An Island
Seven hundred kilometers from the coast of the Colombian continent lies an island. This small and friendly island, full of rhythms and colors, has been influenced by Spanish and English for many years until becoming a property of Colombia. Its inhabitants, who still carry English surnames due to European colonization, always mention it with great pride. The languages spoken by all are: Creole, Spanish and English.
The island's residents live long and peaceful lives within their secular homes, many in incredible conservation status. They are religious (Protestants and Catholics) and attend mass every week always in their best clothes. When they are not in church or at work, they like to watch the island's movement through the porch of their homes, while their children run free and revel in the exuberant beaches that we only have access to in the best of our vacations.
The positive mood of the inhabitants of this small territory surrounded by crystalline waters, quickly captivated me. I decided to photograph all that I was seeing and feeling, but I did not just want a series of 'street photography' as I usually do when I travel, I wanted something more intimate, I wanted to get into their homes. It was when I politely or inconveniently asked to enter, to photograph them and to hear their stories. They would look at me with a smile on their faces and say, "Come in!" They told me about their families, about the origin of their houses, and about the pirates who once lived on the island.
I spent only 4 days on the island and they were amazing days. I experienced a little of the reality of each one of them, the customs, the gastronomy and the feeling of tranquility that only an island can provide.
Welcome to San Andres Island!
Mariana Moraes, Brazil, Taubate
