Juxtapositions of Old and New in Tumbaco, Ecuador with @ivankphoto

To see more of Ivan Kashinsky’s photos from “Project Mi Barrio” follow @ivankphoto or browse the #projectmibarrio hashtag.

In the small town of Tumbaco not far from Ecuador’s bustling capital city of Quito, the traditional ways of life are changing quickly. A superhighway is under construction. A new shopping mall sells name brand clothes. Corn fields are valuable real estate for apartment buildings. The folkways passed on for generations exist simultaneously with the latest digital devices.

In his series “Project Mi Barrio” on Instagram, photojournalist Ivan Kashinsky (@ivankphoto) shares these fascinating juxtapositions taking place every day. “The Ecuador that I’ve been documenting for the last 10 years, is going through a titanic shift,” says Ivan. “Old indigenous ladies walk their cows though the streets as people wait impatiently in their brand new sparkling clean SUVs. I am watching the old Ecuador slam into the new Ecuador right in front of my eyes. It’s a double-score when the two come together face to face.“

Project Mi Barrio is also about exploring the consequences of this global shift towards modernization. "Will people be happier as we slip into the future?” he asks. “What is being lost? These are the questions I want people to be thinking about when they see my images.”