2026-07-03T14:40:08.548Z
Matias Delacroix is a Chilean-raised photojournalist currently based in Panama. With a focus on migration, social unrest, and humanitarian crises, he has covered key events across Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Middle East.
Here’s how he made this extraordinary photo.
Why I Shot This Photo
I was covering a World Cup match in Monterrey when I got the call to head to Venezuela to help cover the earthquake. After taking three flights, I landed the following afternoon and drove toward La Guaira, reaching the disaster zone after dark.
The area was almost completely dark, illuminated only by the spotlights of rescue teams and the flashlights of residents searching for survivors. As I walked through the debris, a single illuminated room inside a heavily damaged apartment building stood out against the darkness. It immediately became the picture I wanted to make because it seemed to tell the whole story in a single frame: overwhelming destruction, yet one small sign that life might still remain.
How I Made This Photo
With very little light and rescue teams conducting sound-based searches, I had to move quietly and keep my presence to a minimum while carefully making my way through the rubble. I composed the frame to emphasize the contrast between the surrounding darkness and the single illuminated room, hoping to create a quiet, contemplative image rather than simply document the destruction.
Why It Works
After witnessing so much loss, I choose to see this image as a symbol of hope.
Amid widespread destruction, uncertainty and grief, one small illuminated room stands out. Rather than focusing solely on the devastation, the photograph draws the viewer toward that small light, inviting them to consider the possibility that someone might still be alive. In a place where families and rescue teams were desperately searching for loved ones, that small light became, at least for me, a quiet symbol of hope.
.jpg?branch=production)
