Lago

In the world, there are 194 countries and 510 million square kilometers of land. The Earth also contains 1.386 billion cubic kilometers of water, of which 97.5% is saltwater and only 2.5% is freshwater. I want to talk about a portion of that small percentage of water, the 2.5%, because it holds a part of my own story. I am referring to Lake Maracaibo.

Lake Maracaibo is the largest freshwater reservoir in Latin America, located in northern Venezuela. It connects to the sea through a narrow strait, and on its western side lies the city where I was born and raised: Maracaibo.

This hydrological basin holds immense economic, historical, and social significance. It has been one of the world’s richest oil-producing regions, with over 15,000 wells drilled in its basin since 1914. It is also home to the Catatumbo lightning, a phenomenon that produces over a million lightning strikes per year and was first mentioned in 1597 in a poem by Lope de Vega. Around the lake, ancestral populations and indigenous communities have settled, and it has facilitated the development of agriculture and livestock in the region. Despite all this, it is now a victim of deterioration, pollution, and neglect.

The need to bring visibility to this space and its challenges, while activating my own memories and recollections, has been the driving force behind creating Lago. The project builds a subjective narrative where stars, maps, and routes trace a nostalgic and magical journey. It is a voyage to a territory filled with stories, communities, natural phenomena, and urban transformations that reflect the human presence within and around the lake.