EditorThe Swansea photographer chasing the last VW Beetles across Mexico
Paul O’Connor has spent years photographing protests, human‑rights abuses and environmental scandals. But it’s the humble Beetle — or Vocho, as it’s known in Mexico — that has pulled him into his first ever photography exhibition.
And now, the Gower‑based filmmaker is touring that exhibition across Mexico, documenting what may be the final chapter of one of the world’s most iconic cars.
A silver VW Beetle parked in a Mexican town square — one of the surviving Vochos documented by Swansea photographer Paul O’Connor.Photo: Paul O’Connor
‘I grabbed my camera — they were everywhere’
Paul first noticed the Vochos during his annual visits to San Cristóbal de las Casas, a highland city where the Beetle never really went out of fashion.
“It’s nearly 60 years since the first VW Beetle rolled off the production line in Mexico,” he said. “The vintage car has been an integral part of Mexican life for generations. But on the streets of Wales the classic car is now a rarity.”
What struck him wasn’t nostalgia — it was survival.
Classic VW Beetles on a steep, colourful street in San Cristóbal de las Casas — scenes that inspired Paul O’Connor’s exhibition.Photo: Paul O’Connor
“The streamlined, symmetrical look of the car has made it timeless and instantly recognisable, even in silhouette,” he said. “I was intrigued that so many versions are still on the roads of San Cristóbal, so I grabbed my camera.”
Some are family cars held together with love and luck. Others are customised, lowered, painted, stickered and worshipped by younger drivers. All of them are at least 20 years old. The last Mexican‑built Beetle rolled off the line in 2003.
“How long before we see the vehicle completely disappear from the roads?” Paul asks. His exhibition is, in part, an attempt to answer that question before the answer arrives on its own.
A red VW Beetle parked behind a political mural in Mexico — part of Paul O’Connor’s series capturing the Vocho in everyday life.Photo: Paul O’Connor
A Welsh photographer in the middle of a Mexican car cult
The exhibition — EL ÚLTIMO DE LOS VOCHOS (Last of the Beetles) — has already shown at the Nauyaca Gallery, complete with live piano, snacks and a packed opening night. It now moves to El Paliacate Espacio Cultura, with a launch event on 14 February, followed by a Vocho club gathering at Las Grutas de Rancho Nuevo on 21 February.
Paul will be exhibiting his work at both events, surrounded by the very cars he’s been chasing with his camera.
One shoot even went wrong enough to earn its own write‑up — a reminder that photographing moving Beetles on busy Mexican streets is not without its hazards.
Visitors at a gallery event viewing Paul O’Connor’s Last of the Vochos photographs, celebrating Mexico’s enduring love for the VW Beetle.Photo: Paul O’Connor
From Dublin to Penclawdd to the mountains of Chiapas
Paul was born in Dublin and began his career as a sports photographer before moving into documentary filmmaking in London, producing award‑winning investigations into environmental and human‑rights abuses.
But it’s the Vochos that have given him his first standalone photography exhibition — a project that blends nostalgia, social history and the quiet dignity of everyday objects that outlive the world that built them.
His images show a city where the Beetle is still king: bright colours, rounded silhouettes, and a sense that time moves differently when you’re behind the wheel of a car that refuses to die.
A customised yellow VW Beetle outside Cinema Kinoki during a cultural event in San Cristóbal — one of the standout images from Paul O’Connor’s project.Photo: Paul O’ConnorA row of classic VW Beetles photographed in black and white — part of Paul O’Connor’s effort to document the Vocho before it disappears from Mexican roads.
Photo: Paul O’ConnorCrowds gather around Paul O’Connor’s Vocho photographs at a gallery event in Mexico, celebrating the country’s last surviving Beetles.
Photo: Paul O’Connor
‘A place with only one type of vehicle’
“My exhibition shows the city as a place with only one type of vehicle — the colourful curves of the Vocho,” Paul said. “It’s adored by all generations.”
And while the Beetle has all but vanished from Welsh roads, Paul’s work captures a world where it remains part of the landscape — a rolling piece of history still doing the school run, still carrying groceries, still rattling through the mountains.
A convoy of VW Beetles driving through a decorated street in Mexico — one of the vibrant scenes featured in Paul O’Connor’s exhibition.Photo: Paul O’Connor
A Welsh eye on a Mexican icon
For Paul, the project is part love letter, part time capsule.
“The last Vocho was produced in Mexico more than 20 years ago,” he said. “So just how long before we see the vehicle disappear from the roads?”
His exhibition doesn’t answer the question. It simply records what’s left — before what’s left is gone.
A white VW Beetle with a ‘Spirit Adventure’ banner parked outside a colourful building — one of the everyday Vocho scenes captured by Paul O’Connor.Photo: Paul O’Connor
Full details of the exhibition are available at: https://www.undercurrents.org/vocho.html
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