The Light of God
Sacred Valley, Peru 2022
After almost twenty years coming to hold this workshop here in Peru in the mountains above Cuzco at more than 4 thousand meters high, I realise day after day that this time we are really getting in touch with the Pacha Mama and with all the Sky. I laugh when I fall on rain-soaked earth with my cameras. I get up and haven’t gotten a scratch, the cameras work perfectly. I intuit and realise that I was being baptised by Heaven, by the Mother Earth who welcome me for my perseverance and love for these places. Many surprises await us. Suddenly a little girl appears out of nowhere and she tells me to follow her. She takes us to meet her family who are about to begin the ancestral Inka rite of blessing the sheep to ensure a good life and protect them. We are surprised by the great availability of the whole family. They make us wear ponchos which we then cover with flowers that we throw on the sheep and alpacas gathered inside the fold. I give my cell phone to Violeta, a 9-year-old girl, who makes an extraordinary video of us way while we participate in the ritual, also trying to photograph. Every day we are given one or more surprises: rituals, casual encounters with people. But the more time passes, the more I realise that there is nothing accidental: they are encounters dictated by the Virgin and Heaven that are part of my destiny, my faith, my karma and the one of the students. Chad, Szymon and Ray are happily blown away by everything we’ve been through together. Their photos confirm that in this workshop the light of God has accompanied us gently in each instant. We celebrate these unforgettable days with a lunch together, already thinking about next year. EB
