Hector Mediavilla is a business graduate turned documentary photographer from spain. this sudden change of career has prompted Hector to travel across the globe in search of new photographic encounters. one of his most famous series is his study on congolese “sapeurs“. coming from the acronym SAPE, which reads “societé des ambienceurs et des persones élégantes”, sapeurs are a social group concerned with elegance, good manners, politeness, and morality.

the first ever sapeur emerged in 1922, when G.A. Matsoua, a congolese citizen, travelled to Paris and returned looking like a bona fide french gentleman causing the admiration of his fellow congo-men. nowadays, sapeurs can be found among the streets of brazzaville wearing suits worth thousands of dollars, while surrounded by extreme levels of poverty and misery. according to Hector “this is simply a particular way to leave a footprint in a remote corner of the world”.

check out the rest of Hector Mediavilla‘s portfolio here