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Juanita Ringeling is a multifaceted Chilean talent whose artistic journey has been defined by versatility and a steadfast commitment to her values. Growing up along Chile's central Pacific coast, she learned to surf and formed a deep connection to nature that continues to shape her life and work. With a career spanning film, television, music, and theater, she combines a creative sensibility with a drive to use storytelling to spark reflection and connect with audiences on issues that matter.
Some highlights of Ringeling’s acting career include starring in acclaimed Chilean television series such as Bim Bam Bum and La Tirana, and earning international accolades for her performance in the horror film "Shortwave.” She is currently the host of the television show Energia Infinita on channel 13C and the radio program Green News on Radio Concierto, both focused on sustainability and environmental themes. Beyond the stage and screen, over the past decade, she has also emerged as a prominent voice and activist in diverse campaigns and initiatives for ecosystem protection, responsible consumption, and sustainable living.
For Ringeling, Patagonia embodies the wild, mysterious, and diverse spirit of Chile—a place of adventure and awe that both humbles and inspires. As she shares in this interview, her connection with Patagonia is both emotional and philosophical: a reminder that “we are just a detail within this wonderful whole.” She believes passionately in the power of art, communication, and images to nurture love for wild places—and, as she notes, “you protect what you love.”
This year, Ringeling joins the judging panel for the 7th Patagonia Photo Contest. We spoke with Juanita about her impressions of Patagonia, the importance of conservation, and how photography can move us to empathy, action, and protection.
Patagon Journal: What does Patagonia mean for you?
Juanita Ringeling: For me, Patagonia is a very vast, very free, and very diverse place. It has incredible corners that are still completely pristine and wild. In my experience, it’s a very expansive place. Its infinity allows me, as a human being, to explore its different landscapes and spaces each time I’ve visited, and to understand our own scale—that we are just a detail within this wonderful whole.
Patagonia is also culture, and its culture is as diverse as its geography and landscapes. Since I come from central Chile, for me Patagonia has always meant a journey, an adventure. I’ve ventured to different places in Patagonia several times, in different ways: by plane, by car, by boat, exploring it from different angles. But, without a doubt, it remains a mystery because there is still so much left to discover.
Why do you think it’s important to conserve the world’s last wild places?
J.R. I think it’s important not only to conserve the remaining wild places, but also the small interurban areas, which, even if they’re not as pristine and wild, still support small ecosystems.
What’s unique about Patagonia is that there are still large expanses that can be protected, and I believe this is fundamental for two main reasons. First, its ecological value—for the entire planet, for nature, and for life itself. The more conserved areas we have, the more species and ecological functions we can maintain. Also, one of Patagonia’s strengths in Chile is that it has these characteristics, and it could become a major tourism destination—ideally, sustainable, regulated tourism —which would help us move toward a cleaner, less extractive economy. We recently saw a study showing that tourism generated much more employment and income in Chile than the salmon industry. If we consider that Chile has been selected for several years in a row as the best place to see nature and practice adventure sports, we can see that people abroad view Chile as a wild place to visit and explore, so the country needs to be prepared for this. I believe Patagonia has progressed in this direction and should deepen that development. Of course, if we shift toward an extractive economy and destroy this heritage, tourism will no longer be an option.
Juanita here paddling a canoe on the Klamath River in the western United States as part of an event by Rios to Rivers, an environmental exchange program that educates youth worldwide about river protection. Photo: Weston Boyles“The Patagonia Photo Contest focuses attention to Patagonia...Photos can bring us closer, inspire us, and help us empathize and admire its beauty."
Along the same lines, how do you think making these spaces visible, through, for example, a photography contest, could help achieve this goal?
I think a photography contest like this one allows us to focus attention on Patagonia. Not everyone has the chance to experience it in person, but photos can bring us closer, inspire us, and help us empathize and admire its beauty. That helps us start to get to know it, and as the saying goes, “you love what you know, and you protect what you love.” These are the steps toward connecting with Patagonia and, in the future, protecting it.
We’re now in an era of communication. In the past, if you didn’t go somewhere, there was no way to see or know it. Now, this is about showing Patagonia to the world from very unique perspectives, allowing us to empathize not only with what’s photographed, but also with the person behind the camera.
As part of the panel of judges for the 7th Patagonia Photo Contest, what criteria will you use to choose your favorite photos?
I’ll consider some technical details, such as whether it’s a beautiful photograph — well-taken, well-framed, well-balanced, and so on. But I believe an important criterion is also that the photo moves me. Emotion comes from feeling—something that stirs you, inspires you to act, to move, to get involved. I think the photos that awaken those internal feelings, which may lead to something more in the future, are the ones that truly stand out.
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