5 Vochos that Perfectly Represent Mexico’s Volkswagen Beetle Culture
The vocho, as the Volkswagen Beetle is known in Mexico, is a staple of modern life throughout the country. While many are old and run-down, others are preserved and maintained with stunning attention to detail. The photographer Rodrigo Gaya Villar spent five years chasing vochos all over Mexico, resulting in the new coffee table book Vochos Unidos by Carrara Media.
Whatever their state, the vocho is an undeniable part of the fabric of Mexican life and culture. Here are five photos of vochos that stood out to Gaya Villar as perfect representations of what makes this such a special relationship between car and country.
A sparkling blue Volkswagen Beetle, or vocho as they’re known in Mexico, shoots flames for the crowd. Photo by Rodrigo Gaya Villar.
1. Air-Cooled Dragster: The Art of the Custom Vocho
Gaya Villar: Here, I was able to capture something as ephemeral as a community's collective spirit. With a project like this you end up discovering fine details that may have been under your nose the whole time. While this image stood out for obvious reasons, it wasn't until I shared it that I realized how much joy it brought.
A black and white Volkswagen Beetle, or vocho as they’re known in Mexico, rolls through rain-soaked streets in CDMX. Photo by Rodrigo Gaya Villar.
2. The Collector’s Grail: Preserving Rare Vintage Volkswagens
Gaya Villar: A camera in a bag is useless. If you get caught in a heavy rainstorm, hide under an awning in the Centro Historico. It's not that I was expecting this specific view, but luck favors the prepared.
A white Volkswagen Beetle, or vocho as they’re known in Mexico, wiggles through the narrow mountain streets of Taxco. Photo by Rodrigo Gaya Villar.
3. Working Class Hero: Vochos in Taxi Service
Gaya Villar: Having proverbially climbed many mountaintops just for the views, you begin to pick out the best viewing spots. In Taxco, it was simply walking up to the terrace of a hotel just on the other side of this view.
A bright red Volkswagen Beetle, or vocho as they’re known in Mexico, is bathed in light while the surrounding street lies in shadow. Photo by Rodrigo Gaya Villar.
4. The Timeless Vocho: Mastering the Streets of Mexico
Gaya Villar: Stuck between the sunset, street shadows, busy streets, and the cathedral of its hometown, Puebla. This weekend involved a long exploration of the historical downtown streets, with this red cherry on top.
A twisted and bent black Volkswagen Beetle, or vocho as they’re known in Mexico, rests on the edge of farmland beneath a mountain range between its agricultural duties. Photo by Rodrigo Gaya Villar.
5. Cultural Canvas: The Vocho as Mexican Art Form
Gaya Villar: Like an actual bug walking the corn fields, I came across this vocho in the milpa of the Tepoztlan center valley, a Pueblo Magico. I peeked between a large fence and saw this moment.
The Collector’s Definitive Archive: Preorder Vochos Unidos
Preorders are open now for Vochos Unidos. Copies will begin shipping at the end of April with full release to follow.
Note: This item is in preorder. Shipping begins during the week of April 27th.
In this captivating bilingual photobook, one photographer spends five years exploring the streets of Mexico City and its surrounding mountain towns on the hunt for El Vocho — the Spanish term of endearment for the iconic Volkswagen Beetle. Vochos, and the vocheros who preserve them, become the pathway for Rodrigo Gaya Villar to rediscover his ancestral home country.
Along his travels, Gaya learns how the 60-year old German automobile reshaped Mexico's trajectory with easy, affordable transportation. Now it fuels a passionate community of vocheros who encapsulate its enduring spirit, and embrace its role in shaping contemporary Mexican identity.
Over 300 pages, Gaya's debut collection Vochos Unidos introduces the reader to vibrant people and locations that place the full Mexico experience on display. Through moments of triumph and heartbreak, laughter and despair, pride and humility, Vochos Unidos chases the Beetle across a culture and landscape as diverse as any in the world. We become attuned to the spirit of the Vocho, and the adopted homeland that celebrates it.
Designed and printed in Mexico.
ISBN: 979-8-9916226-9-1
Note: This item is in preorder. Shipping begins during the week of April 27th.
Releasing in April 2026, Vochos Unidos | Limited Edition is an exclusive version of the debut collection from Rodrigo Gaya Villar, with production capped at 500 copies. Only available from CarraraBooks.com.
Compared with the standard edition, each copy of the Limited Edition:
is signed by the author;
comes with a protective slipcase;
includes a Leen Customs enamel pin available only with purchase of the Limited Edition.