January 8th 2009, a 6,2 degrees on the Richter scale Earthquake made the Northwest part of the Central Valley of Costa Rica shudder. In between beautiful mountains and deep canyons, the town of Cinchona was the most affected, loosing 20 of its 205 residents and destroying every single construction at the small village.

At the anniversary of this natural disaster, of the town of Cinchona there is left only rubble, fallen structures, very dangerous routes and the memory of what it was, what was owned and those who are gone.

People from the community came from different places and gather at the edge of where the restaurant Soda La Estrella was, where 9 people lost their lives buried by a landslide. They celebrated a very emotional mass and then visited what once was their hometown.

One year ago I saw the power of nature through the TV, now I went to see it through my camera. This is my tribute to Cinchona, a town built by humble, hospitable and hard working people that even today, a year after all that anguish and pain, they welcomed us with their arms wide open and they showed us that a town can survive even if the piece of land is lost.