Santiago, Chile. 1965. Studied graphic design at VIPRO university in Santiago and then photography at Parson’s New School in New York City.

In 2003 he became a contributor of Redux Pictures after working several years with Getty Images news. Since then Carlos has mostly focused his work in Latin America following its cultural, social and political aspects from the point of view of one plant, Coca and its counterpart, Cocaine.

His work has been published in many magazines including National Geographic, National Geographic Adventure, Outside, Colors, Newsweek, and Nature Conservancy.

Since 2000 Carlos Villalon has split his time between New York City and Bogota, Colombia.

In 2004 Carlos won an honorable mention in the POYi awards for his work “Cocaine Country” that appeared as a cover feature in National Geographic magazine. In 2010 he was awarded second place general news in World Press photo contest for his work “Cocaine Gangs” in Medellin, Colombia.