Visions of Venezuela

Photojournalist Gaby Oraa captures the emotion and everyday life of Venezuela in a way we many of us have not seen before.  

She revisits her meeting with an elderly gentleman, Enrique: “ I started photographing Enrique and a month later he died of cancer. The family is so poor they obviously never had the resources to get any medical exams, they never even knew he had cancer. He did mention to me last time I saw him, that he felt abandoned. He left his wife and three daughters. Really sad story of an abandoned healthcare system.”

In explaining to CIJN why she chose these images as her submission, this was her response:

I want you to know my approach in the essay, as something I felt while I was photographing people’s everyday life. It’s like they are all waiting for “something”, while they strive to survive obviously, but they are in a constant wait. Waiting for the United States to invade, waiting for the box of food from Maduro, waiting for the opposition to do something, waiting for a “leader” to tell them what to do, waiting for a “Messiah” to make it all better, etc. Venezuela is a very catholic country too. It’s the reason why I thought of closing it with the Jesus statue on a stormy dramatic day. In a way it represents what Venezuelans are waiting for….. a miracle… a bit sad and dramatic and not so optimistic, I know, but that’s Venezuela.”