VOCHOS UNIDOS
An Automotive Travelogue through Mexico
By Author RODRIGO GAYA VILLAR
Vochos Unidos by Rodrigo Gaya Villar, releasing in April 2026.
“A visual road trip through Mexico and the unstoppable human spirit." - Patrick Farrell, Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer.
Now available to preorder here.
In the captivating bilingual photobook Vochos Unidos, photographer Rodrigo Gaya Villar explores 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 Gaya Villar to rediscover his ancestral home country.
Key features:
300 pages of stunning photography
Vibrant people and locations depicting the full Mexican experience
A project five years in the making
Bilingual essays to introduce each chapter, written in both Spanish and English
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.
Two versions are available:
The Standard Edition ($54.99) is a premium hardcover with over 300 pages of stunning photography. Available to bundle with a specially-designed enamel pin depicting a vocho from the book by Leen Customs for additional $15.00.
The Limited Edition ($124.99) is a collector’s item signed by the author with only 500 copies produced, comes with an exclusive slipcase and included a Limited Edition-only Leen Customs pin.
To read a Q&A with Rodrigo Gaya Villar about Vochos Unidos, click here.
ISBN: 979-8-991-62269-1
Bilingual Photography Books on Mexico
Vochos Unidos is the definitive bilingual photography book on Mexico and its iconic Vocho culture. Essays in the book are written in both Spanish and English.
Enjoy the variety and identity of Mexico and its people with this unique collector’s item.
“I wanted to make an anthropological study of a country, its people, and the car that has become its mascot. ”
Praise for Vochos Unidos
"Through the author’s creative, patient eye for composition and moment, the beloved Volkswagen Beetle chug-chugs into our hearts as a resilient, iconic symbol of Mexican pop culture and street life. Patched with ingenuity, painted in rebellion, parked in the middle of life, these vochos persevere as vessels of Mexican memory and mischief. Gaya Villar is a rare talent capable of merging the rawness of documentary photography with the art of portraiture. We are willing and enchanted passengers on his visual road trip through not only Mexico, but the unstoppable human spirit." — Patrick Farrell, Pulitzer Prize Winner for Breaking News Photography, 2009.
"The Volkswagen Beetle is such an iconic car and I can't think of a better place to photograph them than their natural habitat. Gaya seamlessly incorporates each vehicle and tells a story with each photo. It's not always about the car, which makes Vochos Unidos so warm and relatable. I'm proud to have this book on my coffee table." — Larry Chen, author of Life At Shutter Speed.
"By seamlessly blending playful punch-buggy car-spotting with stunningly framed street photography, Rodrigo Gaya Villar vividly demonstrates that ‘car culture’ simply is culture. His eye for dusty old beaters and tucked-away alleys highlights what other artists might ignore, and his work feels fresh and novel even with the iconic sillhouette of the vocho as its uniting theme. Far more than a book of automotive photography, Vochos Unidos is a gorgeously affectionate portrait of both the Beetle and Mexico." — Victoria Scott, author of We Deserve This.
"Through a camera and his creative eye, Rodrigo Gaya Villar investigates Volkswagen Beetles known as vochos from every imaginable perspective. In the process, he shows us joy, freedom, strife, and the pulse of megacity living. Across hundreds of beautiful photographs of this automotive icon, Vochos Unidos depicts humanity itself." — Kevin McCauley, author of Waiting for the Sun to Come Down.
"Vochos Unidos is a dazzling, street‑level tour of Mexico’s towns and cities, with the country’s ubiquitous Volkswagen Bug at its center. Gaya Villar roams Mexico’s regions, spotting these vochos everywhere from the back alleys of Mexico City to the sandy shores of Oaxaca. The book is a visually poetic love letter to his homeland and its favorite, adopted child." — Oliver Wang, author of Cruising J-Town and Professor of Sociology at California State University, Long Beach.
About the Book
Ranked among the Best Automotive Coffee Table Books of 2026.
Title: Vochos Unidos
Author: Rodrigo Gaya Villar
Format: Hardcover (Limited Edition includes protective case)
Dimensions: 9.0 × 11.5 inches
Page Count: 300 pages
Genres:
TRA001060: TRANSPORTATION / Automotive / Pictorial
TRV014000: TRAVEL / Mexico
PHO019000: PHOTOGRAPHY / Subjects & Themes / Regional
Release Date: April 27th, 2026
We are working to make the book widely available in the Mexican market. Please stay tuned for updates.