Portraying Beggars in Photography

Portraying beggars in our images, shooting at them pointblank, is tough. One should always be aware that our mission is to denounce and not to profit on people's misfortune. No matter how good your intentions are, it will always be hard and there will be a thin line between photo journalism and privacy invasion, between social report and unnecessary overexposure of the weak. Who are we to judge? No one.Will it help grow awareness? Certainly, yes. The camera is just a silent witness, a mere reflection of an instant in our collective reality as captured by one individual. There are so many moments out there that need to be recorded for our collective mind to be more self conscious!

Romanians in Barcelona: Finding People Behind Stereotypes

Behind every immigrant there is a story and not precisely that of a successful individual that found a good job, started a family and managed to be a respected citizen with access to all civil rights. There are immigrants that 'integrate' themselves (awful term to refer to 'you should not bite the hand that feeds you' or 'when in Rome do as the Romans do') and there are others who 'choose' not to do so (or better said, they will never be accepted by 'respectful' citizens, either local or ex-immigrant). Of course, this a delicate topic and there is gray in between black and white. Standing on the 'wrong' sidewalk, whether it was your choice (hard to believe), because you lost the last train, entered a bad streak of luck or simply were born on the other side, will entitle you to receive great doses of rejection and a journey to limbo, the realm of absolute oblivion. And being on the dark side means you will stop believing in man's justice, in fairness, in humanity, in the love of others, in rules not because you chose to but because they sent you there. And why do I say all this, well because there are stereotypes in our society for all that looks different and does not 'integrate' and no country is safe except the 'pure respectful citizens' (not quite clear who belongs and who doesn't yet). There are Latin, Black, Chinese, Moorish, Pakistani, Eastern Europe people and they are all very well classified in our rotten minds in a scale of preference. Nobody talks about the person behind the stereotype, they are rarely given the opportunity to 'adapt themselves' and are treated differently, with a biased criteria. The moment we stop categorizing individuals we will be much better people, or should I say, persons. The image today, a Romanian woman and her child. What are you going to do, misjudge them or try to find people behind the sterotype?

Big Brother in Las Ramblas: Crime Ridden Streets or Privacy Breach?

Anyone that has visited or lives in Barcelona is perfectly aware of the fact that Las Ramblas is not the safest place in the world. The more crowded it gets the more pickpockets per square meter there are. The situation was getting so bad that extra surveillance was imperative and there came the cameras. As a result of this, you see less suspicious faces (thieves have this peculiar look when they are just about to steal) that undoubtedly are neither tourists nor locals in their daily routine simply because they have been pushed to neighboring narrow alleys away from big brother's perimetral vision. Once again punishment prevails over prevention. The root of petty offenses and misdemeanors lies many times in poverty, precariousness and exclusion and that should be the target point of our authorities before metastasis arrives.

So Close and Yet So Far

I had my doubts about the title this time. The picture could have been called Bad Companies, Dubious Shelter, Not So Safe, Sour Sweet Dreams or whatever. I finally decided for how something that is so close to this person like Bank Santander in this case can give him so little and yet ironically offer improvised shelter. Framing is awful, sorry about that. Red I kept to stress the logo of one of the most prosperous banks in Spain. The rest is obvious.

Bad Weather, Bad Times

On the most expensive street in Barcelona, Portal de l'Angel, comfort and poverty coexist. In the middle of this crisis beggars take the worse part, economy is going down the drain, consumers are not spending much and there's no money for charity. The weather seems to be rougher, the faces seem to be sadder. People wear last year's clothes, prefer to stay at home, talk less, worries about keeping the job and pray not to fall into disgrace. Yep, a very pessimistic panorama. Reality is tough and fairy tales sometimes don't have a happy ending. They say is going to last about two years. So we'll stick our heads beneath the sand and wait for the storm to pass. The barometer indicates low pressure apparently till further notice.

Man on The Grass - Catalonia Square, Barcelona

The man was sitting on the grass drinking some beer before taking a nap. I would say he was homeless but I can't say that for sure, so my post is just about a man in Plaça Catalunya, in the very center of Barcelona, an anonymous character, one of the many solitary souls that wander in this square.

Where Do All the Lonely People Go?

Where do lonely people go? Those who seldom know a shelter of their own. Where do lonely people go? Those who left for good one day slamming the door Where do all those homeless people go? All those forgotten by their sons Where do all those shipwrecks repose? Banished castaways on nowhere land Where do all desperate bodies rest when the mind abandons every hope? What becomes of them when all is lost but death refuses their requests? Why are there such limbos upon Earth? What kind of vicious fate can take you there? What were they? Who were they? How do you know it is not your turn? How can you tell? I see a bunch of kids playing in the park, laughing. What horrendous scheming decides who's gonna be next?

Home Bad Home

In plain daylight and quite near La Boqueria market in Barcelona there was this young couple sound asleep alien to passersby peeking up through the chain link fence. Two old guys stood right next two us, you know, retirees of those that approve or disapprove things up, nodding disdainfully.

Poverty-Stricken Barcelona: Woman Begging, Paseo de Gracia

I won't judge this time. I leave it up to you. This is a woman begging on the corner of Passeig de Gracia and Plaça Catalunya, just in front of El Corte Inglés. One of the richest spots in Barcelona. It was a very hot afternoon, the normal kind of day this time of year, the same all stuff, lots of people, sweating all over. And there she was. People seemed to draw a safety perimeter around her with their feet. The same old story.

Homeless in Barcelona, Spain

Some months later, the same corner, the same guy, the same situation, the same precarity and poverty, no matter what government is ruling, no matter the price of the oil barrel, no matter how high or low Dow Jones index is, no matter who ranks first in the Forbes list, no matter how rich the Vatican is or how many skyscrapers are built in Dubai or how many jewelry stores are in New York's Diamond District or how well Chinese economy is.

Homeless Immigrants in Barcelona

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Same as it ever was...Same as it ever was...Same as it ever was...And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack, And you may find yourself in another part of the world. And you may ask yourself-Well...How did I get here?...Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down, Letting the days go by/water flowing underground, into the blue again/after the money's gone, Once in a lifetime/water flowing underground. Hmm...Talking Heads. If you read between the lines and you look at this man sitting here on top his belongings, leaning on that platain tree and staring vacantly into space in the middle of Plaça Catalunya you will realize that your future is always balancing on a tight but uncertain rope, today you are here and tomorrow you are there, into the blue again after the money is gone. Being homeless in Barcelona or in any other big city is really tough but being homeless and an immigrant is even worse.

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Begging in Downtown Barcelona

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Not all is comfort and hedonism in Barcelona, there is also a dark, submerged world that pops out here and there gaining momentum with globalization and precarity. On my way from Las Ramblas to Plaça Catalunya I came across this beggar. It called my attention that she (maybe he) was wearing a hood and an empty sleeve was showing where the arm was supposed to be. On a second glance you could guess the shape of an arm folded under the jacket. I can't swear it was a fake cause I had my doubts but I couldn't help thinking on the growing number of professional beggars spreading in downtown Barcelona and the fierce competition they suppose to the real needed people.
Read here about warnings given by tourists about dangers in Barcelona. There is a letter that clearly illustrates typical professional beggar tricks.

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