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In September 2008, a group of mothers in Soacha, Colombia denounced the disappearance and death of their sons. An investigation revealed that soldiers from the Colombian Army had killed innocent young men and presented their bodies as those of guerrilla fighters to collect financial bonuses offered by the Colombian government for such killings. Since then, more cases of forced disappearance by the military have been discovered. The mothers of Soacha have tirelessly sought justice for the last nine years to preserve the memory of their sons. 

Colombian photographer Carlos Saavedra’s project “Madres Terra” is based on the interaction between the earth and this group of mothers, focusing on the roles of both mothers and the earth as lifegivers. In this photographic series, a new world is created in which the models, without any physical effort, are suspended in the soil. The burial ritual represents a special moment in which the known physical world is altered, the body changes, symbolizing these mothers’s rebirth.

 

Gloria Astrid Martinez
  Mother of Daniel Alexander Martínez 

© Carlos Saavedra

 

Luz Edilia Palacios
  Mother of Javier Andrés Palacios

© Carlos Saavedra

 

Elvira Vasquez
  Mother of Joaquín Castro 

© Carlos Saavedra

 

Flor Hilda Hernandez
  Mother of Elkin Gustavo Verano Hernandez 

© Carlos Saavedra

 

María Doris Tejada
  Mother of Oscar Alexander Morales Tejada

© Carlos Saavedra

 

Jacqueline Castillo
  Sister of Jaime Castillo

© Carlos Saavedra

 

 Ana Cecilia Arenas
  Sister of Mario Alexander Arenas Garzón 

© Carlos Saavedra

 

Blanca Monroy
  Mother of Julián Oviedo Monroy

© Carlos Saavedra

 

© Carlos Saavedra. By arrangement with the photographer. All rights reserved.

English

In September 2008, a group of mothers in Soacha, Colombia denounced the disappearance and death of their sons. An investigation revealed that soldiers from the Colombian Army had killed innocent young men and presented their bodies as those of guerrilla fighters to collect financial bonuses offered by the Colombian government for such killings. Since then, more cases of forced disappearance by the military have been discovered. The mothers of Soacha have tirelessly sought justice for the last nine years to preserve the memory of their sons. 

Colombian photographer Carlos Saavedra’s project “Madres Terra” is based on the interaction between the earth and this group of mothers, focusing on the roles of both mothers and the earth as lifegivers. In this photographic series, a new world is created in which the models, without any physical effort, are suspended in the soil. The burial ritual represents a special moment in which the known physical world is altered, the body changes, symbolizing these mothers’s rebirth.

 

Gloria Astrid Martinez
  Mother of Daniel Alexander Martínez 

© Carlos Saavedra

 

Luz Edilia Palacios
  Mother of Javier Andrés Palacios

© Carlos Saavedra

 

Elvira Vasquez
  Mother of Joaquín Castro 

© Carlos Saavedra

 

Flor Hilda Hernandez
  Mother of Elkin Gustavo Verano Hernandez 

© Carlos Saavedra

 

María Doris Tejada
  Mother of Oscar Alexander Morales Tejada

© Carlos Saavedra

 

Jacqueline Castillo
  Sister of Jaime Castillo

© Carlos Saavedra

 

 Ana Cecilia Arenas
  Sister of Mario Alexander Arenas Garzón 

© Carlos Saavedra

 

Blanca Monroy
  Mother of Julián Oviedo Monroy

© Carlos Saavedra

 

© Carlos Saavedra. By arrangement with the photographer. All rights reserved.

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