𝕱𝖗𝖆𝖓𝖈𝖎𝖆 𝕸𝖆𝖗𝖖𝖚𝖊𝖟-𝕸𝖎𝖓𝖆

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𝕱𝖗𝖆𝖓𝖈𝖎𝖆 𝕸𝖆𝖗𝖖𝖚𝖊𝖟-𝕸𝖎𝖓𝖆,

𝖕𝖗𝖊𝖘𝖎𝖉𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖆 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐

"Despertaban a cuatro siglos dormidos".

Manuel Zapata Olivella.

This series of photos narrate a part of Francia Márquez-Mina's closing event for her presidential campaign.

It took place in Chambacú, Cartagena, and not in one of the many places of the Pacific region, where she hails from, and where this gathering would be much more massive.

So, Chambacú is quite a significant place.

Several decades ago, this island territory, this barrio, this Ghetto, that rested in the center of the city, was one of the largest slums in the world, inhabited mostly, and almost exclusively, by afro Caribbean and indigenous peoples. Today, after its violent expropriation in the early 70's, motivated by the frenzy of tourisms industrialization of the city of the 50's, and after the high State sponsored pillage that benefited traditional oligarchic families of Colombia in the 90's, it's quite difficult to set it apart from the rest of it's environment: malls, avenues, playgrounds...even the "intelligent building" of the city (which is named as such, as if there's only one) rest in this erased and rewritten land.

Yet, after these many attempts to erase its presence, Chambacú's memory (as a place of resistance and pillage, life and expropriation, as the home of so many black and indigenous families) lives. It is as if the remembrance of the damage that never healed remains under layers of concrete and under the steps of the tourists.

That is the place where Francia Márquez-Mina, the first popular afro Colombian woman to aspire to be the head of State of this country, decided to close her run for the presidency of Colombia.

That day, Francia told us that one of her conclusions after touring the country was that she was the candidate of the children. It does make sense. The next generations sees now how urgent and necessary her proposals actually are.