Alexandre Meneghini

Alexandre Meneghini

Based
Havana, Cuba
Born
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Status
Photographer
“When the pictures I take generate debate, i feel like I’ve done a good job.”

Beat

I focus on shooting daily life features, but I am always ready to cover any relevant news that I may eventually come across with.

One Shot

. HAVANA, Cuba. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini
A boy plays on a street in downtown Havana.
““I was walking in downtown Havana late at night and I came across a boy playing upside-down on the sidewalk. This photo reminds me to enjoy the simple pleasures of life, for they are the most important and Cuba has plenty of them.””

Profile

When I was six I used to play with my father’s Leica. I first learned photography with friends and afterwards started taking lessons. I wanted to be a wild life photographer.

My first assignment was a prison riot in Sao Paulo. I heard about it on my car radio and rushed to the place, which was on the outskirts of the city. I was the only photographer who shot the police action. The editor of the newspaper I was collaborating with at the time was very happy with me and has shown me a lot of support. I learned the necessity of working right and fast.

The story that left the biggest mark on me was about 32 people who left Manzanillo, Cuba on a makeshift boat towards Honduras in hopes of continuing overland to the United States. The boat was found and rescued in the Gulf of Mexico three weeks later. There were 15 survivors onboard. I always remember the pain in the eyes of the victim’s families. At the end of the day this was the story of teenagers dying alone and scared in the middle of the ocean.

When the pictures I take generate debate, i feel like I’ve done a good job. Before taking a picture, it is important to think about why you are doing it.

I really respect children and older people; they are always the ones who suffer the most because of humanity’s folly.

Photography has taught me that we are all the same, regardless of race, religion or where we come from.

Behind the Scenes

. Tarhouna, HAITI
Alexandre Meneghini takes pictures of a fisherman in the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
. Bani Walid, LIBYA
Alexandre Meneghini transmits photos at Sahara desert between Tarhouna and Bani Walid during the Arab Spring in Libya.
. Peshawar, PAKISTAN
Alexandre Meneghini takes pictures inside a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan.