Fifteen years ago Danaé Salazar and Fabiola Zamora founded the magazine Revista 192 in Mexico City. Every time I visited I would pick up a copy because it embodied so many things I loved about print magazines: Beautiful photography, compelling editorial that felt reflective of current culture and the sheer size of it. It felt good to have it and to hold it. We caught up with the founders with their company mascots (Danaé's dogs who come into the office, too) to discuss personal style, their journey into editorial and the story of how they came to found Revista 192—a print magazine!—when everyone told them they were crazy.
Let’s start from the beginning, where are you from?
Fabiola Zamora: I am from México City.
Danaé Salazar: I was born and raised in Mexico City, too.
What were you like as a child? How did you like to dress?
FZ: Most of my childhood I lived in Stanford, California, so I grew up playing outdoors a lot. The memory within my whole family is me wearing a bathing suit even when the weather was not that warm.
DS: I hated dresses and skirts. I always dressed in pants and sneakers. In my school we didn't have a uniform so I dressed however I liked, and my parents always respected my unconventional taste.
Did you ever imagine running your own magazine?
FZ: I was always so driven by achieving things that I felt passionate about, that when the idea came to me--not long before we actually did it--there were no doubts that an idea or dream like that was possible.
DS: We always had said it was a dream but for me it seemed far away, a bit removed from reality.
How did you both come to start and run Revista 192?
FZ: I lived in NY for approximately 4 years working at a photo agency producing amazing editorial and commercial projects. I suddenly felt the need to come back to México but I was truly disconnected from what was happening in the city in regards to work in the creative industry. I moved back and looked for the magazine that looked the most interesting and where I could put all my experience and creative input. There were not that many options at the time. One of the magazines I considered was Deep and Danaé was the editor there. I met with her and we started working together. Me, mainly taking care of the visual part for fashion and portraits. The publishers of the magazine felt that it was too alternative or edgy for what they wanted for the magazine. But we managed to do it for a couple of years until it was no longer feasible, the tension grew and we decided one day out of the blue in a casual conversation that the solution would be to do our own magazine!
DS: Ever since we knew each other we shared this special passion for printed magazines. Print united us, we dreamed it was worth it, to do something in print, and we created this dream that we've been building for 16 years.
Has your vision for it changed since you first dreamt it up?
FZ: There is an inevitable evolution and times change. But there are strong values in 192 that have never changed. There are visual and editorial aesthetics and an editorial style that remain throughout the years.
DS: Our original editorial vision always stays the same though.
What has been the hardest part about working on it?
FZ: Understanding it as a business beyond the creative part.
DS: Surviving the economic crisis, the pandemic, the internet boom, and the moment everyone thought print would disappear.
What has been the most rewarding part of working on it?
FZ: What I love about doing a magazine is sharing a vision of what surrounds us in all facets of creative industries and culture. The possibility of creating freely and putting the imagination into work all the time is so rewarding. I feel proud that we have kept our values and pillars solid.
DS: Receiving a copy of 192 every 6 months in our hands! To have this object and appreciate every page and all the work that so many people contribute to each issue.
Is there a specific issue that you feel particularly close to? Why?
FZ: There are so many that I truly love. But The first issue and the XV anniversary issue are special for what they represent as a beginning and then an accomplishment.
DS: The issue dedicated to FRACASO (FAILURE), a theme that confronts and inspires. It's a theme that makes you think deeply about what you are showing visually. The theme didn't allow us to do anything halfway and that irreverent extreme is very 192.
Is there a specific photo shoot you feel particularly close to? Why?
FZ: I started my photography career when I came back home from NY. I think almost simultaneously with the creation of 192, a bit before. So of course I personally have done so many amazing shoots during all these years. I have also always felt inspired and passionate about working with other photographers, watching them, learning from them or getting inspired with their way of working. I personally enjoy all the shoots we have done while traveling. During fashion week in Paris or during other trips under different scenarios and challenges.
DS: When the magazine was 4 years old we did a shoot in el Centro Ceremonial Otomí with naked models. This represented two pillars of 192, love for the human body and passion for our Mexican roots.
How do you choose your cover star?
FZ: We look for someone that resonates with who we are.
DS: They're personalities in Mexican culture that represent the theme of the issue. I wouldn't call them "stars" more like people we admire with high vibrations.
The community you’ve been able to build is so impressive, was that an organic process or something that you put a lot of effort into?
FZ: I feel that is a virtue of a magazine: You get to know and you get in touch with so many people while creating it, that the community just organically gets bigger.
DS: It took shape in a totally natural way. We've grown a creative Mexican community and they've supported us and our trajectory. It's been an incredible process to witness.
On a personal level, are there parts of the business that don’t come naturally to you?
FZ: All the accounting part is not my thing. It has been a struggle. Now after so many years it seems clearer but for a while it was a learning.
DS: In the beginning it was hard for me to sell the magazine, to commercialize it. My strength has always been the creative piece, but when it's your own business you have to have courage and go after the money, too.
How is it to be in a creative partnership? What makes it work between you both?
FZ: It is a challenge and an immense joy and relief to have another half, someone to rely on, someone who will be with you in the good and the bad as well. You never feel alone in the journey. But I feel we have defined our own strengths and weaknesses so we just let the other do their thing. At the same time we share so many things in terms of what we like aesthetically speaking or how we like the style of a text. Without that shared mindset I think we couldn't have made it. We have been working together for approximately 18 years. We have gone through so many things together. It's a very strong and significant relationship.
DS: Over the years our tastes and creativity have aligned almost 100%, it's like our minds are connected. We don't even need to speak to understand one another.
How do you describe your personal style? What kinds of clothing do you gravitate towards?
FZ: I like simple things adding a special form, item or accessory to the equation. I use a lot of black or white, a monochromatic palette. A lot of sneakers or boots. I like to feel comfortable.
DS: I don't like to define myself or my style. I love clothes and style and I love trying new and different things out.
Danae wears The Summer Shirt in Silk Cotton and the Relaxed Tuxedo Pant. Fabiola wears the Cropped Oversized Shirt and her own pants.
Danae and Fabiola were photographed outside their offices in San Miguel Chapultepec, Mexico City by Alexia Puga Ramirez Garrido.
