World Press Photo 2012

The World Press Photo Awards have come to be one of the most important and well recognized Photographic Awards all over the World, and the most prestigious Photojournalism Award.

A group of 19 internationally recognized professionals in the field of photojournalism and documentary photography have convened in Amsterdam from 28 January until 9 February 2012 to judge the entries. 

This jury of the 55th annual World Press Photo Contest has selected a picture by Samuel Aranda from Spain (Cataluña, to be more precise) as the World Press Photo of the Year 2011. The picture shows a woman holding a wounded relative in her arms, inside a mosque used as a field hospital by demonstrators against the rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, during clashes in Sanaa, Yemen on 15 October 2011. Samuel Aranda was working in Yemen on assignment for The New York Times.

In my opinion, it is such a powerful image as it shows the (most common) role of Arab women in the modern non-sense wars. And, even though you can barely see the nose of this woman, you can tell by her body language she is suffering while holding her loved one in her arms.

Also, I really like that it is an image that says a lot and is very strong, without the need of showing any blood or actual wounded body parts or anything like that, as it has been shown in previous years winner's photographs. This photo tells you so much in such simplicity, it's just as inspiring as discouraging at the same time.

57 photographers were awarded this year and, sometime around September, people in Mexico City will be able to assist to the World Press Photo exhibition, which takes place every year at the Franz Mayer Museum, as a part of the Photo-Septiembre Activities Program.

Mexican Traditions - Día de la Candelaria (Candlemas Day)

Mexico is a Country very well known for its many and quite interesting traditions. As a Mexican, I find it important not only to follow traditions and enjoy them but to spread the word about them and reach as many people as possible. I wanna show people Mexico is much more than just Tequila, Tacos and Cactus: Mexico is an incredibly rich country in many ways, full of great people, culture, food and, of course, traditions.

One of the first great traditions of the year is the "Día de la Candelaria" or Candlemas, which is celebrated on February 2nd. It is mainly a religious and family celebration, but in some places, such as Tlacotalpan, Veracruz, it is a major party with bullfights and parades. People all over Mexico on this date dress up figures of baby Jesus and take him to the church to be blessed, and they wrap up the holiday by getting together with family and friends to eat and continue the celebration.

This holiday is a follow-up to the festivities of King's Day on January 6th, when children receive gifts and families and friends break bread together, specifically Rosca de Reyes, a special sweet bread with figurines hidden inside. The person (or people) who get the figurines on Kings Day are supposed to host the party on Candlemas Day when, traditionally, Tamales are the food of choice.

Me and my family shared some Tamales trying to follow the tradition and, besides being delicious, they photograph well. Now take a look at these photos and tell me you don't want a bite of this!

 

 

 

Paris from the Heights

Paris is a beautiful city from anywhere you see it, but from a reasonable high place (building rooftops, Eiffel Tower, Pompidou Center, Tour Montparnasse, etc)  is even better!

If you wanna know what I'm talking about, here are a few examples so you can see for yourself:

Fall in Paris

One of the best times of the year to be in Paris is definitely the Fall. You get sunny days, rainy evenings, fresh nights and beautiful colors all over the city.

Korean Food, Chapter I

Korean Food aka K-Food has become more and more popular everytime in Mexico City and it is not only good but also very inexpensive and quite exotic. As a chef/cook, if you like to experiment, Korean Food is a good way to do so. 

There is a place in the City known as Korea Town, where you can find lots of Korean restaurants as well as a few stores with Korean products, where you can buy all the necessary things to cook a perfect Korean meal.

The other day, my sister Gichef made some Doenjang Jjigae (soy bean paste stew) as well as some Crunchy Tteok (rice cake) for dessert. She decided to make a side of rice to make it more traditional and accompany the whole thing with a bit of Kimchi. All of these, rounded up with a glass of Soju.

This is the final result of a couple of hours cooking some Korean food:

 

 

 

 

 For the complete recipe, go to: The Julie-Julia-Gisela Project