Yulissa Aranibar’s photography reveals the hidden energy of Lima’s overlooked neighborhoods. In "Comas Nomas," she goes beyond documenting skaters, shedding light on the life and untold stories of a place where hope is fragile yet undeniable. Her lens captures a generation struggling against their own invisibility, navigating Comas, one of the city's most dangerous areas.
The heavy, gray sky of Lima's winter frames her shots, emphasizing the emotional weight of each image. In a city of constant movement, Yulissa's photos focus on the stillness between moments—skaters suspended mid-air, their defiance as strong as the rough terrain they conquer. There’s a quiet revolution happening, not just on the concrete, but in the streets these young people skate through every day.With analog photography, Yulissa captures the fleeting moments that define their existence. The skatepark in Comas isn’t just a place for tricks; it’s a battleground for visibility. Each image is a testament to resilience, strength, and the desire to be seen, even when the world looks away.
Comas Nomas - Alexis - Analogue photography, 2024
Q: Your journey has taken you from Lima to Milan and now Paris. How do these different cultural landscapes shape the way you see and document your surroundings?
A: Being born in Peru led at some point in my life to feel the call of my culture when I was living in Milan, at a mature enough age to understand my origins, around 18 I returned to my country for the first time since my birth.
Milan led me to understand that my culture came first, and not just fitting in with a country that adopted me, but at that time foreigners were few and frowned upon, rare and strange to the community.
Paris gave me opportunities to meet with my compatriots, and seeing them rarely in the streets made me feel in my own country, here I spoke more Spanish than at home, here I always had open doors and curiosity about where I was from.
Q: Comas Nomas highlights skateboarders navigating the urban environment with skill and confidence. What drew you to this subject, and what does skate culture represent to you?
A: My approach to skate culture comes from an ended relationship with a skateboarder, this made me approach this world as a medicine against heartbreak.
The Peruvian scene is so strong, these kids don't have the opportunities of the kids in Europe, their streets are split and battered, the Peruvian government considers this sport "a no sport", but a kind of do nothing and waste time.
What I want to document in these skaters series is to show the most humble neighborhoods of the city or country, and pass the message that possible to change the point of view about this sport that takes a lot of importance in our days.
Comas Nomas - Eduard - Analogue photography, 2024
Q: Your photography focuses on neighborhoods that many outsiders might overlook or even avoid. What has been the most surprising or meaningful reaction you’ve received to this series?
A: The most surprising thing in this series is how this skate park is located, it is at a fairly ambiguous height, the buses go up at 30 degrees, in the main street, next to the skate park is a comedor, and they put a steel kitchen ladle as a handle. Typically each neighborhood has its own style.
The Comedores are important spaces for popular organization in the fight against poverty and food insecurity.
Q: The winter sky in Lima plays a major role in the visual tone of Comas Nomas. How did the muted light and heavy clouds influence the atmosphere of your shots?
A: The city of Lima is accompanied by this huge pollutant cloud in the sky, not always the case, but most of the time, especially in winter.
In this series the sky was, overcast and a slight light showed up at one moment, however the natural light of the country is super strong, even if the sky is gray the light is quite clear, better with the sun anyway.
Q: Your background is in fashion and design. How does that experience inform your approach to photography, especially when working with subcultures and street communities?
A: My training in fashion was classical, and at that time everything was different, by hand everything, drawing and paper patterns. My personal style is not very feminine, I am more inspired by street, because I consider that comfort is important to me and simplicity, practically, easy to wear is an advantage.
In general I like to photograph each person's unique styles.
Q: You’ve mentioned that buying a camera in Athens ayear ago changed how you document the world. How has working with analogue film influenced your storytelling process?
A: Training in photography is sought in the tutorials and the around photographic people who inspired me, I always looked with curiosity without asking for anything.
In photo analogy, my photos are one shot. In case I am sure the photo is not really successful, I try to take the same photo again, though rarely, the beauty of photo analogy is that you don't know what or how the result will be. So I know exactly what I want to resume and how to tell the story, I am always sure of my one shots, I always have clear ideas, sometimes I find myself with photographic visions in front of me that impress me and I can't help but take a picture of them, whatever the time or place, I take out my camera.
Q: Comas Nomas isn’t just about movement—it also captures moments of stillness, observation, and interaction. How do you decide what to frame in a fast-paced environment like this?
A: As I said before, my photos are one shot. I know what I want in my photo stories, but at the same time, I try to adapt to the situation. In this case I just asked the guys to do their skate routine as they felt or to do some figures that come out better in special. For the rest I get inspired by the momentary situation, then if I have to take portraits in special, I ask them to put themselves in a special position according to my vision of the moment.
As for the skate photos, especially in the movement that is a bit of luck that they come out as you really want, in this series they came out fortunately quite clear.
Q: What’s next for you? Are you planning to continue exploring Lima through your photography, or are there new themes and places you want to focus on?
A: I will leave for Peru this month of March for a good couple of months, lately I have traveled often in my country but a few months, 2 or 1 and a half.
I am in a moment of freedom where I can move easily for another year in a row, I try to take advantage of this moment.
I will continue to photograph my country telling what people cannot see or access easily—the unknown, the people who have no voice or who do not have the possibility to share their art or lifestyle. Those are magnificent places in my eyes because it is impossible to find the same in Europe, and certainly in all of Latin America. I also want to document Latinos and Peruvians, especially in Europe, tell their stories, and give them the opportunity to share their life experiences with the world.