Carpooling the Mexican way – photographer Alejandro Cartagena documents it beautifully

Date
6 September 2012

If you thought that the backs of trucks were solely reserved for carting around those awkwardly-sized bits and pieces (ladders, rubble, the odd sofa) then you obviously have never seen Alejandro Cartagena’s stunning photographs OR been to Mexico.

In his photo series aptly named Carpoolers, the photographer (born in the Dominican Republic but living and working now in Mexico) captures construction workers doing just that. Crammed in the back of trucks as they travel to and from work amid all sorts of building-site chaos, Alejandro not only captures the essence of daily working life but his photographs are also stunning.

Stepping just about the right side of voyeuristic (the curiously nosey and photo documentary-like side that is, not the side that makes you strange) the photographs are not only beautiful with their colour and the enigma which surrounds them (how do they possibly manage to sleep amongst wheelbarrows, ladders and spare tyres?) but also further build upon creating a rounded portrait of Mexico – something to which Alejandro has been dedicated throughout his career as a photographer.

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Alejandro Cartagena: Carpoolers

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Alejandro Cartagena: Carpoolers

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Alejandro Cartagena: Carpoolers

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Alejandro Cartagena: Carpoolers

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Alejandro Cartagena: Carpoolers

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