Misericordia
Iquitos, Peru 2016
Iquitos always strikes me for the heavy warmth and for the sunsets full of shades of grey.
This year four new students accompany me: Isabel, Julia, Linda, Monica and my dear Nilo returns for his fifth consecutive year. Monica after the wonderful experience in the Sacred Valley that united us so much has followed my advice to continue to probe another Peruvian reality diametrically opposed to the one in the mountains.
As usual, we return to the same places by adding variants that enrich our itinerary.
Iquitos continues to grow, to expand, but it still retains its mysterious charm of ancestral humanity where you get into the viscera of its people, animals and plants.
The visit to the butterflies’ sanctuary was very interesting. We photograph many chrysalis and hundreds of fluttering butterflies.
We return to the bustling ports, to Belem market always full of charm. I get my hair cut in a barbershop. A kid takes my camera and portrays me with my new look.
We return to Pebas, the beloved lost outpost in the Amazon. The pace of life slows down sharply while the rivers continue to flow unperturbed and people continues to live everyday life to a rhythm that puts you back in peace with the world. Each of us gets lost looking for pearls of life.
It’s nice to do the daily editing sessions with students, watch their personal work, to show the book on the family, the Cantos from Bahia and the Sacred Valley. We help one another movingly as always!
In the evening we dine at Magali’s restaurant that prepares her usual delicacies.
Every day in the editing sessions I see the hard fight against the obviousness of the majority of the photographs taken by Isabel, Julia, Linda, Monica and Nilo. Everyone slowly develops his or her own vision. There are many disappointments, but positive surprises are not lacking!
Being back with the Israelites gives us some interesting opportunities. We are invited again to the school where we can take pictures with a certain freedom.
In the final editing we are all pleasantly pleased with the results achieved by each student. The written comments of each student make me smile and give me the strength to continue. The photos will remain with them in their lifetime, unique photographs where magic prevails turning them into shades of unforgettable emotions! EB
