We were lucky to catch up with Itzel Santiago Pastrana recently and have shared our conversation below.
Itzel, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you have a hero? What have you learned from them?
I call them my moms, but they were my actual mom, Pilar, and my oldest sister, Tania, and they are undeniably my hero(s). Both women have taught me to be resilient and as cliche as it sounds, to never give up because “si se puede.” My mom inspires me to this day because she left her home country without knowing a single word of English, leaving behind her career, family, friends, and community, to offer my sisters and I a better chance at a future. Everything she has ever done and does to this day has been for us. Then there was my older, she’s the activist in our family. Tania always goes after things and even back then wouldn’t let her immigration status or the fact that she was a women get in the way of her at least trying or contributing. For example when DACA was first starting she was on the front lines fighting for the rights of the dreamers.
More specifically I learned from these two women that just because of my background, having been an undocumented female immigrant from Mexico in the USA, it didn’t mean I couldn’t accomplish as much or more than someone that had been born here. Both women fought hard to help me and my younger sister navigate a new country and salir adelante (get ahead). My journey is now influenced by them and one saying, “sin miedo al exito.”
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’ve been a scrappy person my whole life. I don’t think that will ever change. It’s part of how I got to where I am today and what will get me through the rest of my career. I like to believe that my scrappiness and the colorful life I have lived so far is what got me here today and will continue to propel me forward.
While I did go to college, I didn’t go for photography or to a campus that offered much of an art program at the time. I obviously didn’t have the funds to buy any fancy equipment, editing program, or photography classes. If anything I was more concerned about getting an actual bed in my small studio apartment instead of the blow up mattress I had in my second year of college. So I used what I already had, a refurbished Nikon 5300 and the lens it had come with. From there I photographed first just friends and then friends of friends. During that time I also reached out to local skate or streetwear brands that I liked and practically begged to intern for a while so I could pick up some things here and there from just watching and then eventually doing. Eventually, I was having other local creatives reaching out to collaborate with me. I realized during that time that if I wanted to make this really happen I needed to invest more time in learning my craft (photography and editing) so I stopped going out as much/staying out late and would only pick up gigs if they paid well which meant I could afford photoshop and some online 10 hour pre-recorded how to video for editing and photography. Of course I was also lucky enough to have met some local creatives who were really talented photographers and they took me under their wing for a season or two.
When I was finally out of college, I was able to collaborate more with other creatives and eventually had a somewhat good enough portfolio that I felt ready to apply to full time jobs or pitch ideas or work, to brands and magazines. Now I photograph all sorts of things, from gala’s, to editorials for magazines, product photography, runways, you name it. My work is a part of me that I am giving to my clients and anyone I photograph. I want them to feel seen or help their vision come to life in a safe space.
If there is one thing I want anyone to know about me is that I’m proud of how I got to where I am and where I am going. I’m excited to see where I land next and what project or idea is around the corner for me.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
There are two things driving my creative journey. I would say that in the past and still to this very day the photography field is very male dominated. There is a lot of ground work to be done to bring in more womxn into this industry. As technology continues to evolve we’re only going to continue to become more of a visual world that is consistently consuming media. If we can begin to even out the field of photography with a diverse group of people we can start breaking down ideologies and create a safer space for those involved in the creative field and for everyone that is daily consuming media. Additionally, I know that by taking up space in my chosen creative field I am making space for future Latinx womxn. And, in a way I’m also here to prove that you can make your dreams/goals a reality and have a voice even if you were/are undocumented.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice
I haven’t quite figured out NFT’s yet, but I know it’s still so new. I also know that no matter how much some of us don’t want to think it’ll be a thing in a few years, it will be. I hope to jump in soon and figure it for myself because I can see NFT’s evolving into something bigger and I would love to be apart of it.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.itzelluccas.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itzel.luccas/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itzel-santiago-pastrana-4195a2b3/
Image Credits
Subway Photo – Model; Ariam Tedla Blue jean patch work photo and black and white headshot; Model; Nat Steiner, Stylist; Gabrielle Stewart HMUA; Ari Haynes Orange backdrop photo: Model; Lisette Guevara, Stylist; Carolina Hernandez, HMUA; Ebony Williams Runway photos: Designer; Dan McLean, Hair: Robert, MUA; Chanel Arielle and Models are Sid (black and white photo) and Rei (image in color)