Imaging Brazil 017: Brazilian Border in Foz do Iguaçu, PR (2005)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

017. Brazilian border

JUNE 2005: Brazilian border

In June 2006, I stayed in Ciudad del Este (Paraguay) for one day. The following day, I returned to Brazil. Again, I crossed the border on foot. Many local workers cross this border daily. I went to the customs, to obtain my visa. For me, it was special to cross another border on foot. Previously, I had crossed the borders between the Netherlands and Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, Germany and Luxembourg, the United States and Mexico, and Italy and Vatican City on foot.

 

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2005, 2014

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Imaging Brazil 015: Bus stop in Foz do Iguaçu, PR (2005)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

015. Bus stop

JUNE 2005: Bus stop

In Curitiba, I already wondered the presence of the bi-articulated buses, which follow special tracks along the avenues, and had their stops at bus stop tubes. Therefore, this public transport system has a worldwide reputation. Prior to the 2014 World Cup soccer in Brazil, various Brazilian cities will inaugurate rapid bus systems, following Curitiba’s example. The bus stops will be different, with differently designed buses. Foz do Iguaçu already had a rapid bus system with bus stop tubes and articulated buses, as I had seen in 2005.

 

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2005, 2014

Imaging Brazil 014: Tanguá Park in Curitiba, PR (2005)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

014. Tanguá Park

JUNE 2005: Tanguá Park

On the way to Foz do Iguaçu, at the border with the neighboring countries Argentina and Paraguay, I spent one day in Curitiba, capital of the state of Paraná. Two friends welcomed me and showed me the city. They guided me in the historical center, at the Ópera de Arame (wire theater), and in some parks. We were just in time to witness a beautiful sunset in Tanguá Park. It soon became clear to me why this park is very popular among young couples: to enjoy together the final sun-colored moments of the day.

 

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2005, 2014

Imaging Brazil 013: Mirror (II) in São Paulo, SP (2005)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

013. Mirror  (2)

MAY 2005: Mirror (2)

In May 2005, my friend from Guarulhos was organizing a workshop in an narrow alley along Avenida Paulista. She and her family helped interested participants of the Gay Pride – one of the largest in the world, which that was held in Avenida Paulista that day, to create masks. I made use of the opportunity to walk along the avenue, before the start of the parade. During the parade, I joined the family at their workshop. Later that afternoon, I was invited to watch a match between the soccer teams Palmeiras and Santos.

 

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2005, 2014

Imaging Brazil 012: Mirror (I) in São Paulo, SP (2005)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

012. Mirror (1)

MAY 2005: Mirror (1)

May 2005: I spent most of my final day in the city of São Paulo along the long Avenida Paulista. This 2.7 km long avenue is flanked by dozens of skyscrapers. Modern giants of concrete, rich in glass. It is calculated that more than 200 thousand people live in this avenue. The avenue hosts a large number of banks, consulates and museums. When I was walking along this avenue, I noticed surprisingly interesting mirror images of buildings at the other side of this very wide avenue.

 

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2005, 2014

Imaging Brazil 011: Cloudburst in São Paulo, SP (2005)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

011. Cloudburst

MAY 2005: Cloudburst

Late May 2005, I took the bus from Belo Horizonte to São Paulo, a relatively short journey of about nine hours. The highway heads south through the huge state of Minas Gerais (about the same size of France and Switzerland together), and cuts through the state of São Paulo towards the Atlantic Ocean. The six-month-long raining season was almost ending, but we caught a real cloudburst on our way. The water flowed along the windows, providing a different view of the landscape as seen on the photograph above.

 

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2005, 2014

Imaging Brazil 010: Overpopulated (II) in São Paulo, SP (2005)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

100. Overpopulated (2)

MAY 2005: Overpopulated (2)

In May 2005, I spent part of my first full day in the city of São Paulo in Ibirapuera Park. The rain clouds had disappeared, it was sunny that day. It was wonderful to walk around in the park. Not too many people were in the park; many of them were enjoying their short work break. There was one location in the park where it was overcrowded: the large pond. Dozens of fish had gathered just below the water surface in order to obtain some food. Despite the somewhat turbid water, the fish bodies were clearly visible.

 

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2005, 2014

Imaging Brazil 009: Overpopulated (I) in São Paulo, SP (2005)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

009. Overpopulated (1)

MAY 2005: Overpopulated (1)

In May 2005, I was guided through downtown São Paulo by my friend, who lived in nearby Guarulhos. The center is characterized by dozens of tall buildings that create large shadows in the streets. Sometimes it was as if I were walking in a giant labyrinth. We went on our way to Mercado Municipal, the central market in São Paulo. My eyes caught a huge building. It looked quite old and badly maintained. My first thoughts were about the living conditions in that building: these must have been far from perfect. Many small apartments, inhabited by large families. A human cage.

 

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2005, 2014

Imaging Brazil 008: Flat tire in Bahia, BA (2005)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

008. Flat tire

FEBRUARY 2005: Flat tire

It is quite an adventure, to travel from Belo Horizonte to Recife by bus. The travel lasts more than forty hours. It is already more than a full day to reach Salvador, capital of the state of Bahia. From Salvador, the bus followed the route through part of Bahia, Sergipe, Alagoas and Pernambuco. I also had taken the bus for the return trip. On the way in Bahia, we suddenly heard a loud bang. A flat tire. The bus was located at dozens of kilometers from the nearest city. The bus driver almost panicked, he had no idea how to change the heavy bus tire. He was fortunate that a mechanic sat next to me. The man offered his help, and, together with a number of bus passengers, he managed to change the tire in a bit more than an hour. The bus driver offered the man gratefully a free meal at the next bus stop.

 

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2005, 2014

Imaging Brazil 007: Beach paradise Porto de Galinhas, PE (2005)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

007. Beach paradise

FEBRUARY 2005: Beach paradise

A real beach paradise is located at about fifty kilometers south of Recife: Porto de Galinhas. The beach resort once was called Porto Rico. When slave trade was banned in the nineteenth century, slaves were transported illegally from Africa. They were hidden in covert compartments, under a layer of hens from Angola (‘galinhas’ in Portuguese). When a new transport of slaves had arrived in Porto Rico, the messengers were sent to spread the news among the slave traders that the ‘galinhas’ had arrived. Hence, the actual name Porto de Galinhas. The beach resort is famous for the so-called ‘piscinas naturais’: shallow waters, surrounded by coral reefs. At low tide, boat trips are offered to the sandbanks at a few kilometers off the coast. The combination of warm sea water, white beach sands, and a large variety of leisure activities in the center attract many tourists from Brazil and abroad.

 

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2005, 2014

Imaging Brazil 006: Clowns in Recife, PE (2005)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

006. Clowns

FEBRUARY 2005: Clowns

Carnival in Pernambuco is well known in Brazil. There are significant differences between the samba carnival in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo on one hand, and the multicultural carnival in Recife and Olinda on the other hand. Carnival in Pernambuco is dominated by local music and dance styles, among which the frevo. In 2005, I attended carnival in Recife, in the historical center, at Marco Zero. This neighborhood is characterized by a large number of historical houses that date back from the Dutch occupation in the seventeenth century. On the way to Marco Zero, I met these lady clowns who posed spontaneously in front of my camera, both with a broad smile.

 

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2005, 2014

Imaging Brazil 005: Kombi in Paulista, PE (2005)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

005. Kombi

FEBRUARY 2005: Kombi

Come with the Kombi! That would be an attractive slogan, for a ride in this Volkswagen van. However, this type of transport is gradually disappearing in Brazil; they are still in use, mainly in Northeast Brazil. These vans are, despite the lack of comfort, essential for supplementary (public) transport: they reach locations that are not attended by regular bus services. In 2005, I regularly had traveled by these kombis in Pernambuco. Also after 2005, I had made use of these vans: in Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and various cities in the state of Minas Gerais.

 

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2005, 2014

Imaging Brazil 004: Colorful Olinda, PE (2005)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

004. Colorful Olinda

FEBRUARY 2005: Colorful Olinda

In February 2005, a friend invited me to travel with him to the state of Pernambuco, in Northeast Brazil. We stayed at this family in Paulista, a city north of Recife and Olinda. We went to the carnival festivities in both Recife and Olinda. Olinda is widely known for its colorful historical center. Literally colorful even, since most houses in that center have been painted in different combinations of bright colors. According to a local guide, even the mailmen know the addresses for their color combinations.

 

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2005, 2014

Imaging Brazil 003: Young Supporter in Belo Horizonte, MG (2005)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

003. Supporter

JANUARY 2005: Supporter

In Belo Horizonte, there are two rivaling soccer teams playing in the Série A of the Brazilian competition: Cruzeiro and Atlético Mineiro. Late January 2005, I was invited to watch a match of Cruzeiro in the huge Mineirão Stadium, which had a capacity of over seventy thousand people at that time. That day, a match was played as part of the state competition of Minas Gerais, the mineiro. A match between Cruzeiro and lower-ranked Democratas Governador Valadares. There weren’t many supporters that day. But they were very fanatic: they cheered, shouted and cursed during the match. One little boy was cheering for his favorite team: Cruzeiro.

 

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2005, 2014

Imaging Brazil 002: Center in Belo Horizonte, MG (2005)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

002. Center 

JANUARY 2005: Center

Belo Horizonte, capital of the state of Minas Gerais, is a relatively young city. The city had grown significantly; more than a century ago, the metropolis was planned with a maximum perimeter that now limits the city center. The actual center is characterized by a regular checkerboard pattern, with crossing diagonal lines. The absolute center, the ‘marco zéro’, is marked with a obelisk. The belo-horizontinos have given it a nickname: ‘pirulito’. The marco zéro is the cross section of two avenidas: Afonso Pena and Amazonas. The Seven September Square refers to the date on which the Brazilian independence was proclaimed, in 1822. The photograph was taken from the top of one of the skyscrapers that surround the square.

 

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2005, 2014

Imaging Brazil 001: Green Angel in Santos Dumont, MG (2005)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

001. Green angel 

JANUARY 2005: Green angel

Santos Dumont is a small city located at a little more than 200 km south of Belo Horizonte. Aviation pioneer Alberto Santos Dumont was born here; at that time, the town was called Palmyra. In January,2005, I joined a family to visit Santos Dumont. Downtown, there are some monuments honoring the aviation pioneer. Like a smaller replica of the Eiffel Tower with a balloon circling around it. Just a bit outside the center, my eyes caught something green. I aimed my camera and took a shot. A very lucky shot, because the picture shows a green hummingbird, which is considered a symbol of good luck in Brazil.

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2005, 2014