Photojournalism

Africa

South Africa | Saturday, September 3, 2011 | 11 photos

The color of Africa was the experience that changed my life forever.

Remember looks, smells, sensations, well-defined social classes, structure and daily discipline of living in a community where evangelical religious attitudes of people around the world amalgamated to live in community. But my memory has a particular relationship with food that was completely different to what I got to prove today.

I will never forget the trips to Africa with my camera by weight on the chest, weight and did not yield increased to bring up to my eye to capture an image.

- Pain of children sick with HIV, cholera and malaria.

- The smell of animal visors pulled in makeshift butcher shops running from where the flies lay their eggs, but regardless of health or the health of one meat was sold.

- Terror in the face to women humiliated by their husbands. The ulcerated ebony men not only in body but in soul.

- Disregard of certain officials to conditions that, at least I do, I can understand as life.


A woman with her child in her arms at me very intently. I panicked. Calling her husband because she thinks something bad will I do? Did she start screaming because was terrified that she considers me a man of white color?

The woman leaves. A minute later he returned with a stone in one hand and the other a glass of water. Speak up with his mixture of English and Xhosa barely understand it. The stone was for me to sit and water so he could cool off the midday heat.

The water was warm, but I realized that this gesture meant to her about everything, and remarked about everything, because that woman walked far to get home offered me water.

I have no words to explain the emotion felt, but something inside me changed in until today. That woman had more than a simple gesture of hospitality that I received the nicest hotels I could also stay.

Then the woman in good spirits is predisposed to chat with me.

A glass of warm water can cool to the soul to see how much misery is priced in dollars, euros, pesos, real, yen in all global markets sell, trade and traffic in the lives of many men.