Imaging Portugal 011: Street Greengrocer, Porto

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

011: Greengrocer

When I was walking in the historic center of Porto, I noticed many hawkers standing or sitting down at the pavement, trying to sell their merchandise. Most of them sold products, which they grew at home, or at their farm. Different kinds of fruit and vegetables, eggs, nuts. They had put their merchandise on simple crates, and some of them even made some more effort to arrange their vegetables and fruit in neat piles or pyramids. This older woman sat on the curbstones and waited patiently for her customes. A man in the corner of the photo appears to watch her.

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 1999, 2001, 2003, 2017

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Imaging Brazil 338: Detail of Jackfruit in Belo Horizonte, MG (2011)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

338: Jackfruit in detail

One of the biggest tree fruits you can find on our planet is the jackfruit, also known as nangka. The jackfruit originates in India, but is now found in Southeast Asia, North Australia and Eastern Brazil, where this fruit is locally known as jaca. There is a lack of clarity about the name jackfruit. One source refers to a Scottish botanist, while another source refers to the Portuguese word jaca, which in turn has a reference to the Malay word chakka. The shell on the photo is of the hard jaca-dura variety. These fruits can measure up to one meter long and weigh over forty kilos. It is therefore important to be careful not to be hit by such a fruit. In the city park Floresta da Tijuca in Rio de Janeiro, the jackfruit tree was the first variety to be planted there. With much success: Now, several thousands of young shoots are destroyed annually, in order to preserve the natural balance in the urban forest.

 

Een van de grootste boomvruchten die je op onze planeet kan vinden is de jackfruit, ook wel bekend als nangka. De jackfruit vindt zijn oorsprong in India, maar is tegenwoordig te vinden in Zuidoost-Azië, Noord-Australië en in Oost-Brazilië, waar deze vrucht lokaal bekend staat als jaca. Er bestaat onduidelijkheid over de naam jackfruit. Een bron verwijst naar een Schotse botanicus, terwijl een andere bron verwijst naar het Portugese woord jaca, die op zijn beurt een verwijzing heeft naar het Maleisische woord chakka. De schil op de foto is van de soort jaca-dura, de harde variant. Deze vruchten kunnen tot wel een meter lang zijn en ruim veertig kilo wegen. Het is derhalve oppassen niet geraakt te worden door een dergelijke vrucht. In het stadspark Floresta da Tijuca in Rio de Janeiro was de jackfruitboom de eerste soort die er werd aangeplant. En wel met zoveel succes, dat jaarlijks vele tienduizenden jonge scheuten worden vernietigd ter behoud van het natuurlijk evenwicht in het stadsbos.

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2011, 2017

Imaging Brazil 292: Selling Fruits from a Wheelbarrow in João Pessoa, PB (2010)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

292: Fruitseller

You can consider them as little self-employed, the camelôs on the streets. They try to sell their merchandise to the passers-by. From behind their little stalls – sometimes no more than a wooden board on a stack of crates – they shout their merchandise to the clients, or stay silent or sit until an interested customer draws his attention. In the big cities, these camelôs occupy small spaces along and on the sidewalks, and in various squares and open spaces. You can find literally everything: refreshments, household items, small electronics, clothes and shoes, as well as fresh fruit. This camelô in João Pessoa used a wheelbarrow as a mobile stall for his fruit.

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2010, 2017

IMAGES OF BRAZIL: SELEXION 2009 – 004

A selection of photographs taken in Brazil in 2009.

Part 4:
Recife (PE) – Yellow fruits
Recife (PE) – Angel
Recife (PE) – Colorful banners
Recife (PE) – Ferry rowing boat

Recife (PE) – Yellow fruits

Recife (PE) – Angel 

Recife (PE) – Colorful banners

Recife (PE) – Ferry rowing boat

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2009, 2016

Imaging Brazil 036: Bananas in Santa Luzia, MG (2005)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

036. Bananas

AUGUST 2005: Bananas

It is well known why bananas have a curved shape. The fruit grows upward, while the flower hangs down due to gravity. This process is called geotropy or gravitropy, and independent of the light source. In Minas Gerais, bananas are grown in many gardens and plantations. The most consumed banana is not the Cavendish banana, but banana-prata. The bananas are not only consumed as fresh fruit, but also fried (banana milanesa), dried, or prepared with fresh cream.

 

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2005, 2014