"Jaguar is a photographic journey across three territories. Vietnam, the Colombian Sierra Nevada, and the Caribbean island of Isla Fuerte. These visual stories were born from my work as an educator and artist, supported by a GIZ education fund, where I collaborated with communities focused on environmental care and cultural preservation. In each of these places, it was women—girls, mothers, and elders—who became my bridge to understanding. This is a story of teaching and being taught, of listening through images, and of honouring the silent strength that holds communities together.
In the highlands of Sa Pa, I was invited to lead photography workshops and create a website to share the voices of local ethnic minorities. They belonged to various ethnic groups such as the Hmong and Dao, whose stories are often overlooked, yet are deeply woven into the landscape.
Among the Arhuaco community in the Sierra Nevada and Afro-descendant communities, I led visual workshops rooted in mutual learning. Guided by women of all ages, I witnessed how land, language, and care are passed down like sacred knowledge. From grandmothers to daughters.
On a remote island in the Caribbean, I worked with a local Organization focused on ecological and social inclusion. Surrounded by sea and sisterhood, I found women and men who protect both the land and each other. Teaching me that resistance often looks like care.
Jaguar is not just a journey through geography, but through ways of knowing, remembering, and teaching. In each place. Whether deep in the Vietnamese mountains, among the ancestral rhythms of the Sierra Nevada, or surrounded by the tides of the caribbean. I found women and men shaping their worlds quietly and powerfully. What began as an educational mission became a mirror: I came to teach, and was taught. These stories are not portraits of strangers, but shared moments of recognition, care, and resistance. This work is a tribute to those who guided me. Not with grand gestures, but with presence, protection, and wisdom. Through them, I learned that true connection is built in silence, in trust, and in the willingness to see and to be seen."
Camila Berrio is a Colombian photographer and videographer based in Berlin. Above all, Barrio is an artist and storyteller who passionately explores the human experience through her travels and encounters around the world. Her work is recognised for its sensitivity and attention to detail, form, and color, especially in fields such as advertising and photojournalism.
