Join me as I venture to Mexico, the first country on my quest to photograph one person from every country in the world.

After arriving in Panama City I was planning to visit the San Blas Islands to photograph one of the indigenous Guna people. Due to a rise in Covid-19 cases, the government of Panama shut down access to the country’s beaches and I was forced to find someone to photograph in the capital city instead.

I arrived in the remote Boruca Territory of the Puntarenas Province with the hope that a local culture center would help me find someone to photograph. It wasn’t until I arrived that I realized the center had been closed for almost a year. After exhausting all other options, I sent a desperate plea to a local Airbnb host.

I was fortunate enough to team up with an organization who helped arrange everything for the portrait in Nicaragua. We shared a beautiful drive to our lakeside photo location, only to be disrupted by aggressive waterfront weather.

During a steep hike to Puerta del Diablo (Devil’s Gate), I learned about the importance of the land to the indigenous community surrounding the region.

While in Belize, I had the honor of befriending one of the country’s most revered cultural icons. Requesting that we travel to her hometown of Gales Point to take the portrait, I rented a jeep in Belize City and we embarked on one of the most memorable roadtrips of my life.

In Loving Memory
Myrna Kaye Marigold Manzanares.
October 30, 1946 - December 21, 2021

While most visitors to the island of Roatán either arrive by cruise ship or stick to the white sand beaches of the West End, I ventured an hour east to the Garifuna village of Punta Gorda. It was here where I learned about their culture’s African roots and how the British slave trade brought them to the small seaside village that would become the island’s first permanent settlement.

After five months, my Central American adventure was coming to an end. I was losing steam and having a hard time finding someone to photograph in Guatemala. I eventually decided to leave without taking the portrait, until a volcanic eruption grounded my plane and provided one last chance to make it happen.