A Photographer’s View: The Indy Allows Me to Focus on The Stories I Most Care About

I am a 35-year-old Mexican-American photographer, from Houston, Texas. I have been documenting protests and actions in New York City for the past three years. From random street photography scenes to portraits, when viewing my photos, I want for you to feel as if you are there. 

Before documenting protests in NYC, I spent years in Houston making the daily trek into downtown to speak with all the interesting beautiful people who call the streets their home. Frequently talking with many of the same people, they would eventually invite me into their lives and allow me the privilege of telling their stories through my photos of them. 

But you can only take so many photos before you start to get involved. I found myself holding food and clothing drives for the friends I had made. Even if I was the only one at times, I needed to do more than tell a story through photos to help better their situation.

I would eventually start to work alongside some civil rights groups, joining them in their work for change. During my time at these actions I was given the opportunity to document history from such an intimate perspective. The experience has been an invaluable learning lesson. I’m grateful to have been able to discover another side of humanity and myself. 

When I first moved to New York City three years ago, I covered everything from fashion week to crime and fires. Over the past years I made it a point to get right back into covering more social issues. Documenting just about every march, protest and rally you could think of. 

The Indy helps independent journalists thrive, but to do that we need your help to keep bringing you more amazing content as the year unfolds.

Since joining The Indypendent in September, I’ve been inspired by the amount of trust the team has in their on-the-ground reporters. It truly has helped me focus on getting the best possible content and most importantly the full story when I’m covering an action. 

I’m new to The Indy, but one of my goals from the start has been to help further boost its online presence. Teaming up with one of The Indy’s long-time photographer, Sue Brisk, we have introduced more video content to the Indy platform. The main objective is to present compelling stories that would otherwise be overlooked.

The work ethic at The Indy is what makes it stand out. Everyone takes on multiple roles to put out a great paper each month. In the new year I hope to continue to grow with the team as much as possible as an empowered witness reporting from more actions.

The Indy helps independent journalists thrive, but to do that we need your help to keep bringing you more amazing content as the year unfolds. No amount is too small, if you’re financially able to donate please support these hard-working journalists. For more information on ways to help and donate, click here.