Gretel Ricardo

​Gretel Ricardo has materialized iconic photos in contemporary photography for more than seven years, with scores of timeless pieces and countless works to her name.

Born in a suburb of Holguin, Cuba; Gretel studied Social Work at Sir Fleming College, before going on to work for a local immigration agency. After several years of freelance work, Gretel made her first of what would become many trips to Costa Rica. Traveling with little more than a bag of clothes and another of film, she made her way across South America exploring the country with her camera.

It was after several months of travel that she found herself crossing the border into Panama. There, she met a group of people from Costa Rica. Emerging in traditional dress, long hair and weather-worn features after weeks embedded with the Golfito, Gretel brought the world the first images of the beauty of South America, putting a human face to the issue of every South American country.

Since then, Gretel has gone on to create stunning images over three continents and countless places. Her work spans conflicts, vanishing cultures, ancient traditions and contemporary culture alike - yet always retains the human element that made her beautiful images and powerful work with her Cannon rebel Xsi.