THE PRIMO PROJECT

A MEXICAN AMERICAN PORTRAIT SERIES

COMING SOON

The Primo Project is an ongoing portrait series of my first cousins. Although we share the same roots, our lives, appearances, personalities, and environments are vastly different. Through this work, I aim to challenge the idea that Mexican-American identity can be understood or categorized through a single narrative.

Throughout my life, I have been told that I'm "not very Mexican" or, at other times, "super Mexican." These experiences led me to question the stereotypes and external judgments placed on Mexican Americans. I realized that none of them were entirely right or wrong, but all of them were limiting.

I started The Primo Project to continue a conversation I know is not unique to me. Many Mexican Americans navigate identity through the lens of others while defining it for themselves. The Primo Project is both a personal archive and a broader statement that shared roots do not produce identical identities, and we can't be categorized into one bucket.

Each cousin was given the same direction: to bring a backdrop from their home, dress in whatever made them feel most comfortable, and given the same instructions during the shoot. While the framework for each portrait was consistent, the choices within it are entirely their own. Blankets, sheets, along with each subject's posture and expression, became their markers of self-expression, showing us how individuality emerges even among those who share the same roots.