Untitled, from Fragmented Cities, by Alejandro Cartagena

In case you missed Monday's kick-off with Hot Shot Leah Tepper Byrne, welcome to our series of 2009 Second Edition Hot Shot Q&As. Today we have a few questions for artist, lecturer, writer, and Hot Shot Alejandro Cartagena. Alejandro is currently documenting suburban sprawl south of the phenomenon's North American birthplace: Mexico. With his photographs, however, he does "not overtly condemn these development projects;" rather, he seeks to examine the "yearning of a society for a fairer world in which to live." Alejandro's full statement and bio can be found on his Hot Shot profile, and don't miss his contender post which ran during the competition. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Alejandro Cartagena:

From:
Born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Raised in La Romana and Monterrey, Mexico.

Formal and/or informal education and training:
I received a bachelor in Leisure Management and am currently in an MA program in Visual Arts at Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (UANL) in Monterrey, set to graduate in 2011.

How you pay the bills:
I work at a photography center and also teach in the Faculty of Visual Arts at UANL and other schools.

Best advice you ever received as a photographer (and/or as a human):
Find a deeper meaning to whatever you are photographing.

Top 3 Favorite Artists:
Eugène Atget, Joel Sternfeld, Paul Graham

Photograph (or other work of art) that you can't get out of your head,
ever:
Glen Canyon Dam, Page, Arizona by Joel Sternfeld

Reading now:
Top 3 photo-related websites/blogs:
A Photo Editor, A Photo Student, Conscientious

Top 3 non-photo websites/blogs:
Series Yonkis (I have an addiction to Fringe, Lost and The Office), TED, iTunes U

What project or idea are you working on now?
A few things: a project on urban layering, another on the US-Mexico border, and one called Daydreamers, which is like an Episode One of the Suburbia Mexicana series.

Our huge thanks to Alejandro for taking the time to answer our questions! Join us again on Monday for another Hot Shot Q&A.