Carlos and Luis taking a few photographs of kids asking us what we are doing there

I was told about a gringo who had built a program for displaced families in the mountains surrounding Medellin, Colombia called Angeles de Medellin.  The friend said it was a great place to volunteer and maybe photograph.

Once I finally got in touch with Mark he invited me out to the mountain, where he has been working.  He explained that the area was very poor and there wasn’t much infrastructure there but the people were friendly and there would be no issues what-so-ever with my camera gear being out.  He said all I had to do when walking around the village was tell them I was with him and no one would bother me.

The name of the place is Regalo De Dios and it’s in Bello, Colombia (about 15 minutes outside of Medellin)

I invited a couple other photographers with me (Carlos and Luis who helped me with the Help-Portrait Project) but to be honest we had a goal for the day there.  Our goal was to look around, scout the area and see if it would be a good place to do a photo project for Christmas.  More to come on that later this week but it’s safe to say we’re on and it’s going to be great!

So we walked around a few hours taking pictures and talking with the locals.  Most of these people have nothing, seriously nothing.  House are made with scraps they can find, a covered roof made of tin is a luxury and running water is unheard of for most.  That being said, we found people so giddy happy and very open to talk.  I don’t remember not seeing a smile every time we walked by a new house.

Below was what I captured and will give you a glimpse of what I got to see that day.  These are all in Black & White but will post later photos in color and more about Mark.

This women was burning trash on the street.  She laughed when we photographed her because she couldn’t figure out why anyone would want her photo while she burned trash.  I think the photo says why!

The old lady was so proud of her AM/FM radio

A Paisa cowboy!

These kids were in a shanty house that was being used as a daycare

The kids really got a kick out of us stopping by and taking photos of them.  All giggles when we showed them the LCD screen afterwards!

A man has a typical Paisa meal on the street next to his house, two little girls playing with an umbrella on their porch and an old man stopped and let us take his portrait.  He only asked for a copy and will be printing him a copy for sure next time I go and visit. 

 

Posted on December 6th, 2011 Archived in Colombia, Photo-Essay, South America

Medellin

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