Gotas de Fuego

Gotas de Fuego (‘Drops of Fire’) is a photographic series made in Oaxacan cantinas. The work grew out of quiet observations and a personal connection to these spaces—places where longing, separation, and brief moments of connection often unfold. The title comes from a song that uses love as a metaphor for alcoholism, a tension that echoes through the atmosphere of the cantinas themselves. These are places where time slows down, where stories linger in gestures, in light, and in the worn texture of the walls. The images are candid, but approached with care—made through waiting, watching, and being present, hoping to capture something honest in the way people exist within these rooms. Color plays a large role throughout the series. The tones are meant to evoke something felt more than explained—solitude, warmth, release. The photographs fall somewhere between documentary and something more interpretive. They’re not meant to define, but to hold space for what’s already there. At its core, Gotas de Fuego is about how people relate to place—and how certain spaces, even small ones like these, carry emotional weight. The project doesn’t aim to speak for the cantinas or the people in them, but rather to listen, to share fragments, and to invite others into the quiet in-between.