Coloring the gray ghetto Photo

Photographer’s Note

Texto em português mais abaixo.
My purpose with this post was just to show the hugly gray ghetto of Quinta da Princesa, in Amora, municipality of Seixal, south of Lisbon. But I found this splash of color and then I decided to use it to make the view less ugly. You can see the worst of the Quinta da Princesa in the workshop.
This neighborhood is a modern ghetto, inhabited mostly by immigrants and a few Portuguese of the lowest income. According to its primary school data, 80% of the students are children of Africans; the remaining are 6% of Gypsies and 14% of other Portuguese. Most of the Africans are children of Cape-Verdeans. As many immigrants don't have children in primary school, or don't have children at all with them here, I suppose the general proportion of Africans in Quinta da Princesa may be higher than 90%.
Even geographically the neighborhood is a ghetto, kind of island, as it is at the very edge of town, almost completely surrounded by the countryside (mostly wastelands; there are also cork oak trees nearby). The ugly tall buildings are of the poorest quality, in striking contrast with the handsome detached houses nearby (see other workshop).
The living conditions are poor, and the placement of people in these towers, bad for anybody, is even more culturally shocking for people used to live in open spaces.
Integration of the immigrant communities is nice talk of the politicians, but it won't work out until places like Quinta da Princesa do exist, not to mention pure shantytowns. Buildings like these were already erased in French bidonvilles. I guess that would do more for integration than a million politically correct speeches: just implode the Quintas das Princesas. But that is asking too much from a country ruled by short-sighted politicians.
Location: Localização: 38.6322471, -9.1302556.
Gueto da Quinta da Princesa, na Amora, concelho do Seixal, a sul de Lisboa. A imensa maioria dos habitantes são imigrantes africanos (principalmente cabo-verdianos), junto com alguns portugueses pobres, incluindo alguns ciganos. O bairro está praticamente isolado tanto cultural como geograficamente. Vê outras imagens nos workshops: #2 e #1.

touristdidi, lucasgalodoido, pboehringer, luisafonso, adores, jmcl, plimrn, anavazao, riclopes, stego, Docarmo, Amaz has marked this note useful

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darrasin (2860) 2007-08-25 12:16

Hello Francisco! The splash of color in the grafitti draws you in for a closer look but it is your interesting note that keeps me here for a while contemplating what you portray here. Workshop #1 illustrates well I think the haste and low cost that these buildings were constructed with.

TFS
Doug

paura (39202) 2007-08-25 17:16

Francisco,
Bonita composição urbana aqui. Ficou realmente interessante a arte de muro contrastando com o prédio ao fundo. Bela foto.

Paulo

touristdidi (8561) 2007-08-25 18:51 [Comment]

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lucasgalodoido (16789) 2007-08-26 5:23

Olá Francisco!
Uma bela maneira de valorizar a área com essa arte, muito melhor que as pichações que costumam ocorrer.
Parabéns e Abraço!

pboehringer (770) 2007-08-26 17:37 [Comment]

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luisafonso (858) 2007-08-27 3:24

Gosto muito da composição Francisco. Só é pena não haver um elemento humano ali a subir aquelas escadas. Acho que ia ficar excelente e dar muito mais vida á imagem. Gosto do teu tratamento tonal.

adores (15745) 2007-08-27 17:00

Olá Francisco!
Bem-vindo de volta!
Ficou bem melhor com o grafitti, sem dúvida!Acho que a composição ficou boa, gosto do detalhe da roupa à janela e, claro, dos detalhe do grafitti que está excelente!

jmcl (14145) 2007-08-27 19:01

hi Francisco.

The color and cunningly smiling face against all this poverty and greyness .. very thoughtful and evocative ..

take care,

John

plimrn (19694) 2007-08-27 21:22

Ola Francisco,
You present a great photo essay here with the bright and fierce grafitti and the contrast with the nicer homes. In WS1 and the PP they don't look that different from the high-rise condos flooding downtown SD, aside from the laundry.

I look at the laundry hanging from the patios and the decent vehicles in the parking lot and I wonder, would the people who live here prefer that you blow up the building?? This might put them on the streets with a shopping cart as we do in San Diego, or let them build shanties out of rubbish on the hillside as they do in Tiajuana?

SAA, Pat

Bluejeans (33049) 2007-08-28 11:07

Oi amigo , uma cena tipica deste bairros esta tua foto , onde eu trabalho tem um bairro destes perto o Bairro dos Navegadores bem grande tambem fica no meio do mato , a sociadade politica vai demorar tempo a mudar , :(
Um abraço amigo

anavazao (5592) 2007-08-28 14:00

o grafiti dá vida à foto as cores e a luz estão muito boas! Gostei da perspectiva! Fica bem Ana:)

riclopes (33131) 2007-08-29 3:43

Olá Francisco, excelente nota e imagens complementares em WS. Esta é sem dúvida a composição mais interessante em termos de fotografia e para ficar perfeito só falta ali uma pessoa a descer as escadas. Também gosto do grafiti. Este tipo de intervenção pública que não seja só assinar "X" love "Z", anima bastante o espaço urbano.
ric

toto (18755) 2007-08-30 2:13

Belle photo qui représente les faubour de Lisbone, belles couleurs, dons détails des immeubles abimés dans vos WS,beau tag, meme si je n' approuve pas qu' il soient fait nimporte ou, certains sont de véritables fresques d' art.Amitiés Thomas
je reviens

dsidwell (9745) 2007-08-30 19:22

Super point of view, Francisco! I love the invitation of the grafitti to see the rest of the image. Nice work!

edal (6599) 2007-08-30 20:58

Ola Francisco.
We have exactly the same districts - we call them "panel blocks". I think that more than half a million people in Sofia live in such (and much older) panels from communist times - at that time a two room and a kitchen apartment was sold by the state for something like $3000 (people earned some $150 monthly). The price of a Russian FIAT car and an apartment were one and the same:-)

Now I see a very common detail - the balconies are windowed - exactly like in our pannels:-)

Two exceptions from the gray surrounding: the blue sky and the graffiti.
Greetings!
Anton

stego (22448) 2007-09-03 16:17

Olá Francisco,
E não é que conseguiste uma bela foto?! Quase nem combina com o tom pessimista da nota, que infelizmente partilho. Talvez "bela" não seja o termo mais indicado, mas enfim, acho-a muito boa.
Um abraço, José.

Docarmo (8844) 2007-10-30 7:52

Olá Francisco,
Este mural pintado deu cor e alegria à foto, sem dúvida.
Interessantes esses varais de uma janela à outra - criativo.
A nota é bastante informativa.
Obrigada por partilhar,
Maria do Carmo

Amaz (7438) 2009-07-05 2:47

Interessante tomada, Francisco!!!
Boa composição e belas cores!!
Boa nota sua sobre os imigrantes o seus destinos em Europa, em este caso partricular, em Portgual!!!

Um abraço!!!