José Luis Cano Hinojosa—known on Instagram as @jlcanoh—was born and raised in Durango, Mexico, a place he describes with both pride and quiet defiance.
“Durango is a vast land with a wide variety of landscapes, but despite having it all, it often feels like we have nothing. We lack borders and seas that connect us to the political or economic interests of this country. You can feel the indifference toward our land all the time. But it is in this “rejection” that curiosity and observation become a necessity, because it seems as if no one is watching us,” he explains.
José Luis says Durango is a place one has to experience. It’s that blend of profound silence and streets bathed in a particular light, making Durango impossible to ignore. “When I discovered photography,” he adds, “I found in my city a beautiful synchronicity unlike anywhere else.”
His path to photography began in 2017. “At first, my camera was simply a tool to find my voice through film and video, but later, during the pandemic, when cinema’s naturally collective nature was absent, photography became an individual, intimate, and independent creative necessity.”
Photography nurtured José Luis’ powers of observation and deepened his appreciation of time. “It made me a more introspective person. It allowed me to get to know myself through the streets and the people I had always seen in my city. I wanted to express myself so that others could discover beauty in the everyday.”
Although no visual artists preceded him in his family—music was the dominant artistic language at home—he credits his loved ones for shaping his creative ambitions.
As the youngest child, he absorbed the artistic tastes around him and found constant encouragement to pursue his dreams. Mostly self-taught, with only brief formal courses, he built his knowledge through practice and through dialogue with fellow photographers in his city.
For José Luis, photography is “the combination of memory, time, and space.” It is an art form that allows people to travel through memory—whether their own or someone else’s.
“I define my style as callejero neo norteño,” he says, “as I aim to capture the contemporary northern Mexican experience.”
In recent years, many of José Luis’ personal and creative journeys have centered on the places and characters of Mexico’s new north. “I have photographed locations that pay tribute to the wide variety of northern characters across the country—from Durango to Zacatecas, Sinaloa, Baja California, Coahuila, Sonora, Chihuahua, and Nuevo León.”
Working in Mexico is both exhilarating and complex; creatively, he finds the country inexhaustible.
“Being a photographer in Mexico is creatively rewarding—every inch of this country is filled with surreal images and a mix of people, colors, places, and emotions you never grow accustomed to.”
“As a street photographer, this is a country that lives in constant fear because of the violence that surrounds us.”
He explains that carrying a camera is a responsibility: “You must never make people feel as though they are being watched with bad intentions.”
Over time, José Luis has developed a discreet technique guided by respect and, as he puts it, “the sole intention of sharing moments between my camera and the people in front of it.”
Before heading out, his preparation is simple. “Never leave home without a camera.” Over time, he has collected second-hand cameras suited to different rhythms of life—pocket digitals, film cameras he wears like a necklace, and interchangeable-lens cameras for larger events. Whatever the equipment, his intention remains the same: To portray realities and people, especially scenes that resonate with his own experience of being northern.
Among his most meaningful projects are the photographs he made in Tijuana in June 2025, during his first visit to the city.
“My photographs in Tijuana are very special to me. I took them in June 2025, and that trip was the first time I had ever visited the city. I was only going for three days, and I had traveled with a film camera—but I didn’t have any film; my plan was to buy some there. It turned out that during the first two days I couldn’t find any rolls anywhere, and finally, I found one through an Instagram bazaar.”
“When I received it, I only had a few hours left before my flight, so I went straight to the border at the beach at sunset. Being there, I encountered images that took my breath away—from families spending time next to a wall to people peeking through the fence to the other side. It sparked endless reflections on the limits humans invent and the political and economic differences we all endure.”
Another turning point came much earlier, when he saw an image from his first developed roll of film.
“This photograph was part of my first developed roll of film. When I saw it, I was mesmerized by the texture of the film and the colors. Thanks to this photograph, I was able to lose my fear of experimenting with other photographic processes that are now fundamental to my work.”
When it comes to his style, José Luis finds in improvisation “a fun and sensory catharsis that I would not like to give up.” Research guides him—to places, people, events—but once there, he allows intuition to take over.
One day, as he arrived at his father’s house, he noticed a circus set up in a vacant lot across the street.
The light was perfect. He asked his father to come with him, and there, in the glow of late afternoon, he made a portrait that changed something in him. “When you feel the support of your loved ones,” he realized, “fear disappears.”
If he could speak to his younger self, his advice would be: “Never lose your curiosity. Live every day with a creative perspective.” Even when days feel repetitive, he believes, they are never the same.
“Move forward and don’t overthink it—your efforts will be worth it.”
Today, he is working on a project documenting family traditions in northern Mexico, this time stepping away from the street to explore “the intimacy of togetherness.” Looking ahead to 2026, he is drawn to the social phenomenon surrounding the upcoming FIFA World Cup.
He hopes to travel to Mexico City to capture the event’s dualities—celebration and protest alike—“the failures and the successes told through images.”
To rising photographers, his message echoes his own journey: “You don’t have to distance yourself from your roots to do what you love.” There is no obligation to leave one’s city in pursuit of art. What matters is persistence.
“Never stop creating. There are things in art that we can do in our free time; we just need patience and determination. Passion nourishes the soul.”
His dream projects all revolve around movement—traveling to remote corners of Mexico to document fleeting images, or embarking on road trips to photograph life on tour with a regional Mexican band. For José Luis Cano, the road, like the streets of Durango, remains a stage where memory, time, and space converge—and where the choreography of everyday life continues to unfold.
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Soledad Quartucci, PhD, CEO, Latina Republic
Latina Republic’s cultural reporting highlights the artists, storytellers, and visionaries shaping the creative heartbeat of Latin America and its diaspora. Through in-depth interviews and narrative features, we celebrate the traditions, identities, and everyday histories that define our communities. Our work uplifts emerging and established voices, giving space to the cultural movements, personal journeys, and artistic expressions that inspire connection and deepen understanding across the Americas.
