ÁNIMA

The concept of animism posits that objects possess their own *Ajayu* (soul). With this concept in mind, I began to interact with my personal archive; in this way, each object tells my story and my path toward liberation.

When I was a child, my father’s Quechua family taught me about animism; I felt that everything was connected to Pachamama (Mother Earth). My mother’s family, on the other hand—who wanted nothing to do with the Indigenous world—were Catholic. She taught me to pray to my guardian angel at night. And now, as an adult, I believe in angels—though I’m not sure if it’s because I truly believe, or perhaps because my grandmother did such a great job of evangelizing.

I always felt torn, belonging to both—a mestiza inhabiting two worlds.

Much like many other Bolivian women my age, I imagine.

The most interesting thing is that, in both worlds, I felt alone; because, from a young age, I never identified with the girl who wears a dress and whose destiny was already mapped out—to become a wife and mother.

The concept of animism—the oldest form of spirituality in the world—fascinates me. It posits that objects possess their own Ajayu (soul). I began to relate to my own personal archive—and the photographs I took for this series—in this way. Each one tells the story of my life and my journey toward breaking free from the stereotypes and expectations imposed by my two families.