Stamps + Photographs

'Look! Look at the black girl!' yelled the old Peruvian lady at her friends, sitting in the front of the local market. They all stood up quickly to have a closer look. Some of them were pushing each other, laughing, jumping. There was no doubt. They had never seen someone like this before.

These women were all natives. Their skin was dark. Their hair was black, long and braided. Their traditional Andean costumes were colourful. Of course, they knew exactly what it was to be perceived as a simple folk object. After all, their job was to stand there all day long and take pictures with Western travellers in exchange of few soles (Peruvian currency).

'Her skin is so dark',said one woman. 'Is that someone from Africa?' asked another.

Deep inside, they all wanted to switch roles for a moment. They too wanted to do like Western tourists and take pictures with the exotic other. Back home, they too wanted to have something interesting to show their family and friends. They were maybe too poor to travel the world, but hey, this was like the world coming to them. Why not take advantage of the situation?

The group of old ladies stood in front of the local market amazed by this new specie. Soon enough, other people came to join them and see what was going on. Old men, children, young folks. No one wanted to miss 'la negrita', as they called her.

To be honest, I didn't really know how to react to such craze. I mean, I knew I was different from all the other tourists but I did not expect people to be so surprised to see me there. I had been travelling around Peru for weeks when I arrived in Puno and even if people had been starring at me since day one, it was the first time I felt so meticulously watched.

For you and I, in an ordinary setting, this kind of attitude would be politically incorrect. Nonetheless, when I saw all these curious glances pointed towards me, I was not at all offended nor scared. In fact, I realized that curiosity was nothing but human and that as I was visiting these people's town, seeking for exotic places to see, they reminded me that I too was an exotic other. I was being caught at my own game.

This encounter with the inhabitants of Puno was a reality check. At that particular moment I understood that travelling was not simply about being a voyeur in other people's reality. It is about strangers welcoming and meeting other strangers. We're all natives from somewhere. Aren't we?

So they stood there, and all I could do was smile.