FRANCESCA REINA | SUEÑOS DE CENOTE | Q.ROO, MX

Francesca Reina’s photographic journey plunges us into the mesmerizing depths of Mexican cenotes, revealing their sacred, almost mythic allure. Her work takes center stage not only in the exclusive Artsy.net exhibition Sueños de Cenote, running intil April 15, 2025, but also across prestigious platforms such as Foto(grafia) 2025. This international showcase spans The Studio Door in San Diego, Centro Cultural Juan Rulfo in Mexico City, and Clavo Movimiento Art Fair during Art Week CDMX. Each frame Reina presents is an act of devotion to nature, a love letter written in light and movement.

Reina is the real deal—an artist who doesn’t just scratch the surface but dives in, literally. Born in Italy, Reina’s path to Playa del Carmen is the kind of backstory that makes you want to quit your desk job and follow your bliss. From scuba instructor to underwater photographer, Reina’s evolution is as organic as the cenotes she photographs. These ancient sinkholes, revered by the Maya as portals to another realm, become sites of transformation in her lens. Her work? Pure poetry. Her subjects? Stripped of pretense, caught in that fleeting moment where humanity meets eternity.

Her process—this is where it gets gritty, messy, and beautiful. Forget scuba gear. Reina holds her breath, her camera steady, as she captures the dance between her subjects and the liquid light around them. The results are spellbinding: figures suspended in dreamlike tranquility, draped in flowing fabrics that seem to breathe with the water. It’s collaboration at its most elemental. “The cenotes are magic,” Reina says. “They’re this untouched, sacred space where you can feel something bigger than yourself.” And boy, does she capture that.

Let’s talk specifics. Reina’s contributions to Foto(grafia) 2025 include pieces that redefine what it means to merge human and natural forms. Take her kelp forest series, shot off California’s Channel Islands. It’s not just pretty pictures of underwater landscapes. These are visceral, tactile works. One image—a nude figure entwined with the shifting currents of kelp—is like something out of a fever dream. It’s art that stops you in your tracks and makes you think, “How does she do this?”

Reina’s technical chops are matched only by her sense of play. She works with everyone from seasoned free divers to people who’ve never dipped a toe in a pool. Her background as a scuba instructor gives her an edge: she’s part guide, part collaborator, and part magician. “The water equalizes everything,” she says. “It strips away fear and ego, leaving only raw emotion.” The results? Photographs that hum with life and movement, each one a testament to the power of trust and transformation.

Reina’s journey into fine art photography has been one of gradual revelation. “For a long time, I just took pictures because I loved it,” she shared. “I didn’t think of it as art. It was friends and colleagues who started to call it that, and I slowly began to see the potential.” Her shift from commercial underwater photography to creating deeply personal works happened organically. “I started experimenting with fabrics, colors, and human forms—things that gave me creative control and allowed me to express more than just a scene.”

This experimentation led to a series of collaborations with underwater models, mermaids, and even non-swimmers. “I love helping people discover a sense of freedom in the water,” Reina said. “The trust it takes to let go, to float, to move with the water instead of against it—it’s transformative for them and for me.” One of her most striking pieces from Sueños de Cenote features a model draped in vibrant fabrics, the folds of which mimic the organic flow of the cenote itself. “It’s about harmony,” she explained. “The human figure and the water aren’t separate; they’re part of the same story.”

Her inclusion in Foto(grafia) 2025 solidifies Reina’s place in the international art world. At The Studio Door in San Diego, her work stands out as both intimate and universal. At Centro Cultural Juan Rulfo in Mexico City, her photographs are a natural fit amidst the city’s dynamic art scene. And at Clavo Movimiento Art Fair, her pieces find new audiences, drawn by the poetic interplay of nature and humanity. “It’s surreal to see my work in these contexts,” Reina admitted. “Each venue has its own energy, and it’s thrilling to see how people respond differently to the same image.”

At Art Week CDMX, Reina’s photographs take on new dimensions, pushing the boundaries of how we engage with underwater imagery. She recalled a moment from a recent exhibition: “A visitor told me they felt like they could breathe underwater just looking at the images. That’s the kind of connection I hope to create—one where people feel immersed, even transformed.”

Here’s the thing about Reina: she’s not just making pictures. She’s building worlds. Her cenotes aren’t just beautiful; they’re charged with urgency. This isn’t just art for art’s sake. It’s a call to action. A plea to protect the fragile ecosystems she so lovingly captures. And it’s working. Reina’s images don’t just sit on a wall; they linger in your mind, whispering, “Pay attention. This matters.”

As Reina’s work moves from Artsy.net to San Diego to Mexico City and beyond, one thing is clear: she’s an artist on the rise, and her trajectory feels unstoppable. Her photographs remind us to slow down, to breathe, to reconnect with the world around us. And isn’t that the best kind of art? The kind that makes you feel—really feel—something real.

If you’re lucky enough to see Sueños de Cenote or Foto(grafia) 2025 in person, prepare to be captivated. Francesca Reina is a force of nature, and her work is a wake-up call for a world that desperately needs it.