Cozumel Artists Accuse Veracruz Project of Copying Iconic Photo Booth

Cozumel, Quintana Roo — A dispute over a new photo frame on the boardwalk in Boca del Río, Veracruz, has exposed what Cozumel officials and local artists describe as a near-identical copy of the island’s signature “Photo Booth,” the set of doors also known as the “gateway to heaven.”

Boca del Río installed a large, angled concrete frame on its waterfront as a spot for visitors to pose for pictures.

The installation drew a response from artist Christian Aguilar Torres, who goes by the nickname “Chefcito.” In a Facebook post, Aguilar showed that he had proposed installing a photographic frame as early as 2025 — an idea he said came “from his head and heart” and which he delivered in an envelope to the municipal government.

When he saw that the municipality had erected its own version, he demanded in his post that his contribution as a local artist be recognized.

But the Boca del Río project is an almost identical copy of Cozumel’s Photo Booth, down to the same slogans, according to the criticism that followed.

The apparent imitation did not escape Elías Farah Cen, Cozumel’s tourism director, who shared the post with the comment: “That door looks familiar to me.”

Cozumel residents quickly piled on, prompting Aguilar to disable comments on the post, though he did not delete it.

“Those doors were made here in Cozumel back in 2023. You steal ideas and you still have the nerve to fight about it on social media,” one user wrote.

One of the creators of Cozumel’s Photo Booth joined the debate, recounting the collective origins of the project. He said the design came together by chance: the team used existing doors brought from El Cedral, while the messages painted on them were refined by the municipal Social Communication office.

The original structure was damaged by the weather and was eventually replaced with a sturdier version built by Eyden Ancona Mezo.

That collective effort, he said, is what should be defended against improper appropriation.

“One thing is to draw inspiration to create something new. Quite another is to take someone else’s work, reproduce its recognizable features and then claim as your own something that was not originally developed that way,” he said.