There are projects you choose with your head, and others that call to you from deep within. Melinka is, without a doubt, one of the latter.
Today, I write to reflect on what it means, after years of shaping Mi Viaje del Héroe (MVDH), to face the most ambitious, complex, and personal challenge of my career as a documentary filmmaker. Melinka is not just a remote point in the Guaitecas Archipelago; it is the place I have chosen to embark on this new chapter, the first work born from all the hard work and hope poured into my MVDH, it is the setting where I intend to pour all the energy and all the learning gathered through my previous work, from the forgotten stations of Soria to the mud of the DANA or the tens of thousands of scorched hectares in Castilla y León.
A connection carved by wind and salt.
Mi elección de Melinka no es casual. Quien ha vivido en el sur de Chile sabe que esa tierra no se visita, se padece y se ama a partes iguales. Durante los años que residí en Chiloé, desarrollé un vínculo con el «mar interior» y sus canales que transformó mi mirada. Aprendí a entender el silencio y la paciencia de quienes dependen del clima para subsistir.
That personal connection with the southern geography is the driving force behind this first documentary project as MVDH. I feel an almost physical need to return to that horizon where the Gulf of Corcovado pushes through whales and storms, to document a reality that traditional media rarely manage to grasp in its true depth.
The magnitude of the challenge
Since the birth of MVDH, he buscado ser un «fotógrafo invisible», alguien capaz de mimetizarse con el entorno para captar la verdadera esencia sin filtros. Pero Melinka exige un paso más. Es el primer proyecto de esta magnitud que afronto de manera integral: desde la investigación histórica hasta la inmersión total que realizaré en 2027.
Accepting this challenge means acknowledging the hard work it has taken to build this project and this NGO. Every night spent editing, every kilometer traveled, and every story salvaged has brought me here. It is a personal challenge that puts me to the test, demanding a narrative and technical maturity that does justice to the importance of what I am about to document.
Admiration for resilience
Si hay algo que define mi visión es la admiración por el «héroe cotidiano». En Melinka, la heroicidad no es un acto puntual; es una forma de vida. Sus habitantes son tallados por la dureza de un paisaje indómito. Su resiliencia no es una palabra de moda, es el resultado de siglos de convivencia con un mar que da y quita por partes iguales, y una tierra que exige respeto.
Documenting their livelihoods and their identity is an act of historical justice. In a world moving toward homogeneity, places like Melinka safeguard an authenticity we cannot afford to forget.
The value of the invisible
People often ask why I invest so much energy in documenting such remote areas. My answer is always the same: because it is there, on the margins, that what is authentic shines the brightest. Documentary work is not only about capturing beautiful images; it is about creating a refuge for collective memory.
In a few days, I begin the first phase of this journey. I return to the south not as a stranger, but as someone who recognizes in that sea a part of their own story. I return to listen, to observe, and to fulfill the commitment I made the day I founded Mi Viaje del Héroe: to stand with the stories that deserve to be eternal.
The road to the Guaitecas begins today. And I could not be more ready.
