Covid-19 Exclusive: Mexico’s resort photographer speaks out

The repercussions of Covid-19 in Mexico

Countries all over the world are struggling economically amid the Covid-19 pandemic; however, for Mexico, it has been especially challenging, because the country was technically in the midst of a recession before the Coronavirus pandemic began, and now it has only gotten worse.

On the authority of Statista, Mexico’s average income amounts to roughly just a little over 12,000 pesos ($534 USD or £423) – 16,000 pesos ($712 USD or £564), which, for most, is not enough.

Furthermore, in Mexico during the pandemic, the unemployment rate increased. According to the Expansion Economía, in the first three months of the pandemic one million jobs were lost, which was registered under the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS).

The World Health Organization reported on 19 July 2020, Mexico’s public health has been greatly impacted due to the Coronavirus, because it is the fourth leading country of Covid deaths with over 38,000.

To find out more information about Mexico’s current situation, I got in touch with Photographer Diego Vallejo, who lives in Cancun, Mexico. He said that there are many  people in Mexico who are still having to live as they normally would, because they are not getting any type of governmental financial assistance; therefore, they still have to outside to work everyday and most Mexican’s do not have the option to work from home.

“There are a lot of people who live with the bare minimum.

They have to go outside everyday to earn cash for the day.”

-Photographer with Vallejo photography, Diego Vallejo

As the population lives like this, it has left many of them at a disadvantage to be prepared for a pandemic such as this. Furthermore, the majority cannot afford to have a week’s worth of groceries in their household. Therefore, they are having to risk going outside everyday in order to get their daily essentials.

Video featured below: Photographer Diego Vallejo discusses further with me how many people are struggling, because they can only afford to live day by day. Diego also shares with me how the government is not providing a lot of support for the people of Mexico.

Pandemic impacts the tourism industry in Mexico

As many resorts depend on tourist to keep their businesses afloat, resorts have had to cut a substantial amount of jobs drastically. For those resorts that have been able to reopen amid the pandemic, they are only allowed to be open at 30% capacity.

Diego Vallejo, who is a photographer in Cancun, Mexico, said about 70% of his income has been affected due to the pandemic. His photography business relies on people coming to Mexico for weddings, family portraits, and Company Group and Conventions. However, because many of these events have been cancelled due to the pandemic, it has greatly impacted Diego’s income.

Fortunately though, Diego said he has been able to find new creative ways to compensate for his lost income.

“A lot of companies are wanting to keep memories of their new ways of doing things post-Covid, so we have been taking pictures and video footage for those companies, and that has kept us afloat.”

– Photographer Diego Vallejo of Vallejo Photography

Additionally, on top of capturing those post-Covid shots and how it has affected businesses, Diego and his wife have also been promoting online purchases in order to generate more income for revenue they have lost due to the pandemic.

“My wife specialises in baby and horseback photography.

Now, she is doing templates for school graduations. She has been selling those not only here in Cancun, but also in other places like Canada.

So, that’s been a blessing of the internet.”

– Photographer Diego Vallejo of Vallejo Photography

Featured video below: Photographer Diego Vallejo shares more with me how his photography business has been affected.

Photo credit: Diego Vallejo Photography

Diego developed his own personal brand on social media

Aside from Diego’s photography business, he also studied business administration while he was in college. According to Diego, his education has enabled him to be financially stable. Below are three books that Diego highly recommends, which have helped him build his financial success for himself, his family, and his business.

Diego also said, there are many young people, especially in Mexico, who have not had the proper education in order to be able to be financially stable. Therefore, knowing this, Diego decided that he wanted to share his knowledge with others by using social media sites, such as Tik Tok and YouTube.

“There’s not a lot of people who have education and knowledge in order to save fo the future.

They are only thinking on the daily basis.

So, I’m trying to teach them my methods and ways you can save money in order to prepare for the future.”

-Photographer Diego Vallejo of Vallejo Photography

After Diego began sharing his knowledge on Tik Tok, he said he began to see an increase in his followers go from zero to 5,000 followers within the matter of a month’s time.

In the video’s featured below, Diego shares his financial teachings (in Spanish) – utilising his social media sites Tik Tok and Youtube – in which he shares how a young person can set themselves up for success for their future.

YouTube: Diego Hernández

Tik Tok: di3gohdz

Video featured below: Photographer Diego Vallejo shares more with me how he has utilised social media sites in order to help educate young people of their personal finances.

Final thoughts from Diego

“All my love to everyone.

You have to be patient and kind in this moment and remember that we are all human beings and we will get through this.

If you’re going through a rough patch, please take notice of this and be more prepared for the next time, because one thing that we are certain of is that change will always happen, so we have to be prepared for the prepared – always, all of the time.

Educate yourself on personal finances, get rid of things you don’t need, and start caring more about yourself and being healthy with yourself and your family and trying to do your best always.”

-Photographer Diego Vallejo of Vallejo Photography

Video featured below: Final thoughts from Photographer Diego Vallejo.