Mérida, Yucatán — The Yucatan State Human Rights Commission (Codhey) and the municipal DIF named the winners of the third annual Seniors and Human Rights photo contest.
Photographers were honored Tuesday in the Olimpo Cultural Center’s courtyard.
The first-place prize went to Mayra Guadalupe Canche Pacab for her poignant portrait of an elderly Yucatecan woman cradling a baby while gazing meaningfully into his eyes. The name of the photo translates roughly to “Origin of the Look.”
Second-place honors went to Jonathan Arévalo Ramos, who captured a light moment with “The Dancers” and Georgina Matu Amaya took third for “Momentos,” an atmospheric portrait of a man sitting on a stoop, his dog by his side.
The three received a cash prize of 10,000, 6,000 and 4,000 pesos respectively.
The state ombudsman, Enrique Goff Ailloud, spoke about the landscape of violence and discrimination which the elderly endure at home or at work.
Although they should be enjoying retirement, he added, they cannot stop working because their pensions are insufficient to subsist, much less to lead a quiet life.
The photo contest seeks to raise awareness of the elderly in Yucatán, said Goff Ailloud, calling for more and better public policies to protect this population.
“We are failing them,” he said in Spanish to the local media.
Awards were also given to participants Eymi Guadalupe Collí Suárez, Lilia Balam Magaña, Pedro Tec Chim, Elda Vales Manzanilla and Eduardo Ortíz Galaz.
Source: La Jornada Maya
