Bonanza is a long-term photographic project that explores what it means to be young in La Línea de la Concepción, a city in southern Spain deeply stigmatized by unemployment and drug trafficking.

With the highest unemployment rate in Andalusia and the second highest in Spain, some young people in La Línea face significant challenges, such as school failure and social exclusion.

This city, which borders the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, relies on the fishing industry, the jobs in the tourist area Costa del Sol, the chemical hub of the Bay of Algeciras and the ones in Gibraltar-based companies, although it is more widely known for drug trafficking and tobacco smuggling.

The scarcity faced by this community originates from the border closure decreed by dictator Franco from 1969 to 1981. Those years of blockade led La Línea de la Concepción into an economic crisis from which it is still recovering. The lack of job opportunities pushed many people to emigrate and others to turn to tobacco smuggling to survive.

The stigma generated by the lack of economic resources and drug trafficking has made it difficult, among other things, to fill permanent teaching positions in schools, as people perceive the area as an unsafe place overrun by drug traffickers. This perception is irresponsibly fueled by the press, which presents a single, biased view of the city and its inhabitants.

That’s why with this project, I aim to break away from the image of the "narco city" and shed light on the young people striving to make their way in this vibrant and luminous city. With this spirit, I have chosen the title Bonanza, a term used by the local fishermen to describe favorable sea conditions, which also signifies prosperity and happiness. I want to offer a perspective of the area that contrasts with the one portrayed by the media, presenting a sincere portrait of a city with a resilient, diverse, and welcoming youth eager to thrive in this place between Europe and Africa.

This project has been featured in El País.