A Home I Never Knew

In December 2020, I traveled to Mexico for the first time in over 20 years. I was born in the U.S., and though I’m half Mexican, I had only been there once—as a baby. I brought my film cameras along without much thought, casually documenting my trip through Tamazulapam (my dads hometown), Oaxaca City, and Mexico City. I was simply taking photos for myself, never intending to turn them into anything more than memories. But over a year later, those images evolved into A Home I Never Knew—a personal photo editorial about IDENTITY, CONNECTION, and REDISCOVERY.

For years, I’ve wrestled with my cultural identity, especially as I became an adult. Growing up in Iowa with a mother from a small town—someone I love, yet don’t share many physical features with—and a father from Mexico, whose features I do share, I often felt like I was existing in two worlds. I lacked a connection to my Mexican roots, not out of rejection, but out of circumstance. Like so many children of immigrants, my father worked long, hard hours out of survival. I experienced the slow erasure that comes with assimilation—where language, traditions, and ties to "home" begin to fade, even when you don’t want them to.

So when I finally made the trip back, for my aunt’s wedding, who I had not seen in person in over 20 years, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But what I found was WARMTH, COMFORT, and FAMILY WHO WELCOMED ME WITH OPEN ARMS. Despite the time and distance, they made me feel like I belonged. What should have felt foreign instead felt familiar. IT FELT LIKE HOME.

This project wasn’t planned—it just happened. These images are a quiet reflection of that experience ,but also for ANYONE WHO HAS EVER FELT CAUGHT BETWEEN TWO CULTURES, unsure where they truly belong.