About Noel Rojo
Noel Rojo (Chihuahua Mexico, 1987 /Dual citizen Mexican-USA)
Noel Rojo is a Mexican/American freelance photographer who focuses on documenting human rights issues, particularly those concerning women, Indigenous communities, and global challenges such as migration and climate change. His photography blends documentary and artistic styles, using metaphor, symbolism, and allegory to convey the complexity of these topics, often utilizing color to evoke emotion.
With a rich background traveling extensively through Southeast Asia, India, Latin America, and Africa, Noel currently resides in Oaxaca, Mexico. He is a co-founder of the global multimedia project Women Who Stay, highlighting the often-overlooked experiences of women affected by migration. His work has been showcased in international publications like Deutsche Welle, Thomson Reuters Foundation/Context, The New Humanitarian, Unbiased the News and Mongabay, as well as in national media outlets in Slovakia, Czechia, and the U.S.
Noel has exhibited his photography in solo shows across Central Europe and in collaborative exhibitions in the United States and Mexico. He has also shared his expertise through speaking engagements at universities and festivals. A former journalist fellow at the University of Southern California's Spiritual Exemplars Project, Noel currently serves as a journalist fellow at Brandeis University. In his spare time, he undertakes personal projects that delve into inner processes, showcasing his versatility and commitment to capturing the essence of human experiences.
Education
2015-2016 Metro State University, Denver, CO, US — Linguistics/Speech Language Pathology
2008-2010 Community College of Denver, Denver, CO, US- Associates in Science
Awards and Grants
2024 Chaplaincy Innovation Lab - Templeton Religion Trust Journalism Fellow
2023 University Of Southern California - Spiritual Exemplar Project Journalist Fellow.
Solo Shows
2023 Women Who Stay in India, Festival Fjuzn, Tyrsak (outdoor), Bratislava, Slovakia. 2023 Women Who Stay in Mexico, Ethiopia, Senegal, Gallery Svatoplukova, Bratislava, Slovakia. 2021 Women Who Stay in Mexico, Ethiopia, Senegal, Festival Jeden Svet, Usti Nad Orlici, Czech Republic. 2019 Women Who Stay in Mexico, Ethiopia, Senegal, Gallery Bastova, Festival Fjuzn, Bratislava, Slovakia.
Collective Shows
2023 Stories of Social Change: Spirituality in Action, USC Annenberg School of Communications and Journalism, Los Angeles, USA.
2023 Nuevas Visiones (New Visions), Cordoba Labs, Oaxaca, Mexico.
Publications
2024 Connecting With God And Others: How Chaplains Support Denver’s Unhoused, Religion Unplugged.
2024 Interest in chaplaincy grows as the role expands to serve more in society, Faith Divinity/Duke.
2023 Reporters’ diary: What women who stay can tell us about migration, The New Humanitarian.
2023 Amid global mezcal craze, scientists and communities try out sustainable plantations, Mongabay. 2023 Custodians of Mexico's indigenous forests confront climate change, Thomson Reuters Foundation/The Context. 2022 Farmers in Mexico fight coffee disease with resistant varieties and agroforestry, Mongabay. 2022 In Oaxaca, Indigenous farmers mourn Catholic activist who championed their rights and rituals, Religious News Service. 2020 The State of Being, South East Asia Globe. 2020 The indigenous women fighting for change in Southern Rajasthan, Friends of Friends
2019 Women Who Stay in Mexico Carry Empty Hearts and Heavier Burdens, The Progressive. 2019 Women weather climate change in Senegal, Deutsche Welle.
Curation
2023 Stories of Social Change: Spirituality in Action, USC Annenberg School of Communications and Journalism, Los Angeles, USA.
Books
2023 Ženy, ktoré zostal (Women Who Stay) - Book on our long term multimedia project (text by Magdalena Rojo, fotos by me), Abzynt.