Latin America Professional Award 2024 Shortlist

This project dives into the endangered waters of Xochimilco, a semi rural borough south of Mexico City. The farmers who navigate the canals and cultivate the chinampas (man-made agricultural islands) are perhaps the last living trace of the native communities that coexisted with the lakes over which Spaniards built their empire. Now, some of them are collaborating with a team at the local university – Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) – to protect their ecosystem and the unique axolotl. A symbol of resistance, the endemic amphibian was considered an aquatic manifestation of the god Xolotl and became very popular with scientists due to its regenerative qualities. It has been widely collected as an aquarium pet, and although they appear to be surviving in tanks all over the world, wild populations are on the brink of extinction as concrete and pollution continue to expand into their habitat.

Luis Antonio Rojas is an independent photographer based in Mexico City who works on personal projects and commissions for international publications. Honors include receiving an honorable mention at the XIX Photography Mexico Biennial, being selected for the World Press Photo 6x6 Talent Program, and being awarded in POY Latam in the categories of news, daily life, and photographer of the year. He became a National Geographic Explorer in 2019 and is a member of Panos Pictures and Frontline Freelance MX.