June 2004 - Tatiana, Bogota
'Traquetto' is the Colombian
word. The drugs dealers, not necesarilly the Pablo Escobars, but not
the street dealers either. Surrounded by the most expensive cars, big
villas, extravagant parties and of course the the most gorgeous women.
Showing off their ´possessions´ is very important to them.
Making a photo series of a traquetto´s girlfriend earns more money
than doing an advertising campaign.
However, doing this is not quite risk-free. The showing-off exceeds to the point where a traquetto will send his girlfriend abroad to study, get her all the plastic surgery he believes she needs, and then places bets with his mates that his girlfriend will win the next beauty queen elections. These bets can easily exceed a hundred thousand dollars.
The photo shoot is part of the process that preceeds the beauty queen elections, and in several cases the photographer was 'found guilty' of the fact that the girlfriend did not win. And the photographer mysteriously disappeared.
Greetings,
Niels
Other Photos of the Month:
The 'photo of the
month' is not meant as something pretentious, it is not even chosen
by any jury. It could be an advertising photo I did, or a photo for
a magazine or record cover. Something telling you of a journey I made
or the city I'm in. Or a snapshot of my girlfriend. The only criterium
it has to meet is that it was made in the last month. And that I believe
it is worth bothering you with...
PHOTO OF THE MONTH SITE
I am very sorry for the not-very-personal tone and character of this
mail - you may or may not remember me, we might have met in some sleazy
bar in some part of the earth and exchanged emails, we might be colleagues
or best friends, or just share an interest in photography. We might
have worked or even lived together in the past.
Of course, if you would not like to receive any more mails just let
me know and I will remove you from the list.
And if you know of other people that might like to receive it please
let me know as well...
Thanks for your time and hope you are well!