La Paz Funeral Service
Fanny Aucacama, 11th Grade
Bronx Junior Photo League, 2019
This project it is about La Paz Funeral Service, a Funeral Home that is located on 149th Street in The Bronx. I interviewed the funeral director, Pura Vargas, about what she wanted to be, and her thoughts about life and death.
I wanted to do this project because about four years ago my great-grandmother died. When she died I was with her. I saw how she died, and I heard her last breath. When people lose loved ones on TV, they act very emotionally and cry a lot. But when my great-grandmother died I was silent while my tears started to come out. During her funeral it was hard for me to see her in the coffin. I did not want to see her.
I was interested in creating this project because I wanted to learn about different viewpoints on death. I also wanted to make this project for my community because I think that people need to understand that death is something that we have to live with. We don’t have to be scared of it because when it comes, it comes and because of this we have to enjoy our lives.
The whole point of this project is that I wanted to give a message through the lens of my camera that we have to enjoy our lives. Of course there are going to be moments when we feel alone or lost but there is no perfect life, we have to try to be happy even though we may be struggling. Struggle is something that makes us stronger and our mistakes teach us how to be better.
