The mayor of Logroño, Conrado Escobar, and the president of the Association of Press and Television Graphic Informers of La Rioja (AiG), Óscar Solorzano, delivered, this afternoon, in the portrait hall of the Logroño City Hall, the ‘Gold Badge 2025’ and named honorary member to the Canarian photographer Elvira Urquijo Álamo.
An award as an example of a photojournalist who has made a name for herself by doing what photojournalists do, covering current events and showing them «as they are,» but with a special eye that makes her images transcend due to their clarity and the empathy they show.
Urquijo – a photographer for the EFE agency – has stated that the award filled her «with emotion and drives me to continue practicing this profession that I love so much with passion and commitment.» «I never imagined that the day would come when my dedication would be so appreciated,» she added, not forgetting to mention her father, Félix Urquijo, also a photographer.
«Press photography has been with me since I can remember, and it has been and continues to be a driving force in my life,» she emphasized, before pointing out that «I enjoy it and I see myself in it.» «Throughout this journey, I have faced challenges, sacrifices, and moments of sadness, but every obstacle I have overcome with the satisfaction of having documented reality,» Urquijo concluded.
«IMPORTANCE OF PHOTOJOURNALISM»
For his part, Escobar highlighted «the importance of photojournalism, as well as the personal and professional value of the Canarian photojournalist.» With this distinction, the Logroño City Council and AiG want to highlight the work of Elvira Urquijo as a photographer and journalist who covers local current events daily and, thanks to her perseverance and expertise, manages to make her images transcend due to their clarity, special perspective, and empathy towards the subjects of her photos.
The mayor thanked «hand in hand with the Association of Graphic Informers, some of the most important photographers in this country acquire a connection with Logroño and see how photography has a place within the city’s cultural offerings.»
WORK MARKED BY IMMIGRATION
Earlier, Solorzano took the floor and pointed out that with this distinction, the Logroño City Council and AiG want to highlight the work of Elvira Urquijo as a photographer and journalist who covers local current events daily and, thanks to her perseverance and expertise, makes her images transcend due to their clarity, special perspective, and empathy towards the subjects of her photos.
Through her camera, she has captured all the current events in the Canary Islands, from volcanoes to carnivals, from political to cultural or sports news, but in recent years, her work has been marked by the drama of immigration. A reality that is experienced on the islands with special severity and that she tries to address with the best disposition so that this phenomenon is not just a number that overshadows or diminishes the desperate efforts of Sub-Saharan Africans to seek a better life and do so with the respect and humanity they deserve.
ELVIRA URQUIJO ÁLAMO
She was born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on September 3, 1967, and has been immersed in the world of photography since she was a child. She studied Journalism at the Faculty of Information Sciences of the University of the Basque Country between 1985 and 1992, and in 1985 she began her internships at the EFE Agency. She later worked at the agency as a writer for several years until she switched to photography in 1993, becoming the first female photographer in this medium and one of the first women in the profession in the Canary Islands.
She has received the Inter-American Press Society (SIP) award for the agency’s delegation in the Canary Islands for the coverage of the eruption of the volcano in La Palma. She has participated in a collective exhibition of Canarian photographers on the eruption of the volcano in La Palma to raise funds for the affected and in an exhibition for the anniversary of the EFE Agency in the Canary Islands. Her work was also featured in the Government of the Canary Islands’ exhibition ‘Canarias 20-20′ on the 20th anniversary of the islands’ autonomy statute. She is the honorary president of the Canarian Association of Women in Communication.
TWELVE DISTINGUISHED
With Elvira Urquijo, there are now twelve photojournalists who have been recognized with the AiG Gold Badge. This group of great photographers includes: Jesús Rocandio (2013), Raúl Cancio (2014), Manuel Barriopedro (2015), Joana Biarnés (2016), Agustí Carbonell (2017), Marisa Flórez (2018), César Lucas (2019), Chema Conesa (2021), Enrique del Río (2022), Sofía Moro (2023), and Gervasio Sánchez (2024).
The award of the AiG 2025 Gold Badge to Elvira Urquijo is sponsored by the Logroño City Council and supported by the Government of La Rioja, the Parliament of La Rioja, the Museum of La Rioja, the Gran Vía Hotel, Casa de la Imagen, Escala, Knet, and Ontañón Wineries.
The Torreón de Haro Museum is currently hosting a brief selection of some of her works as part of the ‘Graphic Informers 2024’ Exhibition, which opens this Friday, March 7th, and will be open to the public until May 18th during the museum’s regular hours. It consists of about eight photographs that share space with the best images taken by AiG’s graphic informers in 2024.
On Saturday, March 8th, International Women’s Day, Elvira Urquijo will give a talk about her photographic work and her experience as a pioneer in photojournalism in the Canary Islands at 12:30 at Casa de la Imagen.
