A Mexican In... Berlin

Fabrizio del Rincon

Vice: Tell us a little about where you’re from.

Fabrizio: I’m from a small farming town in the north of Mexico called Caborca Sonora. It’s a tiny place, overrun with cows and ramshackle buildings. I come from a big family, and I’m the youngest of 12 children.

Wow, that’s a lot of kids. What do your parents do besides procreate?

My father is a typographer and my mother, well, she takes care of the kids. There isn’t really much time for her to do anything else.

Why did you leave Mexico?

It was my parents’ decision, really. Even though it was a small town, the presence of drugs and the cartels was still apparent. My mother and father did what was best for the family. They didn’t want us getting involved with that kind of thing, so the whole family moved to San Diego when I was 14.

Are drugs still a big problem in Mexico?

I think it’s slowly getting better but there’s still a great deal of corruption. In almost all aspects of life, you need to know someone to make things happen. There’s still a lot of marijuana production, and of course Mexico also passes a lot of drugs through to the US from its neighboring countries.

How did you end up in Berlin?

I work as a photographer and I used to regularly move between New York and Paris. We’d heard a lot of good things about the creative possibilities in Berlin. The city itself is very similar to New York in a way because of the different neighborhoods and mix of cultures.

How do Germans compare to Mexicans?

I’d say the biggest difference is that the Germans are generally more closed off and reserved. I like it in a way, but Mexicans are just more open, you know? They’ll invite you to their house five minutes after meeting you for the first time. The Mexican girls are beautiful too.

Is there anything you miss about Mexico?

Well, mainly it’s the food. The weather here is also completely different. I miss the sun and the beach and the people. In winter, Berlin is really depressing and gray. But I like the roughness of the city, I feel like the people are real.

Do you ever get homesick?

During all my years traveling I never really missed Mexico that much, but recently I’ve being getting quite homesick. A lot of things are happening in Mexico at the moment. The art scene is exploding. A lot of my inspiration is coming from back home right now. It’s my roots, you know, so I go back every few months. When I walk down the street, I see the architecture, or I feel the warmth of the sun at the sea… For me, it’s a very inspiring place.

Fabrizio asked if we could put his website after the interview, so here it is: fabriziodelrincon.com.
INTERVIEW AND PHOTO BY TOM LITTLEWOOD