Held

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From your hand I learned to live with my eyes closed,

To laugh with the soul,

To love the darkness and embrace myself in it,

To enjoy silences in company.

And if we speak of earthquakes,

You shattered my whole city,

You undressed my favorite little lake,

And unearthed even the childhood lucky coin.

Lost and frustrated,

Becoming part of that fog,

You helped me rebuild it blindly,

brick by brick.

And though we are still under construction,

Oh, what a masterpiece we’re creating!

ULU to the end of the world,

ULU to my heart.

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The project is based on the connection with the people portrayed, seeking to capture the soul of each one and the instant in which they immerse themselves in that intimacy and warmth of home that I find in them.

I drew inspiration from pictorial photographers, daguerreotypes, and artists who approach the human figure as poetry—natural, spontaneous, and touched by the surreal. The process began with recalling a personal memory with each person and transforming those emotions into individual poems. Some of these poems were written and read in English, others in Spanish, reflecting the diverse nationalities and languages of the participants. I then recorded myself reading each poem aloud, so that each participant could listen privately through headphones, while I photographed the intimate moments of connection that arose in their response.

The portraits were taken in small spaces, one person at a time, to encourage closeness and intimacy during the session. The entire experience became a ritual of memory, listening, and presence—an encounter where the image emerged from silence, vulnerability, and shared emotion.

The hardest doors to open

May be the most valuable.

Before you.

Before you,

Love was a transaction.

I give,

I do,

I am not.

Insufficient for years.

But I reached your door,

The most beautiful golden door.

Do I knock or do I shout?

Do I knock, or better leave it be?

The most precious treasure

Was on the other side,

I could feel it.

“If you love her, she will love you back,”

it whispered.

Devoted to existing,

Little by little I managed to enter.

And how could I not feel at home?

The most healing embraces,

The warmest couch,

My deepest longings

flowing from my mouth

automatically.

The best cared-for,

renewed tears.

Finding so much worth and appreciation

in those once-unknown eyes.

“You are not alone,” her soul said,

Carrying mine with the utmost delicacy,

Healing it with the most genuine love,

And leaving it free,

without a bill left on the table.

I know, what a mess of a stew

I just made!

Thank you, life,

For allowing me to be

on the other side of the door,

And so close to your heart.

The knight with a sword.

The knight from Disney movies.

I see you and I can’t believe it—

So young and real,

Undoubtedly worthy of that woman,

Worthy of every blessing,

Worthy of endless laughter and of loving deeply.

How can someone be such a knight?

I began to wonder.

So unconditional,

So genuine.

And then I understood:

The treasure of immortality

is not lost in a destiny without direction.

It lives within him,

It is in his heart.

For everyone who manages to enter

is reborn and lives forever,

Finds rest and renewal,

Feels warm and ready to feel,

Ready to open the heart without fear of pain,

To speak more with the soul than with words,

To understand that if you know

the knight with a sword,

You will always be safe wherever you go.

For if you live in his heart,

you will never die.

So let us change the course of this tongue-twister.

Thank you for being that knight with a sword

who showed me the other face of a good man,

For being unconditional, never asking for explanations,

And embracing my soul.

Because that is what a knight with a sword like you achieves.