Cristal Clear Gallery
Ecuador, 2005
® Bob Cocozza
It is now two weeks since my return from Ecuador and my last shot of the wildly powerful drink Cristal. I am not quite sure, but I think my liver functions are slowly returning to normal; my voice it may be permanently altered. Although the Ecuadorians are a welcoming and friendly people, photographing them can be a real challenge, as they can be very private and painfully shy. However, long days, persistence and the occasional hail Mary grab shot paid off with a fist full of images.
Our group, Cristal Clear, was an eclectic collection of nationalities with a common agenda: have a great time and try to make some memorable street photos. We had many great moments as a group, but fireworks night in Giron stands out clearly. During this amazing display, men with paper mache figures strapped to their backs ran wildly around the plaza while rockets were launched from these figures. Where was gruppo Cristal Clear? Right in the thick of it, trying to simultaneously photograph and dodge the rockets!
Where does Ernesto fit in amongst the Cristal and fireworks? Smack in the middle, mentoring and encouraging us to take chances with our photography. Then back in the edit room, you get the best possible piece of advice Ernesto can offer to help make you a better photographer: his honest opinion. Bob Cocozza
® Giorgio Negro
Drink or not to drink? This is the dilemma.
Get up early in the morning, leave in a rush, travel full of enthusiasm, the desire to photograph in your pocket.
To get to that secluded village where the photo of the year is waiting for me, my fingers already ready to capture it in flight and…NO, to welcome us there is not the image that will make me famous. NO, it’s a toothless smile, a wrinkled hand that offers me as a welcome a 50 proof drink that my esophagus will not forget easily, at least not for the rest of the day.
Maybe the alcohol will free my spirit, will get rid off of the inhibitory breaks of my imagination still anchored to more classical and teetotal schemes. Will the shot of Cristal help me to capture that evasive moment, to nail it once and for all on my Tri-X film?
This is what I believed in my naiveté, with my weak will and stomach. I could not say no, I accepted to drink a full glass, securing a perfect Ecuadorian gastritis.
Was it worth? Who wants to know the answer has to go to Ecuador and try a shot of Cristal Clear. Or take a look at my photos… Giorgio Negro
® Nick Goodey
Ecuador is a great place…unless you’re a bull. In our 11 days there we saw three meet their end, two in an astonishing ritual which involved slitting the throats of the still breathing animals and drinking their blood and a third in plain old fashioned bull fight. In addition there was a bull rodeo, where animal lovers will be pleased to note, one rather angry bull got its revenge on human kind by escaping and charging the crowd.
If it all sounds cruel reflect on the fact that in our culture will kill hundreds of thousands of animals in the most inhuman and barbaric way possible with no reverence for the animal at all. These people by comparison, killed only as part of a ritual that had great significance for them and their culture.
No, the only real cruelty I saw in Ecuador was practiced upon us when we had to drink Cristal, a larynx melting concoction that left you speechless after half a glass… Nick Goodey
