René Valencia, Street Photography in Guadalajara

René Valencia, economist and freelance journalist has a passion for the “mobile” version of Street Photography. This interest has made him famous even outside Guadalajara, capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco, with its  4.6 million inhabitants in all the metropolitan area, making it the second biggest city in Mexico. It is an industrial centre also well-known for Tequila and mariachi music.
René Valencia's shots portray the essence of Guadalajara through the historic centre and its macrocosm of architecture, infrastructures and a lot of people. Therefore, the narrative force of his photography is born out of his empathy with the territory. Indeed, René Valencia captures the stories of the people moving back and forth within this urban environment presenting the dignity of men and women and their load of memories.
In the case of this artist, while observing his images carefully, you are taken into a fragile area that is the authenticity of the daily lives of the people, the city's population, all those who live in it. Consequently, something else is captured which goes beyond the architectonic facades and urban design: mankind living there day by day. In this way René Valencia's Street Photography becomes a  declaration of love for Guadalajara, also called and not without reason “The Pearl of the West”, and its inhabitants, the true protagonists who bring the urban setting to life. Accordingly, such an artist does not reinstate folkloristic figures but the population that actually lives in the streets of Guadalajara daily.
He has very alert vision and catches just the right moment insofar as there is no second chance in street photography. In fact, this idea of photography has nothing to do with photographing architecture under the best weather conditions for the greatest effect or made up models under spotlights but is about trusting your instinct and acting quickly to create a small cutting or piece of reality.  
So, after seeing René Valencia's photography we wonder: “is reality in the streets of Guadalajara or do the images help in constructing it?”

Christiane Bürklein (@chrisbuerklein)

René Valencia