Christmas Piggies by Ivan Gonzalez

Check out this colorful gallery of Christmas Piggies by Venezuelan photographer Ivan Gonzalez. During Christmas in Venezuela, businesses place plastic piggy banks, each decorated in a unique style, on their front counters where customers can drop coins in for a Christmas donation. To visit the piggy gallery click here.

(Photo ©Ivan Gonzalez-All Rights Reserved)

Gonzalez, based in Caracas, Venezuela, is also a videographer. 

You can find all his stories in his site: ivangonzalez.photoshelter.com

Comandante - Hugo Chavez's Venezuela Book

 Comandante

I want to present the book Comandante about Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez by Rory Carroll, an Irish journalist I had the opportunity to know in Caracas.

I admire journalists who step forward and dare to write about Venezuelan politics because it is guaranteed to get heated criticism from both sides of the country's political divide: Chavistas and the opposition.

I lived in Caracas por six years covering news. The most difficult thing about the story of Chavez was that depending on your political views, you could find the good or the bad, but Rory explains nicely with these words: "Home was Caracas, a front-row seat to Hugo Chavez's Venezuela. A fascinating polarising, fustrating story: the world judged him as a monster or messiah, but he was more interesting, and it took a book to explain why."

(Photo ©Chico Sanchez-All Rights Reserved)

Of course, one book can't fully explain any subject, much less the life of Hugo Chavez, but it sheds some light on him as a political figure.

Two of my photographs of Chavez are published in the book. One is an image of Hugo Chavez and Cuban President Fidel Castro. I took this picture when I was still learning how to take pictures. I was at the airport on my way home to visit family when I heard Fidel Castro was arriving to meet Chavez at the airport. I lined up with the rest of the press and got in, and took my first news pictures.

The other image is of Chavez holding up a bring green parrot wearing a Chavez's iconic red beret. I'll never forget being amazeed seeing that tiny red beret on the parrot's head! That was the first political rally I covered, and a few days later I started working as a freelancer with Reuters.

(Photo ©Chico Sanchez-All Rights Reserved)

For more information about Comandante click here.
Fore more about the author Rory Carroll click here.

If you want to see some of the pictures I took in those years in Venezuela please visit the slide show in this link: www.chicosanchez.com/venezuela

My last day with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez

(Photo by Chico Sanchez / EFE)

For six years I worked as a photographer in Venezuela for the picture agency Reuters, EPA and EFE. I spent most of this time taking pictures of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who died yesterday, Tuesday, March 5, 2013. 

At right, is one of the last pictures I took of Chavez, in which he is kissing the belly of his pregnant daughter. This moment was not meant for the cameras, but happened during a break of the programming of  his weekly show "Alo Presidente!" or "Hello President!" in his home of Barinas, Venezuela. 

Hugo Chavez was and is and always will be a polemic figure. Some love him. Some the opposite. But this is a photography blog, not political, so I want to share with you some of the pictures I took in those years in Venezuela. Please visit the slide show in this link: www.chicosanchez.com/venezuela

Ivan - Stronger than a hug

I want to share the story Stronger than a Hug. This great story is about Alonso Barrios, a 9-year-old boy, who was born without arms and who learned to live with his handicap, photographed by Ivan Gonzalez.  Ivan is a photographer and photo editor in Caracas, Venezuela. He is also a good friend. We worked together for several years in Venezuela. I'm honored to feature his work in my blog.

To see the slide show click in the picture.

(Photo ©Ivan González-All Rights Reserved)

To see more pictures of Ivan González please enter this link (In Spanish):

http://ivangonzalez.photoshelter.com

Ancla2 - Community Journalism for Children in Venezuela

I'm sharing a short multimedia piece by Ancla2, a cooperative that gives photography and community journalism workshops to children in Venezuela. The video is recorded in Gavidia, a village in Venezuela's Andes mountains. The coop does an amazing job all around the country, especially with youth who live in areas with high street violence and drugs. The piece is in Spanish but I think even non Spanish speakers will be touched by the story it tels.  It lasts 11 minutes.
                                 
                                      To see it enter in this adress: http://vimeo.com/28554690

(Photo ©Neidy Monsalve/Ancla2-All Rights Reserved)

To contact them or see all their activities here is their website : http://www.ancla2.com