Jump to content

Fabio - Wachiman - Bogotá - Colombia


borjapax

Recommended Posts

Advertisement (gone after registration)

The last months I have established a nice relation with Don Fabio. He is the man who informally is taking care of the street where I am leaving in Bogotá. There are plenty of Don Fabios in Colombia. They get some income taking care of the cars and making some cleaning and car washing. They are called "wachiman".

 

Don Fabio has had a hard life: completely illiterate with some psychological deficiency, many years hooked with drugs, raspachin (coca cropper) in one of the most war-torn region in Colombia, victim of one the most destructive natural disaster in Colombia (Eruption of Nevado del Ruiz Volcano in 1985, that provoked the disappearance of a whole city: Armero, with more than 30.000 dead people and many other affected) among other life casualties .

 

The last 10 years, he has been the wachiman in the street where I have rented my apartment since I arrived to Bogotá. He argues that "jesus" help him to find the good way. And, in fact, he is a good person.

 

Pictures taken with both M8 and M7. Summilux 35, summicrom 50.

 

Saludos,

Borja

 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Some other pictures.

 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

 

 

 

 

Saludos,

 

Borja

Link to post
Share on other sites

Guest Motivfindender

A very impressing series,

touching by both your words full of empathy and your very respectful pictures of one of the millions of unknown people who did not give up the hope though they live a nearly hopeless life..

 

This is real art!

 

Thank you

and congratulation for your very well-done work! :)

 

Dirk

 

realizing once again how damn glad I am (and have to be) to live my life so comfortable like I do...

Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for all your comments.I really appreciate them. These weekend I am in a small town in north colombia facilitating a conflict trasformation workshop, and do not have time to answear all your questions / comments. Please allow me to travel back to Bogotá, and I will reply you and will post some other pictures of Fabio.

Thanks again.

Borja

Link to post
Share on other sites

Borja - As has already been said, and excellent series honoring a person who is probably given little recognition yet has his own story.

 

I'm with the B&W group and feel that this series would have benefited from being posted in two threads, one for the color shots and one for B&W to keep the eyes from the need to adjust midway through the series.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks again to all of you for your comments.

 

I arrived to Bogotá three years ago, and I have been always living in the same street, just where Fabio has been working the last ten years. I only started to take pictures of him after one year and a half, when confidence and trust between us was strong. Fabio has serious physiological problems. As explained before, he has been trough a very difficult life. It is not easy to get contact and communicate with him. He is a bit aggressive at a first sight and its difficult to understand him when he speaks and narrates about him, his work and his life.

 

However, he is a good and nice person. You realize that, if your are able to cross prejudice boundaries and understands him in all complexity and life history.

 

Now, I have a good photo series of him. He has been looking some of the pictures and he has asked me to give him a copy "for her mamma". I have, of course, given some printed copies to him.

 

Borja

 

 

I have tried to explain Fabio that my idea is to prepare a chronic with all the pictures and the information compiled. He likes the idea and smiles me, but I guess that he is not really aware about what I mean.

 

I have to think about how to prepare and focus the chronic: I have identified three groups of pictures: those in color where he is washing cars, B&W portraits in the street and portraits in my dinning room. In addition I have a lot of information provided by Fabio about his life (even when I have some doubts about chronologic of the facts due to the inarticulateness of Fabio´s narration). Any suggestions from professionals are welcome.

 

I add some other pictures of the series:

 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

 

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

 

 

 

 

Borja

Link to post
Share on other sites

Guest Motivfindender

Thank you for the further photos.

 

I am no pro, but as a reader of some journals, I could imagine that your work is worth being published in National geographic or GEO or something like that. (Perhaps Fabio could profit from it too? ;) )

 

I am really very impressed by your outstanding series and full of respect for your photographic work - the which seems for me to be more pro-like than amateur.

The perfect ad would perhaps be some information and photos of his appartment, his very own private life?

 

Dirk

 

BTW: You did mean "psychological" problems and not "physiological" problems, didn´t you?

Link to post
Share on other sites

I am no pro, but as a reader of some journals, I could imagine that your work is worth being published in National geographic or GEO or something like that. (Perhaps Fabio could profit from it too? ;) )

The perfect ad would perhaps be some information and photos of his appartment, his very own private life?

 

Dirk, I had the idea of trying to publish the pictures in a more modest magazine; maybe Gatopardo; a well establish latinoamerican monthly magazine. They use to combine good histories with good photography. But... :rolleyes: if you think that NG o GEO may be interested in such a history, why not to try?. If any, any income will be for Fabio.

 

I have already thought about traveling to Fabio's place in Bogotá and ad some pictures from there. In fact, Fabio's place are several places. He use to stay in very cheap hostals, paying them the daily earnings. Also, he has invited me to the town where he is coming from, but that it is a more difficult place to reach due to the strong presence in the area of one of the colombian illegal arm actors. Unfortunately, as a UN functionary, I have many restrictions to travel to such places. In any case, why not to think about that. The last three years I have visited other dangerous areas here and I am here writing to all of you.

 

Thanks again for your suggestions.

 

Borja

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...