“As the road from Santiago enters its last turn, rows of colorful houses sitting on the hillside pass before my eyes. I have a smile on my face and butterflies in my stomach: Valparaíso, finally.”
“I never imagined I would live in Chile one day, it is a stroke of luck, an incredible adventure. Anyone who has been to Valparaíso will understand the siren call of the port, the invitation to rest a moment on its shores. The poetry I saw in Sergio Larraín’s images is there, intact. Wedged between land and sea, Valparaíso has a particular aura. It is a city of mysteries and contradictions, filled with beauty and shadows, injustice and solidarity, calm and storms. A true collage. Wandering its streets, I found improvised choreographies, full of life, and moments of tranquility, unexpected situations and others imbued with a gentle everydayness. I turned my eyes towards the horizon, and closer, to its people, its stray animals and, thanks to these encounters, to myself.” –Eléonore Simon
This series Valparaíso is on display at Las Condes Cultural Center. The black and white samples rescue the poetry and emotion of everyday moments in the port, either in its streets or in more intimate spaces. Improvised dancers, stray animals, gas delivery men, and white clothes are portrayed.