Photographer Aaron Sosa is the Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this documentary photography. From the project ‘Notes on My Life: La Pastora ’. To see Aaron’s body of work, click on any photograph.

For many, La Pastora is one of the oldest parishes in the city of Caracas, a neighborhood of wide colonial façades, long corridors, and tall windows that once defined its architectural identity.

La Pastora emerged as a settled area on January 6th, 1632, and was officially established as a parish on October 16th, 1889, during the presidency of Dr. Juan Pablo Rojas Paúl.

As a caraqueño and pastoreño, I felt the urge to return to my parish with my camera in hand. To walk the same streets I wandered as a child, visit the families who saw me grow up, reconnect with childhood friends, and even revisit my own family history. Approaching these spaces again was effortless, almost as if I had only been away for a few days.

There is a profound difference between documenting a place as an outsider and doing so as someone who belongs to it. That is the essence of this work, which I began more than a year ago, driven by the desire to reconnect with the people of my childhood.

More than days of photographic visits, these were days of memories, stories shared, domino games played, beers enjoyed, and the trust of those who opened their doors to me.

Many international photographers enter the barrios of Caracas only to portray tragedy, poverty, crime, everything the world already expects to see. In photojournalism, sensationalism sells; it is the easy narrative. We know our reality is hard, but it always has two sides. Ethically, we must document what truly happens in these places: the yin and yang of our surroundings.

This project reflects my subjective vision, shaped by the experiences of the parish where I was born. I do not intend to show the stereotypical image of colonial houses framing a plaza and church. Instead, this is a tribute to the people who inhabit these images. Each person holds a story, and I hope these photographs allow me to share a fragment of those stories with you.

Biography 

Aaron Sosa (b. Caracas, Venezuela, 1980) is a freelance photographer, visual artist, and educator based in Montevideo, Uruguay. His work, rooted in documentary practice and human narratives, has been exhibited in more than 120 galleries worldwide and featured in international books, magazines, and journals. His photographs form part of public and private collections across the Americas and Europe, including institutions such as Fundación MAPFRE (Spain), Fototeca de Cuba, Casa de las Américas (Havana), Sacramento State University (USA), and the Fundación para la Cultura Urbana (Venezuela).

Sosa has received multiple awards throughout his career, including first prizes in major national photography salons in Venezuela, finalist recognition at the Kaunas Photo Star (Lithuania), and a nomination for the Prix Pictet. He has represented Venezuela in international festivals, biennials, and exhibitions in countries such as Spain, France, Poland, Serbia, Argentina, and Hungary.

As an early explorer of digital and crypto-art, Sosa began tokenizing his work in 2022, including the project THE NEW MAN and his acclaimed series Portraits of Survivors of Nazism and the Shoah, published on the Ethereum blockchain.

A committed educator, Sosa has taught photography in academic institutions in Caracas and has led workshops and conferences throughout Latin America and Europe. His photobooks include En cualquier parte, CARAcas, Venezuela Cotidiana, IN-XILIOS, and Auto-Confinamiento.

He is the creator of the IMAGO Plus photographic training program and currently works as a freelance photographer, lecturer, and teacher while continuing to develop long-term documentary projects.

All images Caracas, 2010 and text © Aaron Sosa