Rural communities; The Chicken’s View by Francisco Alcalá

Every day people from small rural communities come –sometimes with long and exhausting journeys- to the main market in San Cristobal de las Casas Chiapas to sell their chickens.

The live chickens hang from their owners’ arms as they patiently wait for potential customers. This body of work captures the various activities and the people’s expressions from a low vantage point that tries to present the perspective of what the hanging chicken see. According to the National Board for the Evaluation of the Social Development Policy (Coneval), the state of Chiapas ranks number one in poverty for the whole Mexico. Almost 3.8 million people live with less than five dollars per day and lack at least one of the basic services of food, health, education, housing or social security.

About Francisco Alcalá

Francisco Alcalá Torreslanda uses his camera and his artistic skills to give a bold voice to the marginalized people. He is conscious that delivering effectively on this statement requires a long-term commitment to his subjects and the development of strong relationships based on trust. The images he creates are positive and engaging reflecting his profound respect and admiration for individuals irrespectively of their race, gender or socio-economic level.  His views on the huge benefits of empowering people to enable sustainable economic development are the result of what he learned with a successful 30 year career leading manufacturing plants and logistics operations in Latin-America, Asia and Australia. Due to his love for photography and desire to contribute to social development, he retired at the end of 2013 from his position as Vice President Latin-America Supply Chain to accelerate the completion of his Photography Master in Fine Arts with the Academy of Art University and to focus his time in his current project with women in rural communities in the state of Queretaro, Mexico. [Official Website]