Street magician. Quito, Ecuador Summer 1981. Why make images? If it is the expectation that an audience will care, it may be trying to sing softly into a 40mph blizzard hoping to be heard. Can it be only for the telling itself?
“Stop me if you’ve heard this before” is the beginning to so many tales because diffidence and uncertainty jockey for position over the hoped-for interest in the tale.
I intended these 40 years ago images to be a small story of the indigenous peoples of Ecuador, one of their elders, and their daily means of sustenance, from selling fruits and vegetables to performing street magic and weaving and selling textiles.
There's a story here. I set out to explore Quito, camera in hand, in the summer of 1981. I was trying to tell a story about the people and their struggle for both prosperity and preservation of their life and customs. I pointed my camera at this woman, (who turned out to be left handed) because as soon as I pushed the shutter, she raised her hand and threw an apparently unsellable tomato. Within a moment, I was surrounded by a jostling crowd and my wallet was gone. I realized that picture taking here is a "permission" business, so I gave her the few coins I had remaining and offered to delete (*remove the film in those days), but she demurred with hand gestures and smiled. I also hope she got a portion of the wallet proceeds!
