Alejandro Cegarra – What happened after the Oskar Barnack Award

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19.09.2014

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You received this year's Leica Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award for your reportage on the Torre de David in Caracas. Large numbers of squatters lived in that building – until they were cleared out. What does that mean for the city?

I think the evacuation was a natural process of reconciliation. The tower couldn't remain occupied by the 4000 to 5000 squatters who were living there illegally. The city needs to revive areas that had been abandoned earlier.

What changes did the Leica Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award bring for you?

A lot has changed. It's a recognition that gives editors in big newspapers and magazines the assurance that I can complete my work in a responsible manner. For me personally, the award showed me that it was the right choice to follow that path and to continue following it.

You were born in 1989 and you're already working for the Associated Press. Could you ever have imagined your career taking off at such an early age?

I could never have imagined that I would be working at this level so quickly. These days I receive offers from VICE, Al Jaazera and numerous European magazines. I am happy and I feel honoured. I have the feeling that life has good things in store for me.
When I began to work as a professional photographer two years ago, I dreamt of working for the Venezuelan and Latin American countries' international press, to work for an agency or a magazine, to travel, to get to know the world and to attend the great photo festivals. This year that all came true. It may sound like a cliché, but I'm still the same young man I was two years ago. I clearly remember coming back to my hotel room after the Leica centenary celebration and after receiving the Leica Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award, and thinking, 'my dream has come true – now I need to find a new one'.