Qotzuñi: People of the Lake
BY GASTÓN ZILBERMAN
“Qotzuñi: People of the Lake” immerses viewers in the poignant reality of the Uru community, once inhabitants of Lake Poopó in Bolivia. This photographic essay serves as a testament to the impact of the climate crisis and industrial contamination on indigenous communities, shedding light on their resilience and unwavering spirit. Each image offers a window into a community displaced not only physically but also emotionally and culturally, as their ancestral home fades away. The Uru’s shift from a life sustained by hunting and fishing to creating artisan crafts reflects their resilience in the face of environmental change. Their crafts now serve as both a means of survival and a powerful expression of cultural heritage. This work stands as both a testament to the consequences of environmental degradation and a celebration of humanity’s enduring spirit, calling for a more sustainable and empathetic world.
ABOUT GASTÓN
Gastón Zilberman is a 23-year-old photographer and filmmaker based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, passionate about climate storytelling. He works with social and environmental issues and specially with indigenous communities in South America struggling with the consequences of the climate crisis. He studies and teaches photography in Escuela Motivarte and also studies Design in Torcuato Di Tella University. He works documenting humanitarian interventions worldwide with CADENA NGO and he has been featured in National Geographic. Passionate about using images and video to capture important social and environmental issues, his work often focuses on humanitarian interventions, and had the privilege of documenting many of these interventions both in Argentina and abroad. He’s been documenting an historical intervention during the war in Ukraine in March 2022 with refugees on the border with Poland for CADENA NGO. His work was published in National Geographic in April 2023 for their story “All aboard the slow train to Patagonia, a relic of a bygone era”. He started his career as a sports photographer in 2015 and sold a Buenos Aires Marathon picture to Nike in 2018. Since then, he expanded his portfolio to include a wide range of projects, including social events, commercials, corporate and institutional events, music live sets, and more, but for several years now, he focuses on social and environmental issues. He is also a collaborator with Youth for Climate Argentina.
