Road Photography, Religion, and Custom in Mexico City

“I like to capture the traditions of neighborhoods, how life moves and is lived there.”

Frida Sofía is a Mexican avenue photographer based mostly in Mexico City whose work is deeply rooted in neighborhood life, custom, and religion. Raised in Magdalena Contreras, a southern borough removed from town’s bustling middle, her visible language is formed by the quiet persistence of customs that proceed to outlive within the margins of the metropolis.

“Because it’s far from the center, there are certain traditions that are still preserved,” she explains. Over the previous two years, Frida has targeted her lens on the streets of her personal barrio, locations she describes as “full of history,” the place every day life unfolds with an intimacy that may solely be captured by somebody who actually belongs.

Her relationship with images started in 2016, virtually by chance. What she first believed could be a easy passion slowly grew to become one thing a lot deeper. “I thought my photographs would only be a hobby. I took pictures of what I liked,” she recollects. But with time, the emotional energy of the medium pulled her in. “Everything that can be transmitted through photography started to captivate me.”

For Frida, the digicam is not only a instrument—it’s a bridge. “I chose the camera as a form of expression because I feel a lot of freedom and happiness when capturing a moment,” she says. Being amongst folks, observing their actions, and connecting with them is, for her, “something wonderful.”

Unlike many artists, Frida didn’t develop up in an inventive family. She is the primary in her household to pursue artwork, starting her journey as a self-taught photographer earlier than later complementing her follow with lessons and workshops. This unbiased path has allowed her to develop a deeply private method to avenue images—one guided extra by instinct than guidelines.

“Photography for me is freedom, love, courage,” she says. Her photos typically middle on avenue life, neighborhood traditions, and cultural rituals, capturing how communities transfer, collect, and consider. One topic that holds explicit emotional weight for her is faith. Though she hesitates to label it a proper undertaking, she incessantly paperwork spiritual expressions in public area. “Capturing how religion moves gives me a feeling of happiness,” she shares. “It deeply moves me to see everything that moves through faith.”

Working in Mexico is, for Frida, extra a present than a problem. “Mexico is a country full of tradition and culture,” she says. “Being able to capture a bit of what it has is wonderful.”

Before photographing, she slows down. She observes. “Before taking the first shot, I look at what moves me, what calls to me, what I connect with the most,” she explains. This attentiveness provides her photos their quiet power—images that really feel lived in relatively than taken.

One of her most significant moments as a photographer got here unexpectedly. On December 12, 2025—the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe—a younger lady approached her. Frida had photographed her a yr earlier. “That she remembered me after a year was incredibly meaningful,” she says. Moments like this reaffirm her perception in images as a type of human connection.

While Frida doesn’t but outline her work when it comes to formal sequence, she acknowledges recurring themes rising organically. “I keep creating,” she says, conscious that coherence will come naturally, not by drive.

Looking ahead, she plans to experiment with intervening in her images via portray, embroidery, and blended media, increasing her visible language whereas remaining anchored in her neighborhood. In 2026, she intends to proceed documenting her neighborhood—its traditions and the processes behind every celebration.

If she may converse to her youthful self, her recommendation could be easy and agency: “Keep taking photos. Don’t let it go. Make time for it. Believe in yourself.”

That message extends to new generations of photographers as effectively. “Don’t leave photography,” she says. “It’s a form of expression that will save you.”

Her dream undertaking displays each her love for custom and her respect for ladies’s labor: touring throughout Mexico to {photograph} girls cooks making ready conventional dishes, documenting not solely the meals however the course of and the ladies themselves—guardians of culinary reminiscence.

Through her lens, Frida Sofía continues to construct a visible archive of religion, neighborhood life, and cultural persistence—one quiet avenue at a time.

To Learn More Visit:

Frida Sofía

Soledad Quartucci, PhD, CEO, Latina Republic

Latina Republic’s cultural reporting highlights the artists, storytellers, and visionaries shaping the artistic heartbeat of Latin America and its diaspora. Through in-depth interviews and narrative options, we have a good time the traditions, identities, and on a regular basis histories that outline our communities. Our work uplifts rising and established voices, giving area to the cultural actions, private journeys, and creative expressions that encourage connection and deepen understanding throughout the Americas.