A SOUTH American woman is pursuing a dream that has brought her from the mountains of Bolivia - the Tibet of the Americas - to Leigh!

Virginia Rivero Elder is developing her passion for photography on a three-year course at the Bolton Institute in September, fulfilling a 24-year dream inspired by her British grandfather William George Elder Bell.

Virginia told The Journal she first "fell in love" with photography at the age of 12 when given a book of Anselm Adams photographs by Elder Bell, who had become a pioneer of the Bolivian oil industry in the 1930s when he created the country's first mini-oil refinery.

"When I saw these pictures my grandfather had given me, it put it in my heart that I wanted to do this one day," she said.

But Virginia was sidetracked by a career in newspaper journalism which culminated in creating television documentaries for an electricity company.

"I had been thinking for a long time of coming to England to study the documentary style I loved, as it was created here.

"I started saving up, then read about the Estudios Britannia agency which helps people in South America who want to study in England.

"I called and told the lady who answered I had this dream of depicting real people in real environments through the medium of photography. She found the Bolton Institute which specialises in the documentary style."

Virginia left Santa Cruz de la Sierra for England in February and in six months learned how to speak English at Yorkshire's Whitby School.

"I chose to live In Leigh as one of the women at the agency had a friend here. I think Leigh is a nice place, very picturesque, the people are so friendly."

Virginia, 36, is living in Chestnut Drive South.