Do you know why? Because I am a photojournalist who collaborates with prestigious agencies and because you will work with me as photojournalists. No fiction or staging: direct photography is what I promise you, made with passion and enthusiasm, a humanistic photography for real. Every day there will be a part that we will dedicate to reading the images and I will follow each of you, to make you come up with a work that is an expression of your inner voice, not mine. As my students or those who took part in my Orvieto photowalk for the FIOF know, I don't teach a method for taking photographs and I don't want to create my imitators. I will also follow you after this photographic journey, because being my students means continuing to work together to make you get real and important results with photography.
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST…
Maybe at this point you would see part of the work I realized in Oaxaca. In that magical land I worked on assignment for NGOs and I documented many events for the agencies, for magazines and for Fujifilm Mexico. Here I want to share a selection of photos published in my portfolio website:
In this website you can book an experience in Oaxaca with me. It can be the next Day of the Dead or a personal one o one experience.
