“zajorí (puerto rico) — niño inquieto, maleto, majadero

zahorí (del árabe زُهَرِيّ zuharī  ‘geomántico', derivado de الزُهَرَة az-zuhara 'venus', a cuyo influjo atribuían este arte) — persona con la facultad de adivinar lo oculto

My grandmother would call me that: zajorí. It means, in Puerto Rican vernacular, restless child (I was fussy and annoying and tested her patience). But the root of the word comes from medieval Andalusian: he with the faculty to find what is hidden—"

Zajorí is a selection of photographs taken around the world between 2017 and 2024: impressions of things I have seen and filled me with wonder or surprise, whether in my travels or the places I lived. Elizabeth Bishop’s words, in the poem Questions of Travel, became its starting point: “What childishness is it that while there’s breath of life in our bodies, we are determined to rush to see the sun the other way around?”

I've picked a few photographs, to give an idea and feel for the project. My aim is to publish Zajorí as my first photobook, and the Imagination Fund would be of great help in making this goal a reality. The Imagination Fund would allow me to make a physical maquette of this project and send it to different publishing houses. More so, it would allow me to make zines of other, smaller photographic projects, such as 'Nueva Orleans and 'Semana Santa, Oaxaca', which in turn would help me raise money for the publication of this photobook. Publishing is an expensive and time-consuming process, so all funds are welcome!