Enoch Contreras

The beat of the dhyangro drum set the pace. The one who walked barefoot led the way. Every movement with purpose. They weren’t alone on their path. When they moved, their whole lineage moved with them. Every song, every dance was in honor of who came before them and who sustains them.

Jhankri Shamans pilgrimage to the sacred lake of Goisakunda during Janai Purnima.

Location: Gosaikunda, Lantang, Nepal.

In 2001, Venezuela was the richest country in South America. Fast forward to 2017 and what you'll find is a Venezuela teetering on the brink of civil war. Mass protest have risen up throughout the country as citizens express their discord with the government of president Nicolas Maduro. Leading to clashes between people and security forces while members of the opposition demand early presidential elections. Caracas, the capital of Venezuela has seen it's share of violence spike, which is hard to imagine as it had already claimed position for city with the highest murder rate in the world. Severe food and medicine shortages have pushed people to the point of desperation further fueling the chaotic landscape where riots and looting have become daily occurrences. While many have chosen to flee abroad in search of stability, there remains a resistance made up of common people determined to take back their country. Men, women, and even children retaliating, armed with nothing but rocks, Molotov cocktails, makeshift shields, and homemade gas masks for protection and the strong pull of comradery intertwining all of them together. Resistance in Caracas is a photographic documentation covering the clashes throughout Caracas and the fellowship formed between citizens that can only sprout from facing a volatile conflict together.

An intimate look into the lives of the monks at the Angkor Wat Pagoda.

A series of weekend trips exploring Havana. The place that deeply influenced the culture of the city of Miami.

Havana, Cuba

Madidi National Park, which lies in the Amazon river basin of Bolivia is considered one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet. It is home to 11% of the worlds bird species, it holds 3% of higher plants, and 3.75% of its vertebrates. Within this area also lies the community of Torewa, established in 1992 it is home to the Tsimane. Torewa, meaning place of enchantment, is one of 17 indigenous communities that are under threat by the building of the El Bala hydroelectrical dam. The creation of this dam would flood roughly 1,931 square kilometers of land displacing about 4000 people. This photographic project, Somewhere in Between, dives into the lives of the Tsimane, who have been living in balance with nature for as long as they can remember. It is a documentation of a tribe who is fighting for their land while navigating through the murky waters of acculturation. Their ancestral land and way of life both at risk of vanishing.

In the heights of El Alto, Bolivia there is an exclusive group of women who have dedicated themselves to the sport of wrestling. Tough women wearing traditional bowler hats and multilayered skirts performing suplexes and chokeholds. What started off as a form of entertainment quickly became an expression against the patriarchal system in Bolivia. When the Cholitas first took to the ring they were met with resistance and criticism from their male counterparts. “A woman’s place is at home, not inside a ring.” Their introduction to wrestling was 15 years ago and what began as a slow start full of discrimination eventually became a highlight for both tourist and locals alike. But what seemed like an afternoon full of amusement for the audience, for the cholitas it was a fulfilling opportunity to demonstrate that they belonged on a level playing field with the men. Both in and out of the ring. Their story is a part of a movement of equality across Bolivia.

Portraits of families of the Saint Theresa IDP camp in Yola, Nigeria

“To be a pilgrim is to suffer, but the suffering brings you closer to God.” For Hindu pilgrims, the august full moon marks the holiday of Janai Purnima. One of the most sacred festivals of the Hindu religion. The festival celebrates the bond of pureness and security. On this day, thousands of pilgrims throughout Nepal and India make the journey to the sacred lake of Gosaikunda believing that by bathing in the lake, they will get rid of their sins. It is said a true devote is supposed to make the climb without a walking stick, many of them showing their devotion by making the trek barefoot.

The annual festival of Quyllurit’i, also known as the snow star festival. The annual three day festival celebrating the reappearance of the Pleiades constellation which is associated with the upcoming harvest and new year. The festival is a unique display of intertwined traditions, mixing indigenous, native, and catholic beliefs. Tens of thousands of native Peruvians make the pilgrimage to the base of the Qullqip’unqu mountain in the Sinakara Valley to show their respects to the Earth, the surrounding Apus (mountain spirits), and Jesus Christ. For many pilgrims, the annual festival marks a time where their prayers can be heard and their hopes fulfilled. In return the pelegrinos make offerings to the Lord of Quyllurit’i and a promise to return to the festival three years in a row. By committing themselves entirely, pilgrims believe that their prayers will be granted. The undertaking of the pilgrimage may be difficult in itself, having to deal with frigid temperatures while performing rituals throughout the night. For some native communities it could take days to walk to the festival. the effort is part of the offering.

A look into the lives of the children of the Saint Theresa IDP camp in Yola, Nigeria, displaced by the insurgency that is Boko Haram.

There are at least 30,000 children living in orphanages throughout Haiti. According to the Hatian government, of these 30,000 children an estimated 80% of them are not orphans but either have one or both parents still alive. With the influx of unqualified volunteers pouring into Haiti eagerly looking to make a difference, it has resulted into the creation of orphanages running themselves like businesses hiring trackers to recruit unsuspecting children and deceiving impoverished families into giving their son's and daughters away for what they are told will be a better life that they cannot provide for them. In truth, these children become assets to  an industry that is exploiting people's ignorance and goodwill.

Every year on March 20th, hundreds of thousands of people show up to Teotihuacán to celebrate the Spring Equinox. The Spring Equinox marks the moment where both night and day are equally as long after moving through the winter months and continue to shift into the longer days of Spring and Summer . For the Maya, the path of the Sun represented a journey of death and rebirth. The Equinox served as a day of Spiritual resurrection, where one was coming out of the darkness of the night bearing the lessons he learned to be reborn.  

Every year in July, members of the town of San Buenaventura get together to celebrate the founding of their community. The festivities include parades with dancers in different costumes and traditional indigenous clothing. The music can be heard from the town across the river. I found myself in the middle of the celebration while waiting to go into the Amazon and with the encouragement of some of the locals I was guided to a rodeo that was tucked away in the corner of the town. What I stumbled on was rugged men in blistering heat, chugging beers and taking the turns at withstanding the force of a bull ride. These by no means were trained riders but instead regular people of San Buenaventura putting their grit to the test in order to show off to their neighbors and girlfriends.