the silence after the chaos

This picture was taken days after the earthquake of 2010. Probably the picture is not very clear and not many will recognize it, this is the old bridge that crosses the Bio Bio River in Concepcion. Sady Mora is the photographer, she belongs to the collective "Concepcion photographer" This group created a photo exhibition called de-hechos to reflect the changes of the following earthquake day in the city. I like this photo because of the shades used, the sky is so gray that seems to be confused with the sea, the color reflects the darkness in which the city stays after the disaster, in the background we can see with difficulty the hills. If you look carefully the bridge, which was for years opened only for pedestrians, you can see that is partially destroyed and their bases seem domino's pieces falling one after another.

 I like this picture firstly because during my childhood i crossed that bridge daily, is an important symbol of concepcion, and secondly because  is a graphic testimony of the movement that shook the entire region and destroyed an important part of buildings and landscape. the third reason for choosing this photo is that is one of the last visual records of the bridge who was demolished months after the earthquake , it’s an historical testimony.

Mapocho

This week i’m going to write about Santiago. For me the most important characteristic of the city is the Mapocho River, who born in the andes mountain range and descend accrossing a lot of municipalities, Lo Barnechea, Las Condes, Providencia, Santiago, Independencia, Recoleta, Renca and others. In the origin the river is not contaminate, and people can use the water for irrigate their crops and for drink and cook. Although you believe it or not in the mountain mapocho river water is clean, clear and pure, the problem is when the river falls and it approach the city, because humans interfere the watercourse and change his configuration affecting all the species who lives around this ecosystem. The river absorb the water of the San Carlos Canal, extremely polluted by sweep waste organic and inorganic produced by the human. It's appear that the Mapocho is the exit of many problems who affects the Santiago’s society and the persons who didn’t wants to continue with their lives, throws himself into the river, which doesn’t have a place or a house to life, lives in the brook and it's one of favourite places of thieves, in the bridges that across every day are a lot of attacks. But the fault is not of the river, it was here before us, gives us the life and we give him the death, we cram it and interrupt it development.  


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEdF2rzfcG8