Kenys, aged 25 from Los Toques,Venezuela

I was in Canal de Chalco earlier today to meet up with Carlos in order to take a picture of him as I am currently working on a portrait series connected to incarceration/freedom.

Alongside the work I was there to do, I got to hang out with a few other guys I know, including Donovan and Kenys, a rapper from Venezuela who is currently in Mexico for a few shows around the country.

Before I started to ask Kenys about life back home, myself and a bunch of friends enjoyed a nice lunch and chatted about stuff in general. 

I asked Donovan how were things in his neighbourhood right now. He lives in San Francisco, Culhuacan, in the southern part of the city which is another places where high levels of crime and poverty exist.

Before Donovan responded, I mentioned the killing this week in broad daylight of a pregnant lady in her mid 30’s; she was shot dead in Apatlaco, right by a busy road. A source who lives in the area mentioned to me that she was involved in crime, hence the reason she got murdered. Very sad indeed!

Donovan then stepped in and told me that a mate of his was killed fairly recently. The victim was involved in illegal activities ( drug related issues ). Sadly, he was shot dead, and all the authorities were able to hand over to the family was the victim’s torso.
Days later, during the funeral, the killer/s apparently returned to drop the victims head, perhaps as a warning…

So many things happen on a daily basis, some very bad indeed. It appears as if nothing happened, as if life continued its course in plain normality… Situations like these become part of ‘normality’ and I keep hearing from friends that, ‘asi es aquí’, meaning that ‘that’s how it is here’…

I finally got to ask Kenys what life is like in Venezuela. He then asks me to be more specific so I re-arrange my question. I mean, - what is life like there in terms of security?
Kenys responds, - It’s pretty tough, especially for the past 3 years. The current government has made it pretty difficult for people to get by. Nobody escapes crime. Whether you belong to the rich or poor class, it does not matter, you need to be very aware of criminals and the police.

While he is sharing his views, I think to myself that Mexico’s reality in that respect is not far off either. Having said that, I feel that one can breath a certain tranquility/freedom in Mexico City, very odd indeed knowing that Mexico is undergoing a tremendously violent transition.

Kenys explains that without an exception, everyone has a family member that has gone through a tough situation in Venezuela. In fact, his cousin was recently incarcerated for robbing a bus. When I ask him if he did it out of necessity ( pretty stupid question ), he responds, - no mate, he did it out of mere stupid. I mean, - who in his sane mind would wanna do that to harm his/her own people?

As we continue to talk about life back home, I decide to shift the conversation towards his rap career, which is the reason he’s in Mexico right now. 

Kenys first got introduced to rap at the age of 11 but professionally speaking he has been doing it for the past 5 years or so. His main rap influences are US and Venezuelan rappers, the likes of ‘Vagos y Maleantes’ which translates as ‘Bums and Criminals’ among a few others.

Before travelling to Mexico, he was recently performing in Colombia before where he enjoyed it very much indeed. Having said that, he does not see a future as a rapper there. On the contrary, he thinks he has more chances to succeed in Mexico given its history and vastness. 

An interesting anecdote he shared with me from his recent trip to Colombia was that on one occasion, Kenys was in a rough part of Colombia accompanying some friends who were going to paint a few murals. As they arrived to the place, they needed to speak to the guy that ran the neighbourhood, rumours had it that the guy was an ex-paramilitary, by the way. 

As they got the thumbs up, the ex-paramilitary pumped his music up and Kenny ironically heard ‘Canserbero’, a highly iconic Venezuelan rapper that passes away almost 2 years ago, burst out of the speakers very loudly. 

Kenny explains that ‘Canserbero’ or ‘El Can’ as he is also known, was a massive influence to the Latin American Hip-Hop scene. His music was an inspiration to youngsters and grown ups alike from all across the continent and beyond. ‘El Can’s’ lyrics were carefully constructed and highly politicised at times. His rhymes provided food for thought surrounding the every day struggles of people.

After a long and interesting coversation with Kenys, I finished off by asking him if he wishes to return to Venezuela to which he responded that if he can find a way of staying here and making money, he has no intentions of returning…