Ambito Puerto Vallarta

At a Cost of Letters, A Literary Event at The Genius of Paco
A poem reading by five authors, Raul Bañuelos, Gustavo Iñiguez, Juan Manuel Sarabia, Ab Chronos and Ruben Cham, who also acted as MC.

By Martha Ramírez Ruiz
G raphic Reporter Francisco Javier Perez Jiménez is the recipient of the top recognition the city of Puerto Vallarta awards its dwellers who stand out in their field of activity and benefit the community. He was named to receive the 2010 Vallarta Award in the Art Category, an award presented at the solemn City Hall session within the framework of the city’s double anniversary festivities.
With a career spanning over two decades, Javier Perez distinguishes himself for promoting photography in the city through various projects, such as contests and courses, besides organizing and participating in photo shows both solo and collective.
His career has led him to define his own style; his work is based not only on technique, but he also aims to imbed his personal touch in every photograph, which turn into journalistic chronicle or and instrument of social commentary.  Above all, he captures images that are real artistic expressions, which made him eligible to receive the Vallarta Award.
He has participated in countless exhibitions over 18 years, the first of which was organized by the City of Puerto Vallarta in 1992 and titled Puerto Vallarta Ways and Customs; in 1993  he entered another exhibition organized by the Social, Entertainment and Culture Reporters Association on “Vallartense Society”. In 2001 and 2002 he participated in PhotoSeptember. He is also the winner of the contest The Hunt for the Humpback Whale.
In 2000 his photos were selected to the Honor Collection of the Mexican Association of Professional Photographers. Five years after Hurricane Kenna, he coordinated a contest for professional and amateur photographers on a graphic memoir of the fateful event.
He also had a solo show on the subject of Kenna in 2007. The same year he mounted the exhibition Photograph2 with photographer David Díaz.
IN 2008 he was recognized by the City of Puerto Vallarta on the coordination of the contest Vive Puerto Vallarta with over 100 participants.
His most recent exhibition was Puerto Vallarta in the Heart of Mexico, at Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico City, from April 8 to May 11.
He belongs in the generation that crossed over from analogue to digital photography. He successfully faced the challenge a decade ago to incorporate new technologies to photojournalism, his work has chronicled two decades of Puerto Vallarta history, and is testament that photography is not only technique, but is also art.