Words before Flowers – always.

“I’ve wanted to delve into street photography for a while now, which has passionately captivated me since my experience in NYC. In this particular set, you can smell the flowers, hear the shouts of the vendors, and feel transported to that warm and cloudy morning—you can hear the children running with their ball. It’s the kind of art I want to create. These are the stories I want to tell,” explains Alexander Tarazona to us. Accompanied by his gorgeous muse, Zhenya Mashkovska, he wandered around the Plaza de la Macarena, visiting the flower festival.

“Words before Flowers – always.

The Plaza de la Macarena in Bogotá, a nook saturated with stories and myths, joins into an exclusive scene, beautifully depicted in my most recent session with Briela.

Nevertheless, it’s a magical tradition; one where I’ve always heard tales of how this aged and oxidized place adorns itself in colors, immersing itself in a deluge of petals. On certain days of the week, at 5:40 a.m., the stage transforms into a flower festival.

So, we rose early in search of stories. Accompanied by Zhenya, a Ukrainian model who found her home in Colombia years ago and became one of my closest confidantes, we decided to immerse ourselves in this unique experience. Merging with the flowers, she embodied their joy, movement, strength, and delicacy. Some flowers, timid, paled in comparison to her dazzling beauty.

We all know the origin and beauty of flowers. Nothing compares to seeing them fresh, sweet, delicate, and radiant. They are a treasure to admire, yet we seldom pause to question their destiny, their purpose. For whom are they intended? Passionate lovers? Forbidden loves? Silent apologies? Farewells with nostalgia?

A bouquet, like a letter, falls short of expressing it all. The bouquet is the medium, but not the message. Flowers as a remedy for broken hearts or long absences. The noblest gift, yet the most challenging to give.

These flowers are for you.” Alexander Tarazona