“Silent spring”

This summer I went on a road trip in Mexico and I drove through many small villages in the Peninsula of Yucatan. I was particularly observant of the socio-economic effects that the pandemic has caused to the local inhabitants. I had an emotional shock when I realized that even the tiniest pueblos have a playground, and every time I was passing by they were empty and lifeless except for the usual stray animals.

Mexico has one of the most socially vibrant cultures that I’ve had the pleasure to discover. The structure of their buildings, their ubiquitous restaurants and fondas, their markets and squares are built around collective human interactions. Witnessing empty and abandoned playgrounds was evidence of how heavily affected childhood is, not only in Mexico, but anywhere in the world.

The title of my project, "Silent Spring", is taken from an environmental science book by Rachel Carson. The book was published on September 27th, 1962, documenting the adverse environmental effects caused by the use of pesticides.

Through this work I invite the viewer to analyze the contemporary threat of our children's future. I am particularly sensitive to the topic of education as I believe it is the mean to achieve equality, it is the way we build and shape our future, it is the way we pass the achievements of our society to our younger generations, enabling them to improve it.

One day while driving through Ekpeds, a little village in the south border of Yucatan, I stopped to pick up a woman with her child that was hitch-hiking on the side of a road. I had just taken a photo of a playground a few meters far from there. During our short conversation I could sense all the frustrations that a mother living in a remote village has to go through. There is no public transportation that connects the pueblos of the area, so every time her son needs to go to school she has to get a lift. In addition to the usual threats posed by a young woman exposing herself to a random commute, this year there is also the fear of being infected. Schools are closed for months and there is uncertainty if they will be able to reopen in January 2021. Having no access to the internet, the locals rely on a volunteering program of teachers that visit the area twice a week, on Monday to give them home-works and on Saturday to check and correct them.

When we arrived at her destination, 6 miles after, she offered me the money for the ride that I gently declined while I had an internal gasp.

I recently graduated at the Master in Business impact at the Glasgow Caledonian University in NY. My intention is doing whatever is in my capabilities to support people thanks to the privilege of living in a developed country while having access to a land of opportunities. For this reason I am looking to find a way to access a wider audience thanks to the support of organizations that are sensitive to the cause.

I would love to collaborate to eliminate these discrepancies that I feel that this year are becoming bigger than ever.