Interview with José Kaeté, author of “Mergulho”

Photography: Mergulho (2019)

Location: Piyulaga Village, Xingu Indigenous Territory – Mato Grosso, Brazil

José Caeté, a Tupinambá indigenous from Pará, in the Brazilian Amazon region, discovered his passion for photography in childhood, experimenting with cameras borrowed from friends and family to explore this universe. With no formal technical training at first, his photographic journey was marked by ups and downs as he gained access to equipment. Today, photography remains an important hobby in his life, something he practices whenever he has the opportunity, even though it is not his main profession.

Photography as a means of education and deconstructing stereotypes about the Amazon

“I realized that people had a big stereotype about the Amazon region and indigenous peoples. That’s why I decided to use both photography and video to educate people that there are different contexts in the Amazon. Not everyone is the same, things are not the same, nature is not the same, people are not the same. So, in the last 10 years, I would say that this desire to show people the different contexts of the Amazon and educate them is what motivates me to take photos and make videos.”

Connection between photography, nature, and indigenous culture

“The Mergulho photo was taken in Mato Grosso, at the Xingu Indigenous Territory. I was invited to participate in a traditional festival there called Quarupi, which is a festival that marks the end of mourning. At that time, I had a camera, and I went to spend 15 days at a friend’s house in the village. The person who appears in the photo became my great friend, and we formed a strong bond during the time I was there. Like many indigenous peoples, bathing is a sacred thing. The Lagoon where we took the photo is a sacred Lagoon for this people. They believed that bathing early in the morning, with cold water, would drive away various diseases.”

The role of photography in raising awareness and mobilizing for the climate struggle

“Through photography, we can bring allies to our struggle through beauty. I think climate change communication is very fear-based, and that drives people away and leaves them hopeless. But when you show beauty, you can win people over to fight with you. So, I like to use photography and video to show what we need to recognize and showcase the beauty we still have today to transform through love in people’s hearts. So they can align with this cause so we don’t lose it and start fighting with us. I believe that photography is not only to show the negative side of what’s happening, but the good things, especially.”