With two-decades in photojournalism Chilean photographer, Carlos Villalon has forged a hugely successful career.
Starting at the renowned Getty Images, he realised the emotive power of photography as a medium to document history.
Embarking on his own journey, his photographic style flourished, delving into subjects where he could tackle ‘injustice’. High ideals but Carlos Villalon has fulfilled that wish and more.
Under his gaze he scrutinises a myriad of issues pertinent to Latin America: No subject is avoided. From photographing death in all its visceral qualities, to close and personal documentation of drug use and its effects-It can be uncomfortable viewing.
Carlos Villalon does not revel in the uncomfortable he just shows a willingness to be close to the uncomfortable.
They die for the boss who really does not care a dime about them,
Can you talk about the childhood of a young Carlos in Chile-how did it impact the life choices you subsequently made?
In 1973 I was living in Santiago, Chile. I was eight years old hearing planes flying over my head while I was playing war with these little plastic soldiers. Next day my father took me to look at the bombed presidential palace. I remember my mother covering the windows of our house with a futon during a shoot-out between MIR (Leftist Armed Movement in Spanish Movimiento de Izquierda Revolucionaria) guerrillas and police forces. With my incredible family, that was the Chile I grew up in for the next 17 years. Basically, I lived most of my childhood and youth under dictatorship. In a way, I think the human right abuses, the fact that we could not, as a society, govern ourselves, the daily violence and the lack of real shaped, in a way, my career into photojournalist.
How did family specifically effect your choice into creativity?
My father, Carlos Villalón used to bring books to me as a gift when I was a small child. He would sit with me and tell me tales. Later in my youth he would play opera and jazz records and tell me stories about it. He taught me Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde and I taught him Bukowski. He was essential to my humanistic world. My mother, gave me pure good sense.
Coca is a sacred plant venerated by thousands across the South American continent; people really lead their lives because of the plant´s existence.
Growing up in Chile are their names like Rodrigo Rojas DeNegri who made an impression on you?
When DeNegri was killed, I wasn’t a photographer at all, but I was in Santiago when his murder happened. I feared the police, the military and Pinochet. They were my enemies. Victor Jara was another person murdered in Chile-he also made an impression on me.
Explain why you made the choice to go to New York to study photography?
Love like fate takes you to strange places. In my case it was the urge to leave Chile. I was having enough of it. Pinochet was gone. I had to go for a change of life. Once in NYC I decided to study photography to really understand what type of photography I wanted to develop as a career. After taking several classes at Parsons, I finally decided to take photojournalism as a way of life.
¨Because of Coca we came to this earth.” A shaman told me a while ago. I considered this thought process incredibly important.
You worked with the famed Getty Images. What did you learn and how did it shape the type of photography you would take?
Getty was a start of this wonderful career. Patrick Whalen gave me the chance to become a professional photographer and because of that opportunity I came to understand photography as an extremely important document for next generations.
Talk about Latin America as your inspiration?
Latin America really came to me, photographically speaking, guerrilla groups like, THE FARC, Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia in English hugely intrigued me. After that, in the shape of farmers’ movements, the abandonment of the state and above all, the impact of coca plants across Latin America.
Your work is raw photojournalism of the highest order focusing on the disenfranchised, the dangerous, the graphic. Any images which are indelible etched on your mind?
The relationship between drug trafficking and youngsters deeply affected me. The youngsters live to protect a rich trafficker who has gives nothing back to them. They die for the boss. Since they are slaves of poverty, they cannot do anything about it. There´s specifically a photograph of a youngster lying dead on one of Medellin, Colombia, streets. He was shot by a rival gang for being at the wrong place at the wrong moment. Another, an indigenous woman shot by an armed group who accused her of being a spy. They laid her body, inside a bar with a single candle to send away her soul.
Talk about coca and its place in Latin America?
Coca is a sacred plant venerated by thousands across the South American continent; people really lead their lives because of the plant´s existence. ¨Because of Coca we came to this earth.” A shaman told me a while ago. I considered this thought process incredibly important.
In the aspect of drug trafficking, cocaine has played an incredibly important global role. Presidents have been instated and thrown out because of this drug. Because of the same drug, there are saints created by drug traffickers, Jesus Valverde in Mexico, The Assassin’s Virgin in Colombia. There´s music created because of it, Narco Corrido and Narco hip-hop. Architecture in some cases has been influenced by cocaine and so on.
How is it impacting the rain forest-what is the future from what you can see?
If we keep acting like this the effects on our rain forests are not our problem but we will have serious troubles in years to come. I see how jungles are depleted in Colombia, and the Amazonian rain forest every day and see our leaders doing nothing about it but instead pushing for more mining, oil extraction. This action, in the end will lead to one problem, lack of water, then it is going to be too late to talk about it.
Let’s talk about ‘immigration’ and the The Beast.
The Beast, a cargo train that carries thousands across Mexico to achieve their American Dream. But who are these people? Poor women and men who say enough is enough and are obligated to leave their homes because of lack of opportunities and the rampant violence that affects their countries. And what do we do? Nothing. We just look at them as cargo, as objects. They are real people, they love, they feel. We need to create new policy, where they can stay at home with their loved ones. We need to talk about this violence and how to stop it. Drugs come in, we need to discuss legalization and other ways to end this violence.
The Beast, a cargo train that carries thousands across Mexico to achieve their American Dream. But who are these people?
Acid attacks tell us more about this project?
That was a series of assignments from The Washington Post and Al Jazeera. I knew about the problem in Southeast Asia, but I did not know about it in Colombia. When editors explained to me about the story, I thought, this is something I really want to work in, beautiful souls, women annihilated by a jealous partner, because this is basically what it is, a man trying to put down a woman because she´s not his. Stupidity at its best. These victims are people and despite the damage caused to them, they keep fighting, they are very strong, and they taught me an invaluable lesson for life.
As a photojournalist taking images of death, drug use you must be detached and indeed is it important to be detached?
I chose this way of life, I can´t be detached, I don´t want to be detached. I always try to create a link between people and myself; these are hard to forget.
Any projects coming up?
I´m working on a book project, Cocaine The Lost War. I’ve completed all the travel, the pictures are taken, and the design is finished. It’s a book exploring coca as a sacred plant. Also, it’s an invitation to discuss, to debate the war against drugs created by Nixon in 1969. That war is already lost. We need to find new ways to protect our youth, to educate them. We need to stop the bloodshed and the misery this war brings to millions across the world.