Living in Peru : your everyday companion

It has taken us a long time to describe all of the activities that Guillermo Rivas Romero has developed, and continues to develop in various cultural arenas.

Economist by profession, he has held prestigious positions such as a company executive for Televisión Nacional del Perú, professor at the Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería, Centro Cultural of La Católica, and Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, where he is currently teaching classes related to Economics and Photography.

Rivas has just presented a beautiful bilingual book, titled “Mi Patria a Colores,” which is dedicated to the geographical, spiritual, and visual wonders of Peru.

The book is co-edited by the Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola and the Centro Peruano de Estudios Culturales, with the generous support of Faber Castell. The book presents various photographs taken during the author’s many trips throughout Peru.

Rivas, who maintains that photography is another one of the fine arts, affirms that with the photos included in his book he has “deliberately violated many of the alleged rules” of photography. He doesn’t present photos in black and white, and uses and manipulates light, movement, focus, and various planes, all with the point of focusing on color, as well as the composition of the photos.

“The making of this book has been like giving birth,” he explains, referring to the time and the effort that it has cost him. Within the book, the photos are accompanied by descriptions, and are not limited to the information about the photo, but also present Rivas’ reflections and emotions that each photo presents. Therefore, this book combines photos and text to narrate a story.

“The book is strongly focused on the people from the mountains (sierra), no only because I live fascinated with the marvelous blue sky, but also with the people of the region, who live surrounded by this sky and these landscapes.
These people live in a completely unique way, with huge inner wealth, with values that we should examine as well,” says Rivas, explaining that Peru has always, and doesn’t stop amazing him.

When asked if he believed himself to be rebellious within the world of photography, Rivas responds “let’s say yes, because I am not limited to taking pictures, but rather, I live them, I comment on them, and I try to find in my photos the things that to other people, would pass by unnoticed.

Rivas has exhibited his photography in cities such as Chicago, Beijing, Pingyao (International Photography Festival 2006), Hong Kong, Sidney (International Photography and Film Festival), and in the University of Notre Dame, in Indiana. He is currently working on developing two editorial projects entitled “Las Iglesias Coloniales de Perú” and “El Rostro de Perú.”