This article originally appeared on VICE SpainSelf-taught photographer Oriol Miñarro wanders around the most worn-out neighbourhoods in Spain, trying to find the perfect new object or character to fit his project Welcome to the Barrio. He principally works in the barrios El Raval – an old red-light district – and Ciutat Vella in Barcelona. But he also scours the outskirts of Barcelona, and similar neighbourhoods in other Spanish cities like Valladolid, Burgos, Salamanca, A Coruña and Vigo. He strolls around, looking for timeless images that capture the neighbourhood, but that also capture the idea that people generally have of these kinds of neighbourhoods. That results in a mix of sometimes grim imagery touching on religion, politics, sex and morality.
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Miñarro took up photography at 30. He considered that a bit late to start following an education in the field, so he learned photography through trial and error. That hasn't stopped his work from being lauded: Welcome to the Barrio was one of the finalists of the latest edition of Nexofoto – a photography competition for Spain, Portugal and Latin American countries. Miñarro hopes to turn his project into a book soon.More on VICE:The Residents of Orcasur: Madrid's Toughest NeighbourhoodWe Spent an Afternoon in Madrid's Poshest NeighbourhoodPhotos from Jamaica's Most Beautiful Violent Neighbourhoods
