Andrés (Chino) Romero Hoyos

//March 2026

//Photographer

Photo: Santiago Escobar Jaramillo

Through his travels around Colombia, Chino came to understand that the landscape is not just a physical feature of the territory, but an expression of the lives of those who inhabit it: what they dream of, what they care for, what they resist and what they build day by day. When he arrived at these places with his camera, he encountered not only mountains, rivers, and forests, but also communities deeply connected to the land. This journey has revealed to him that many Colombians are as unfamiliar with our human geography as we are with our physical geography, and that no map is sufficient without the stories that give it meaning.

Chino's photographic work focuses on making visible the multiple realities that coexist in these territories: the relationship between people and landscape, tradition and change, beauty and difficulty. He is interested in portraying cultural diversity, the strength that comes from vulnerability, and the hope that inhabits everyday life. He wants those who view his images to recognise something of themselves and, at the same time, to question these unfamiliar realities. He works with patience, respect and listening, accompanying processes, talking to people and learning from their ways of understanding the world. He conceives photography as an act of encounter, not just as an artistic expression.

He believes deeply in Colombia's ecological, cultural and human potential, and understands that it can only be developed collectively.

El Boga Residency

Memorias del agua (Memories of Water) is an artistic and community residency project that takes place in Mompox as an exercise in listening, collective creation and living memory around the Ciénaga de Pijiño. Through art, photography and visual narrative, the project seeks to highlight the environmental, cultural and symbolic importance of this ecosystem, recognising it as a source of life, identity and local knowledge.

During the residency, a participatory process is carried out with the inhabitants of Mompox—fishermen, women, young people, and cultural actors—based on dialogue and recognition of the territory. These encounters are complemented by a narrative and image workshop, in which participants explore storytelling tools to tell their own stories about water, the landscape, and daily life in the marsh.

The main result is a co-created travelling exhibition, built from local images, stories and testimonies, designed to circulate through different cultural spaces around the country. The project also leaves behind installed capacities in the community, an image bank for community use and a logbook documenting the experience. Memories of Water is an invitation to look at water again with sensitivity, care and shared memory.

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@chinoromerohoyos