El Charro Negro

50"×40" Archival Pigment Print Edition 4 of 6 2021 "EL CHARRO NEGRO is a legend from my village that tells the story of a tall, elegant spectral horseman in black attire who appears to lone travelers on rural roads in Mexico on a black horse with fiery eyes, representing ambition and a pact with the devil in exchange for wealth. He can lead to perdition, but only if the traveler accepts his help, climbs onto his horse, or accepts his riches, otherwise he only offers companionship. Most people in modern Mexico have been shaped by the Catholic religion. Similarly, Swiss religion, myths, and legends are a mixture of European traditions and influences, such as Christianity, and blends of both. Mexico and Switzerland have a strong attachment to nature and a great symbolism of power surrounding mountains. El Charro Negro comes from the series THE HOLY MOUNTAINS, a hybrid project that blends the two worlds through fictional cultural overlaps." Diego Moreno (b. San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico, 1992) is a visual artist, photographer, and narrative storyteller based between Mexico and Switzerland. His work approaches photography as a tool to create new worlds, entwined with text, drawing, and painting. Through family photo archives, graphic intervention, and collage, he explores popular mythology, legends, and magical stories, drawing analogies and creating invented realities. His work centers themes of identity, religion, violence, affection, and the complexity of family and cultural ties. He considers photography a medium for narrative control, which has inspired his focus on photobooks. He has been named as one of the most influential young photographers in the world by The British Journal Of Photography UK; Creative Review UK and FOAM MAGAZINE Netherlands. He has received various awards: the POY LATAM Latin American Photography Award in three categories in 2025 and 2019 in Quito, Ecuador; the UNSTUCK 2022 Award in Toronto, Canada, awarded by the Magenta Foundation; FOAM TALENT 2022 in Amsterdam; iPhone Photography Awards 2021 in New York; LensCulture Art Awards 2021 in Amsterdam; Cheerz Photo Festival 2019 in Paris, France; International Image Award 2019 in Mexico; LensCulture Emerging Talent Award 2018 in Amsterdam; and the Acquisition Award at the 10th Puebla de los Ángeles Biennial 2015 in Mexico. He has shown in more than twenty solo exhibitions and multiple group exhibitions across the globe. His photographs are included in public and private collections including the Getty Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (New York), AirMontreux (Switzerland), FOAM Fotografie Museum (Amsterdam), the Fundación Televisa (Mexico DF), the Universidad Iberoamericana (Puebla), and the Centro Cultural Estación Mapocho (Santiago de Chile). He currently lives and works between Mexico and Switzerland.