Quad Cities photographer wins Chicago’s “The Wings of Mexico” contest

By Anastassia Zvoryguina, Hola America News

Chicago, IL - Last year Chicago got a chance to display an amazing piece of artwork by world-renowned Mexican artist, Jorge Marin. The Wings of Mexico, a bronze sculpture by Marin was displayed at the Plaza of The Americas in Chicago all summer. During the time displayed, the Mexican Consulate in Chicago, in partnership with the Jorge Marin Foundation and the Magnificent Mile Association held a special photo contest, and Quad Cities’ own, and Hola America photographer, Antonio Varela won first place.

The Wings of Mexico is a special sculpture that symbolizes the immigrant journey. This sculpture by Jorge Marin travels around the world inviting everyone to celebrate unity, freedom, and hope. The Mexican Consulate, Jorge Marin Foundation, and Magnificent Mile Foundation ran the contest where the participants had to take a photo of the Wings of Mexico and post what this sculpture means to them.

“I saw a post on social media and saw that the 1st prize would be a free trip to Mexico and I had to try to enter. I have seen the wings of Mexico 2 times before in Mexico City and San Antonio, TX. seeing the wings for the 3rd time I thought would be the charm! “ Antonio Varela shared.

Varela, the first-prize winner, explained that he hoped he would win. He waited almost until the end of the contest to post his entry, making sure his entry was not similar to other participants’ ideas.

“I had hundreds of ideas I wanted to do to win the free trip to Mexico,” Varela said about the image that won him the main prize. “The only problem was you could only post one photo. So on the way to Chicago, I figured if I was going to win the competition I had to make the image I captured be about my truth and not anyone else’s. So this photo is a depiction of my parents’ work and love towards my siblings and me. So the best way to capture that was taking the photo of my beautiful wife Sandra and my amazing kids Isaac, Adriel, and Aniram.”

And this amazing photo captured the hearts of the voters and made Varela the winner and even gave him more confidence to continue what he loves to do the most.

“As a photographer, you always doubt yourself and compare yourself with others, and this really boosted my confidence and reminded me that my photos are pieces of art,” he said.

Varela has been taking photos since he was just a kid in middle school. In 2015 he launched his photography business AJV Original and has been photographing special events all over the Midwest since then. Varela has been a regular contributor to Hola America since 2021. He shared that it was not his first competition and definitely not the last.

As to this specific competition Varela wanted everyone to know that it was especially dedicated to his parents Jesus and Marina. Congratulations to Antonio Varela for the win!

La foto ganadora del concurso “Las Alas de México” organizado por el Consulado de México en Chicago, en colaboración con la Fundación Jorge Marín y la Magnificent Mile Association.

“Esta foto es una representación del trabajo y el amor de mis padres hacia mis hermanos y hacia mí. Por eso, la mejor forma de plasmarlo fue sacar la foto de mi preciosa mujer Sandra y mis increíbles hijos Isaac, Adriel y Aniram.” dijo el fotógrafo Antonio Varela.

Grupo Intocable Evolución Tour 2023

El grupo Intocable dio comienzo a su gira Evolución Tour 2023 en EE. UU. con shows en Detroit, Chicago y Moline, IL del 3 al 5 de febrero. Las imágenes son de su concierto en Moline, IL el 5 de febrero.

Grupo Intocable kicked off their Evolución Tour 2023 in the US with shows in Detroit, Chicago and Moline, IL from February 3-5.

Images are from their February 5, Moline, IL show.

Photos by Antonio Varela / Hola America