The Tamesis
In the early 1990s, photographer Alejandra Loaiza grew up in the Costa Azul community of Bogata, Colombia, and had always longed for a Mecato.
Mecato is a Colombian word meaning snack or snack, including empanadas, tortillas, plantain chips and chicharrón, which are affordable and often found at street food stalls. Mecato is more than just a snack, it is an important part of the social and cultural rhythms of everyday life in Colombia. When Loaisa comes home from school, she goes straight to a taco truck near her house. When she thinks of Sundays at home, she thinks of the smell of tamales from the jars at the nearby bakery. Loaiza said Mecato “brings energy to the community” Fashion.
When she moved to Europe over a decade ago, one of the things she missed most was mecato, especially late-night food. In Paris, where she now lives, “at 3 a.m. the only thing you can find is kebab, which is fine,” she says. “But I mean, to find a bit of soup at 4 a.m. that makes you feel warm inside is crazy.”
The photographer set out to create a project that celebrated mecato and the “rich daily rituals that bring Colombia to life.” Working with friend Jhonson Camilo Tovar Quintero, a Colombian artist and set designer, she created a series of vibrant diptychs that tell the story of Colombia’s food and culture, incorporating food stalls and restaurants, Catholic iconography, and national pastimes such as Colombia’s national movement, Tejo. For Loaiza, the project is a way to “freeze places that I don’t know if they will still be there in 20 years.” Below, Loaiza shares the project Fashion.
