Inspiring Travel Writing from Cecilia Bogaard

Based in southern Spain (Andalusia), Cecilia Bogaard works as a freelance journalist and documentary photographer. She founded the online magazine Tertulia Andaluza (www.tertuliaandaluza.com) in 2007 on discovering the lack of online spaces for debating culture in Andalusia. Now its director and editor, the site aims to become a resource for honest travel information about Andalusia, a point of contact for artists and musicians, and a place for people to discuss many of the issues facing Andalusia, including immigration, tourism, over-development and lack of water.

Cecilia Bogaard has an MA Social Anthropology, as well as graduating from the Edinburgh College of Art Photography Department. On her travels she has made films in Cuba, snorkeled in Brazil, taught in Ecuador, done strange photo projects in India (as well as searching for the non-existent Pondicherry Zoo inspired by the Life of Pi), covered the length and breadth of Andalusia (go on, ask her anything!) and worked as teacher, curator and photographer with the Department of Juvenile Justice in Maryland (USA) teaching a group of girls to use cameras and express themselves in images.

At heart she believes that the Internet should be a resource for insightful and beautifully written content. Quality should come before keywords (shock and horror rapidly sweeps across the faces of all SEO experts). “Let the wild and savage world of the World Wide Web get ready! For here she comes with her sweet violence to bring some soul to the online world,” her favourite ecologist once said.