“Donde Florecen Estas Flores” (Where These Flowers Bloom), Ana Margarita Flores’ tribute to the women of her Peruvian homeland, initially stemmed from a simple question: “Who am I?” Having spent much of her life not seeing herself as a person of color, but instead as a white Peruvian woman, she began a profound journey to reconnect with her Indigenous Andean identity through photography. Flores tells writer Gem Fletcher about taking risks, the sacred ritual of sharing intergenerational knowledge and the empowerment born from genuinely understanding your roots.
“It’s really crazy how we see ourselves through other people’s eyes,” says photographer Ana Margarita Flores, who emigrated from Peru to Switzerland when she was a baby and, for much of her life, identified as a white Peruvian woman rather than as a person of color.
“My parents wanted me to fully assimilate into Swiss culture,” she explains, “and they raised me with that mindset, encouraging me to think like a Swiss person while still acknowledging my Peruvian roots.” The Flores rarely talked about Peru in their household; “I believed this was because they preferred that I look forward rather than “backwards” to my roots, likely tied to personal experiences—moving to a new country, adapting to a new culture, making sure I could fit into this new landscape,” Flores says. “Initially, I felt so ashamed of my lack of knowledge about my heritage.”
It wasn’t until she moved to London and began studying fashion photography that she discovered the depths of her Andean ethnicity through conversations with friends and tutors. During her degree, she traveled back and forth to Peru, spending time with family and reconnecting with the country. Her first body of work, “Hasta Las Estrellas” (Up to the Stars), is an ode to her 88-year-old paternal grandmother, Ana. Taking inspiration from the family archive, the tender yet quietly defiant portraits show Ana engaged in rituals of self-care, surrounded by framed photos of the family proudly displayed in her home. Mixing staged and documentary photographs, the collaborative project embodies the sacred ritual of passing down intergenerational knowledge and its vital role in preserving Indigenous culture.
“We shared deeply personal stories about our lives,” explains Flores about her trip to Ancón, Lima. “Things neither of us has shared with anyone. I shared my passion for photography, and she revealed her love for dance and fashion. Witnessing her dance for the first time unveiled new layers of her personality, beyond her roles as a mother and grandmother. Her pride and self-confidence when dancing reminded me that she was not only my sweet and caring ‘Mama Ana,’ as I name her, but also a woman who used art as a form of self-expression.”
During their time together, Ana taught Flores family recipes and traditional dances like the Marinera and Huayno, opening the doors to a deeper understanding of each other and the cultural traditions which connect them. The act of making pictures offered a safe space for the duo to freely express themselves and explore their bond in small and intricate ways. “I left feeling so connected with her and the country,” adds Flores. “The work is a love letter to her and everything she has done for me.”
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“It’s really crazy how we see ourselves through other people’s eyes. I never saw myself as a Peruvian woman.”
Growing up, I was taught to strive for white European superiority without questioning the vestiges of colonialism.
In 2023, Flores returned to Peru, this time to her birthplace, Cusco, and the neighboring villages in the Valle Sagrado region. Here, she began making “Donde Florecen Estas Flores” (Where These Flowers Bloom) with the intention of documenting a community of Andean women and how they express their identity through fashion—focusing on the talismanic quality of exquisite handmade polleras (pleated skirts which vary depending on region and local traditions), Enaguas (underskirts which give polleras their distinct shape and volume) or Ojotas (sandals). These garments, many predating colonialism, offer women a way to remain connected with their ancestral heritage.
To create proud, powerful photographs countering the passive, stereotypical representation of Indigenous women, Flores ensured her collaborators played an active role in creating the work. Together, they would set up a shot, and the sitter would often hold the shutter release cable, ultimately deciding on the decisive moment the image would be made. In addition to co-authoring the work, Flores included archival images of her mother and grandmother in the project, illuminating her matrilineal connections to Peru. She also turned the camera on herself for the first time, a “nerve-racking yet grounding” experience that she describes as “spiritual,” placing herself in the context of her homeland.
While Flores’ projects capture the beauty and depth of her Peruvian heritage, “Donde Florecen Estas Flores” also aims to spark a conversation on internalized racism in a Peruvian society. “Growing up, I was taught to strive for white European superiority without questioning the vestiges of colonialism,” she explains. “Getting to know Peru has been an education on the complex socio-political tensions around identity, giving context to my own upbringing and the ways racism undermines Indigenous knowledge, blood and land as ‘other’ or inferior. Over the last five years, I’ve thought about what my life would have been had we never emigrated to Switzerland. Who would I be today? Making this work has been a life-changing experience. The moment I arrived in Cusco, I felt a sense of belonging, and I’m so grateful to photography for forcing me to open my eyes.”