Franco Vella, Juvenal Baracco, Lima, Peru, 1976
Of Houses guest curated by Cristian Valenzuela Pinto (Deseopolis / Sin Título Zine): Hearsay
of an Occupation The
invention of macabre stories is a common Latin-American device used as means of
diverting attention from something into something else. Though sometimes the
desired effect is the opposite. Due
to the outgoing bohemian lifestyle of its owners, Casa Hastings remained most
part of the year vacant. To
avoid house break-ins during their traveling spells, the owners run rumors of a
weeping female voice that could be heard in the back of the backyard during
particularly foggy Limeñan nights. Rumor
spread like wildfire through the service staff and shortly after, said weeping
voice in the backyard turned into the chant of a creole slave that could
predict future events for whoever paid attention. The
story evolved and became a conversation with dead spirits and eventually ‘‘the
faithful’’ started seeing faces of saints and martyrs in the salt impressions
left on the surrounding walls after the mist and the night were gone. Today
entering or leaving the house discreetly (let alone breaking-in) is nearly
impossible; there is a stable gathering of people lighting candles and praying
on a makeshift shrine right outside the house. (Photos © Juvenal Baracco, Javier Cardenete / redfundamentos.com.)
