Andinos: Encounters in Cusco, Peru

Summary

In collaboration with Peruvian anthropologist Francesco D Angelo, Gabriel Barreto Bentin offers an intimate portrait of the Andean society of Cusco, Peru. This socio-anthropological, photographic study offers a unique perspective on the Andino people, exploring narratives of spatial modernity and social hierarchies, challenging the commonly portrayed cliched romantic versions of indigenous people pictured against breathtaking landscapes devoid of social context. Bentin travelled to Cusco and the Sacred Valley to photograph locals against white backgrounds, focusing on how they dress for different types of work and occasions. The images portray the diversity of the Andean people through their faces and attire, irrespective of the landscape. The portraits are accompanied by observations by neighbors from nearby communities interviews that explicitly guide the reader through the articulation of modernity in the Andean society of Cusco.