Charmed river
Fútbol de potrero en el Gran Buenos Aires
Children football (*) in dirt fields, in Greater Buenos Aires
Este proyecto comenzó con mi deseo de fotografiar en lugares no muy seguros. Desde el primer momento quise ser honesto con mi trabajo, así que decidí de entrada, que realmente no necesitaba ir a una zona de guerra para eso. Hay muchos lugares (en todos lados, en o alrededor de cualquier gran ciudad), donde ir con una cámara colgada es un poco peligroso, si no imbécil… y muchos de esos lugares no están tan lejos de nuestros seguros hogares. (Lo mismo pasa cuando uno "quiere ayudar": lo primero que uno piensa es en países pobres, pero si realmente queremos ayudar, sólo basta con mirar alrededor nuestro… No digo que uno no deba ir a esos lugares lejanos para ayudar, si eso es lo que uno quiere o necesita hacer, por supuesto. Sólo es una cuestión de motivación y honestidad).
De todas maneras, yo quería fútbol de potrero, con chicos descalzos ("potrero" es una palabra que en nuestro español, se usa para nombrar la cancha de tierra seca, generalmente en barrios pobres… Es donde han surgido muchos de los "cracks" del fútbol). Esto era, definitivamente, un prejuicio. Lo admito. Encontré una cancha de tierra, con algunos chicos descalzos y una escuelita de fútbol, sí. Pero también encontré caras amigables, algo de curiosidad, sonrisas, y el deseo de que las cosas fueran mejor. El lugar era "Río Encantado" (que debe su nombre a un pequeño río que décadas atrás era un lindo lugar donde los chicos jugaban después de la escuela, y que hoy ya ni es un río -es un canal con basura flotando- y mucho menos "encantado", como podrán ver).
Me aceptaron rápida y amablemente. Necesitaban fotografías para mostrar su actividad y con ellas, conseguir fondos para mejorar las instalaciones. Les dí las fotos que, espero, les sirvan para lograr esos propósitos.
Anyway, I definitely wanted "potrero"'s football with barefoot children ("potrero" is a Spanish word, used to name a place were kids play football, usually on dirt soil in poor neighboorhoods… it is where some real cracks were found). This was definitely a prejudice, I admit. I've found a dirt "stadium", with some barefoot children and a football school, yes. But I've also found friendly faces, some curiosity, smiles, and the wish for things to get better. The place was Río Encantado ("Charmed River", named after a little river that decades ago was a nice place where kids play after school. Today is not a river anymore -it's now a channel with floating litter- and much less 'charmed', as you can see).
I was kindly and rapidly accepted. They needed photographs to show their activity, and with them, get some funds to build better facilities. I gave them pictures, which, I hope, help them to achieve their goals.
De todas maneras, yo quería fútbol de potrero, con chicos descalzos ("potrero" es una palabra que en nuestro español, se usa para nombrar la cancha de tierra seca, generalmente en barrios pobres… Es donde han surgido muchos de los "cracks" del fútbol). Esto era, definitivamente, un prejuicio. Lo admito. Encontré una cancha de tierra, con algunos chicos descalzos y una escuelita de fútbol, sí. Pero también encontré caras amigables, algo de curiosidad, sonrisas, y el deseo de que las cosas fueran mejor. El lugar era "Río Encantado" (que debe su nombre a un pequeño río que décadas atrás era un lindo lugar donde los chicos jugaban después de la escuela, y que hoy ya ni es un río -es un canal con basura flotando- y mucho menos "encantado", como podrán ver).
Me aceptaron rápida y amablemente. Necesitaban fotografías para mostrar su actividad y con ellas, conseguir fondos para mejorar las instalaciones. Les dí las fotos que, espero, les sirvan para lograr esos propósitos.
Fuí por algo de "fotografía peligrosa", y lo que encontré en Río Encantado fué puro amor por los chicos.
....................
This project begun with my desire to photograph in not so secure places. From the very first moment, I wanted to be honest about my work, so I decided I need not go to a war zone for that. There were many places (everywhere, in or around any big city), where going with a camera is a bit dangerous if not insane… and many of these places are not so far from our secure homes. (The same happens when one "wishes to help": poor countries come to our minds in the first place, but if we really want to help, we just need to look around us... I don't mean that one should not go to those far places to help, if this is what one wishes or needs to do, of course. It's just a matter of motivation and honesty).
This project begun with my desire to photograph in not so secure places. From the very first moment, I wanted to be honest about my work, so I decided I need not go to a war zone for that. There were many places (everywhere, in or around any big city), where going with a camera is a bit dangerous if not insane… and many of these places are not so far from our secure homes. (The same happens when one "wishes to help": poor countries come to our minds in the first place, but if we really want to help, we just need to look around us... I don't mean that one should not go to those far places to help, if this is what one wishes or needs to do, of course. It's just a matter of motivation and honesty).
Anyway, I definitely wanted "potrero"'s football with barefoot children ("potrero" is a Spanish word, used to name a place were kids play football, usually on dirt soil in poor neighboorhoods… it is where some real cracks were found). This was definitely a prejudice, I admit. I've found a dirt "stadium", with some barefoot children and a football school, yes. But I've also found friendly faces, some curiosity, smiles, and the wish for things to get better. The place was Río Encantado ("Charmed River", named after a little river that decades ago was a nice place where kids play after school. Today is not a river anymore -it's now a channel with floating litter- and much less 'charmed', as you can see).
I was kindly and rapidly accepted. They needed photographs to show their activity, and with them, get some funds to build better facilities. I gave them pictures, which, I hope, help them to achieve their goals.
I went for some kind of local "dangerous" photography, and what I've found at Río Encantado was purely love for children.
*Note to US visitors: as many of you surely know, "football" is our word for your "soccer".
