Alicia Fernández Barranco's doctoral thesis , entitled 'Lola Álvarez Bravo: photographer, also of architecture', focuses on an unpublished facet almost ignored by the academic literature: the architectural photography of Lola Álvarez Bravo. Alicia, who has been able to make her doctorate thanks to a scholarship of the association of Friends (ADA) of the University of Navarra, tells us how the process of research has been and what she has learned from it.

Who is Lola Álvarez Bravo?

She is a Mexican photographer known internationally for her photomurals, portraits and urban photography, but not for this other aspect of her work work: her architectural photography. My research brings to light the more than 12,000 negatives of the photographer, confirming that this genre was also important in her career. This research was the first time that the complete file has been seen in terms of negatives (in the custody of the Center For Creative Photography), and also the last time, since last April the center froze the material. 

Why did you choose this topic?

On the one hand, I wanted to focus on one of my great passions: photography (and even more, architecture); and, on the other hand, I wanted to contribute to a still pending task: to value the work of one of the many female photographers (and, even more, modern and Latin American) that the twentieth century brought with it. 

What would you highlight of the learning process during the realization of doctorate?

It is very enriching to think and generate knowledge: to have enough quality time to stop, contextualize, analyze and propose views. Of all that I have learned (which has been a lot and from many sources: researchers, my directors of thesis and the Álvarez Bravo Soto family, to cite three examples), I highlight the tools that you acquire: a very powerful backpack that equips you to take off and start a new episode.

What is the most difficult part of making a doctorate?

-Find a topic that, five years later, still excites you as much as the first day.

After submitting your thesis , what do you keep after these years of doctorate?

I have been wanting to do a thesis for years and to do it with this opportunity: funding and quality time. It has been a joy and a great opportunity to have achieved it. I am very grateful to the association de Amigos (ADA) of the University of Navarra and to my directors, Dr. Jorge Tárrago and Dr. María Villanueva, for having reached this destination. After these years, there are many friendships, new horizons and learning, but I think the most beautiful thing has been to bring to the present the voice of Lola Alvarez Bravo, somewhat overshadowed by the passage of time. Understanding her positioning, her ability to lead a trajectory in a creative field in the Mexico of that time (masculine and somewhat belligerent), has been fascinating. I have understood the importance of having the testimony of these great women present, because all of them smooth the steps of those of us who transit, not without difficulty, the field of creation.

In the middle, Alicia Fernández Barranco with her directors of thesis , Drs. Jorge Tárrago and María Villanueva. Photo: Manuel Castells.