My Brother, Beto Borja - March 23, 1951

 March 23rd would had been my younger brother Alberto’s seventy first birthday. Today, as every day of my life, I remember him as the human being he was. 

I have felt my life did change in many aspects since his absurd demise which occurred on September 26, 1997

I want to remember his life on his birthday, his achievements and frustrations. His spirit and the sound of his voice, which comes every now and then to the inner recesses of my brain. 

I want to recall in my mind the advice he gave me whenever he saw me deviating from my original purpose at those times I drove down the paths of my life as if I was a drunk-blind motorcycle maniac. 

I also want to commemorate the many times we discussed the important things in life, what we wanted to achieve. 

His memory and his imprint on my soul will live forever in my heart.

Lalo Borja by Dominik Kazancev - March 2022

 I owe this great portrait to my young colleague Dominik Kazancev, who took his time to make sure I did not look as terrifying as I normally do. Many thanks.

Grandmother Begging to Bury Grandchild (1995)

This image illustrates the apathy that has driven a people to show disdain for death. So much death that it  has become routine and it can drive people to ignore it even when presented in front of your eyes.

This young grandmother approached me as I walked to the bakery one morning, sometime in early 1995. She was collecting money to bury her born-dead grandchild who she had just picked up from the hospital a block away. She has bought a small white casket but lacks the money to pay for the small plot to bury him. It is a scene that under any other culture, or society, would have people, neighbours, passersby, totally shocked. But not in my native country, where dead is an everyday occurrence. 

So much so that the two women in the background can carry-on discussing the small town gossip after seeing this harrowing, very sad scene, as if nothing had happened...