Every morning except Sunday morning, Iraci Ramundo would serve my family breakfast. For 10 years she did this, but as a child I never knew to where she returned on her one day off a week. She was a loving caregiver who of necessity spent more time with other people’s children than her own.
20 years later I decided, upon hearing of her ill health, to visit her in Chatuba, a ghetto in Rio de Janeiro.
The middle and upper classes don’t dare cross the imaginary wall that divides Chatuba from the rest of the city. The endless quest for control of illegal drug and gun trade is a backdrop against which the people of Chatuba go about their daily lives, savouring each day due to an uncertain future.
Dignity, joy and generosity are what I found on the other side, as well as grinding poverty.
This is a tribute to the people of Chatuba who live with great courage in spite of their living conditions.
This series is dedicated to her memory.
-Shot with Nikon F4 camera using Fuji Superia 35mm film
Iraci Ramundo
"If God is for us, who will be against us?"