David Díaz, 1st Prize Winner of the Maravillarte Contest (Photography Category)

About the Shipibo-Konibo Community

As of today, there are 55 Indigenous peoples recognized in Peru—51 from the Amazon and 4 from the Andes.

The Shipibo-Konibo people originate from the Amazon and are the result of a cultural fusion of three previously distinct groups: the Shipibo, the Konibo, and the Shetebo. The name of this people is believed to be related to the words “monkey” and “fish” in their native language. According to their oral tradition, the Shipibo-Konibo were given this name because in the past they used to dye their foreheads, chins, and mouths black with a natural pigment, making them resemble a monkey they called shipi. Today, members of this community have embraced the name, not as a derogatory label, but rather as a reclaimed identity (Morin, 1998).

The artisan and textile production of the Shipibo-Konibo is one of the most renowned in the Peruvian Amazon, particularly due to their distinctive designs. The famous kené design system holds a fundamental place in Shipibo-Konibo culture, as it expresses their worldview. In 2008, kené was declared Cultural Heritage of the Nation.

This riverine community traditionally settled along the banks of the Ucayali River and its tributaries. Today, Shipibo-Konibo communities are found in the departments of Ucayali, Madre de Dios, Loreto, and Huánuco. According to data from the Ministry of Culture, the population living in these communities is estimated at 32,964, making them one of the largest Indigenous groups in the Peruvian Amazon.

Portraits from My Blood is a thoughtful immersion into the intimate world of the artist’s ancestral community. Díaz captures scenes not as indigenist pamphlets, but as historical documents—a remarkable passage where traditional subjects, modern subjectivity, and the enchantment of nature find a genuinely harmonious relationship in the face of the inevitable Western gaze of an artist attuned to both his historical context and ethnic identity.

Interestingly, this same symmetry is reflected in kené textile art, through the principles of translation, mirror reflection, displaced reflection, and rotation. These are likely the very origins of the energetic force that moves their universe—powerful as the immanent spiritual energy of the ícaro, the vibrational force that travels from shaman to receiver, harmonizing body and mind. It is the primordial serpent, the source of all things and spirits of the forest.

Convinced of the holistic flow of the world, the Shipibo believe that humans, plants, animals, and all other natural elements have mother spirits called ibo. Everything suggests that these photographs are also imbued with ibo. Perhaps that’s why the faces in these portraits radiate a sweet, pure air, while their aura casts a bright light on the world.

David Díaz was born in Nuevo Saposoa, Ucayali. Speaking about his work, he states:

“The Shipibo-Konibo people have a dynamic culture that is currently undergoing a time of transition, and many things may no longer be the same in the years to come. That’s why I feel this is the moment—and my responsibility—to document these changes and express them through photography. It is my tool to preserve the memory of my people.”

On Díaz’s work, writer Czar Gutiérrez notes:

“David Díaz is 30 years old and only acquired his first camera eight years ago. ‘That day, my heart was pounding, and I never let go of that device—I even slept with my camera in my arms,’ he recalls. This moment marked the start of a remarkable learning journey.”

David Díaz is a trained professional in digital graphic design and currently lives in Lima, where he studies photography and digital imaging. As an independent photojournalist, he has contributed to La Mula and the Regional Network of Ojo Público. His photographic investigation into deforestation caused by the Mennonite colony in the Masisea communities of Ucayali earned him a grant from the Amazon Rainforest Journalism Fund of the Pulitzer Center in 2021. His work was published in the book Kené Coloring Book (currently in digital format) by Alianza Arkana with support from Amazon Watch in 2020.