PRAIABALHADORES

Walking along the immense white-sand beach of Praia do Forte, in Cabo Frio, a town close to Rio de Janeiro, I ended up putting my lens more on the people than on the landscapes, magnificent though they were. And this surprised Valmir, Talia and Guilherme: although photographers are not uncommon, none of them had ever been interested in them and their carts. Indeed, in Brazil, street vendors are part of the landscape, whether on roadsides, street corners or even, as I was discovering, on the beach.

I was delighted to make them the protagonists of this series, and even more so when, back on the beach, I could see the emotion they felt when I offered them a print: it was the first time they'd received this kind of gift.