Beyond the Caribbean’s turquoise postcards lie territories that endure—
territories where memory, identity, and solidarity become a refuge in the face of devastation.
“Each of us is a possibility for the other” is a photobook born from the heart of Providencia and Santa Catalina in the aftermath of the devastating passage of Hurricane Iota in November 2020. Through images, stories, and participatory research processes, this work documents the experiences of the Raizal People not only through loss, but also through the collective strength that emerges when a community chooses to rebuild through solidarity, memory, and mutual care.
Led by Raizal researcher Ana María Jessie Serna, this project combines visual anthropology, knowledge co-creation, and sensory ethnography to portray the voices, emotions, and experiences of those who faced one of the most devastating climate events in the recent history of the Colombian Caribbean. Each photograph and testimony reveals a deeply human dimension of resilience: shared shelter, support among neighbors, the rebuilding of the social fabric, and the enduring strength of cultural identity even in the midst of devastation.
The publication was developed within the framework of the project “Strengthening Risk Management through the Generation of Knowledge and Social Innovation (CTeI) to Increase the Community, Natural, and Economic Response Capacity of the Archipelago Department of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina” — BPIN Code 2021000100041, led by the National University of Colombia in collaboration with several partner institutions. Through this collective effort, the photobook becomes a bridge between academia and territory, between research and lived experience, and between memory and transformative action.
This work is also an invitation to see the Caribbean from a deeper perspective: as a place where biodiversity and culture are inseparable, where environmental conservation also means defending the identities and ways of life that have protected these ecosystems for generations.
Fotos: Ana María Jessie Serna
Download and explore this publication—a collection of memory, resilience, and hope from the vast Caribbean seascape.