THE GOLDEN FISH

• Prize
  Gold in Editorial/Photo Essay, Gold in Events/Sport, 2nd Place winner in Editorial
• Photographer
  Marcela Angeles Macedo

There are 7,751,677 people who have disabilities in Mexico. Among them are the athletes that compete in the Paralympic Games every 4 years and bring pride and honor to all Mexicans. Once the Games are over however, these extraordinary men and women disappear from our television screens, and our radar. The photos of this series offer a raw look into the life of Cristopher Tronco, a 31-year-old Paralympic swimmer who has no arms and only one leg. He recently competed at the 2017 World Para Swimming World Series in December in Mexico City where he won a bronze medal and with that a way to get a small retirement pension. These images show the complexity of his mobility simply getting around the city, his codependence on people and objects that facilitate that for him, as well as the emotional freedom that he feels from his sport. And when he is not in the water, he’s fulfilling his other passion - DJing at electronic festivals and sonidero parties (DJs that play cumbia and talk over the music while it plays) and getting everyone up and moving.