The Draft Dodgers

The Draft Dodgers   is a photographic narrative drawn from the archives of a family photo album that traces the life of my uncle Ismael, an enigmatic and memorable figure from my childhood. 

As the only member of my family to have emigrated to Europe—to Sweden, from Costa Rica in the late 1970s—he has always held a special place in my imagination.

He died young, at age 40, and the cause of his death remained unclear—almost taboo—for a long time, until I discovered that it was pneumonia caused by the HIV virus. This truth was concealed for years, and his story was often used as a cautionary tale to discourage me from going to Europe, as if he embodied a kind of fate to be avoided.

This work is based on the concept of the “black sheep,” or, to use Jules Vallès’s words, the  refractory  : people who deviate from family and social expectations. I approach this perspective in a deliberately positive way, emphasizing the freedom with which Ismael lived his life, without compromise or regret. 

through this story, I seek to explore the sense of belonging and the construction of identity shaped by family dynamics and the experience of migration. This narrative has taken the form of a photo book, drawing on the depth of the visual archives I discovered and the richness of the themes they encompass.