citylikeyou — Christchurch / Erin Lee

Erin, nomadic being inspired by the unknown. Based as a freelance photographer for 5 years in Mexico and after a recent project in North Africa, Erin has recently returned to a base in Australia. Erin’s work applies environmental portraiture with landscapes and habitats to break the stereotypes which surround her subjects.

https://www.erinleephotography.com

Photographer

Current city: Mexico City

Other cities: Melbourne

erinleephotography.com

Mexico City / Bar

Mami Slut is one of the only dance parties in Mexico City with a mission to have decent music at queer friendly parties, Latin beats. Started by DJ Travieza and La Mendoza, the monthly celebration at Bahia Bar has become a premier gathering point for queer folks looking for a safe space to grind to reggaeton, cumbia, dembow, and basically anything other than the house music and Madonna songs that dominate the city's gay parties.

Mexico City / Music Venue

Plaza Garibaldi, home to Mexico City’s mariachis. Located along one of the city’s main avenues, Eje Central a few blocks from the Fine Arts Palace. At all hours of the day and night, mariachi bands can be found playing or soliciting gigs from visitors to the Plaza, or on the main avenue trying to get picked up and taken to house parties to play. A must see if you are in the city centre.

Mexico City / Other

Entering Santa Fe, Mexico City. Santa Fe is one of Mexico City's major business districts, located in the west part of the city, consisting of countless high-rise buildings that tower over Latin America's largest shopping mall. Built over existing landfills, several layers of sand was poured over millions of tons of garbage before constructions began. Many original residents of the outlying suburbs were evicted and forced to the outskirts seen here.

Mexico City / Event

Passion of Christ in Iztapalapa. Iztapalapa, is the most populous of Mexico City's 16 boroughs, an urban sprawl on the eastern edge of Mexico City, home to nearly two million people and one of the city's lowest-income areas. Every year a huge numbers of additional visitors, an estimated 2-4 million spectators gather to watch the annual Passion of the Christ procession. The area has been plagued by high crime rates and instances of domestic violence for years therefore, the prestige and scale of the Passion procession are a much-needed source of honour for a community that is so often portrayed negatively in the news.

Mexico City / Transport

If you are visiting Mexico City you must use the metro to get a true insight into daily life in the capital city, but be prepared as it is hectic as! Sometimes feels like the entire Mexico City population is in your carriage during rush hour. Used by around 4.4 million passengers on an average weekday, it has 195 stations and more than 226km of track on 12 lines. Trains arrive every two to three minutes during rush hours. At M$5 a ride, it’s one of the world’s cheapest subways and will get you across the entire city. Best option for people watching and striking up conversation with people you may not otherwise talk to.

London / Photographer

Artist

Cologne / Photographer

Thomas Wiuf Schwartz is a German–Danish Still-life Photographer based in Cologne, Germany. His work, in which passion and devotion are to be found, not only reflect his love of photography, but a visual minimalist imagery of forms, shades, materials and objects. These are skillfully set in scene, played by light and shadow which stands out for his work – the perfect composition of work with materials, structures and surfaces. His potential in graphic design and art direction is reflected in his conceptual approach. The perfection in the imagery, the eye for the unusual can be found in details or their emphasis in the pictures. His dedication is to unfold aesthetics in things, which give the whole strength through small accents, complement his way of work and stands out for his style.

Antwerp / Photographer

Photographer

Barcelona / Photographer

Amanda Fordyce is best known for her bold, colourful imagery - exploring the relationship between fashion and lifestyle. Fordyce’s approach explores many genres, her style is often rooted in reality yet highly aesthetic, playing with bold colours, shadows and unusual compositions, and always considerate of the small details that flawlessly capture the moment. Amanda currently splits her time between Barcelona, London and Melbourne.

Cologne / Photographer

Frederike Wetzels is a photographer and artist based in Cologne. She was born in 1988 in Itzehoe (Germany) and studied photography from 2007 - 2011 at the University of Applied Arts and Sciences Dortmund and the University of Plymouth (UK). In her artistic work she is mainly focusing on man-altered landscape, its underlying socio-economic conditions and the way the inhabitant lives in and perceives these spaces.

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