Karl Mancini

Amores Perros

In Buenos Aires the dirty waters of Riachuelo delimit borders and people who have their houses in its proximity live in alarming conditions. On one side it is Capital Federal, on the other it is Avellaneda, here Buenos Aires, there the Province. One of the suburbs on the river is called Isla Maciel. Amores Perros is a story of love and pain, a story of skin, street, drug, fight and violence. It is the story of some adolescents. Their stories are the stories of many Argentinean boys and girls who grow up on the streets, to whom the drug Paco has been sold since the age of eight years old because cocaine is too expensive (20 pesos is the cost of a dose of Paco, just over one euro), whose effects last about two minutes and condemn people to life of dependence and slavery, often to death.

Buenos Aires, Isla Maciel. M. and her boyfriend R. in front of the staff entrance of the San Telmo’s stadium located in the center of the barrio. M.(14) lives with her mother and her brother(4). Her parents are separated. Her dad is very violent and he has beaten her since a long time. A few years ago her sister killed herself (she was 14 years old). A er her death, the problems of M. began. She is anorexic, self-defeating and she tried to commit suicide as her sister. She completely has no self-esteem. At school, she is a victim of bullying. She often runs away from school going to stay with her boyfriend R. (18) in the neighborhood of Barracas who wants to become a fashion designer.

Buenos Aires, Isla Maciel. Children play football along the Pinzon, the main street of the Isla Maciel. Once it was a railway track who divided the original part of Isla Maciel from the new part, Dock Sur. It was the theather of many fights between the people who lived here. Now it is the poorest and the most dangeous part of the suburb.The first part of the street is controlled by the Paraguayan, the rest by the Argentinian. Drug deales are positioned on every corner.

Buenos Aires, Isla Maciel. A. and K. sitted under the highway that crosses the port of Buenos Aires where they often spend time and sometimes sleep.

Buenos Aires, Isla Maciel. A. cries abandoned in the arms of her boyfriend K. because of family’s daly problems. The only way to escape their daily horrible condition is love. Their relationship gives them strenght and confort from the lack of affects from the families and support from society. A. (14) lives with her mother, her sister (8) and her brother (7). Nobody knows anything about the father, the mother has been prostituting since many years. In 2016 there was a fire in her home. Her mother was working and she had the responsibility of the little brothers. It was a cold winter night, she went out with her friends leaving a candle lit by the bed of her little brother. The blankets took fire and he was saved thanks to F.’s intervention that pulled him out of the ames. Even today, F. remembers the feeling of his skin attacking on him. Her brother is burned on 85% of the body. An arm is deformed. A. passes from periods of addiction to periods clean. She prostitutes with the consent of her mother and her aunt to bring money home because she feels guilty of the fire. She got recently pregnant. K. (18) lives between his father’s house, his mother’s and the A.’s. His brother (16) has a mental retardation and has never been to school. His sister (7) has problems in talking. His dad is very violent, he is s drug addict and he has abused him.
He frequently crippled his arms. Hip Hop is the only way out he has to escape the violence he daily lives.

Buenos Aires, Isla Maciel. F. and K. on a bed after a night spent consuming drugs and alcoohol in the street.

Buenos Aires, Isla Maciel. The guys inside the F. stepfather’s home. Here, they usually gather when the stepfather works all night long as a security guard in order to shelter themselves for the night time. They spend time rapping, drinking, consuming drugs and supporting themselves staying together in a group.

Buenos Aires. A. and K. behind her on the pedestrian bridge that accross the highway and connects Isla Maciel with Dock Sur. Isla was founded by Italian immigrants and port workers who dared to cross in the river and settle into what once was a swampsurrounded by the waters of Rio de la Plata, the dirty Riachuelo and the steam Maciel. Over time, a highway was constructed that cuts half the Isla delimiting two new zones, the favela of Villa Trankila and the Dock Sur with its towers and thanks to an infrastructure project over the past 10 years, Isla has lost its insular condition.
This division is now theater of conflicts, a war for territorial control made by Narcos groups. Guys from the Isla are scared to go close to the towers and the same happens to guys who live in Dock Sur. The towers are extremely dangerous places controlled by narcos with weapons who sells drugs under the buildings. All the towers are connected from dark alleys and tunnels.

Buenos Aires, Isla Maciel. M.(14) lives with her mother and her brother(4). Her parents are separated. Her dad is very violent and he has beaten her since a long time. A few years ago her sister killed herself (she was 14 years old). After her death, the problems of M. began. She is anorexic, self-defeating and she tried to commit suicide as her sister. She completely has no self-esteem. At school, she is a victim of bullying. She often runs away from school going to stay with her boyfriend R.(18) in the neighborhood of Barracas who wants to become a fashion designer.

Buenos Aires, Isla Maciel. A.(14) lays on sofa abandoned in the street under the highway where she just spent the night. She lives with her mother, her sister (8) and her brother (7). Nobody knows anything about the father, the mother has been prostituting since many years. In 2016 there was a fire in her home. Her mother was working and she had the responsibility of the little brothers. It was a cold winter night, she went out with her friends leaving a candle lit by the bed of her little brother. The blankets took fire and he was saved thanks to F.’s intervention that pulled him out of the ames. Even today, F. remembers the feeling of his skin attacking on him. Her brother is burned on 85% of the body. An arm is deformed. A. passes from periods of addiction to periods clean. She prostitutes with the consent of her mother and her aunt to bring money home because she feels guilty of the fire. She got recently pregnant

Buenos Aires, Isla Maciel. Humidity on window in a cold winter morning.

Buenos Aires, Isla Maciel. K. (16) looks outside of a window after having a violent fight with some people in the street. The fight ended only thanks to the intervention of the police who detained her for a couple of hours. On her face and body the signs of the brutal fight. Adolescents like K. are always in danger. Currently the only solution for her is to enter in rehab community to detox herself and leave the street but it’s hard to do it without the permission of her mother and her complete will to recover. She has 3 younger sisters (13, 7 and 3 years old). Her father spent his days stealing and consuming paco, he was very violent. He beats her from the cradle. Her mother every time tried to defend her she was systematically beat, also with a stick, reason why she has big back problems. In 2016 her father was killed by the police. He escaped from the theft of a car, had surrendered, his arms raised, and they shot him the same in the street. Since that moment K. lives on the street. Her mother was abused up to the age of 18, reason why she seems completely stunned and she cannot provide for her family. K. has also been abused by 5 to 12 years by an uncle. She commonly uses paco, marijuana, cocaine, any kind of drugs and alcohol. She goes with her boyfriend F. to steal food when they are hungry and clothes when it’s too cold. She already had three abortions and was self-defeating by constantly cutting her arms. Recently she lost weight because of the high consume of Paco and she started to prostitutes herself. With the help of some social assistants and doctors she starting to think to rehab in recovery center.

Buenos Aires, Isla Maciel. F. and K. kissing after an hard fight in the rehabilitation center from drugs and alcohool addictions.

Wrath, pain, impotence, misery not only economic are their daily lives. Everyone has inherited this situation by many factors: a family that doesn’t exist, violent, addicted or alcoholic parents, an absent government that ignores suburbs, a police often corrupt and accomplice who often comes to terms with the narcos. They have no life’s expectations. Being together is the only way to support each other, spending their days walking without rest looking for food, relieving anger in their raps, loving carnally and, at the same time, fighting like dogs.

A few minutes from the touristic and colorful barrio of la Boca (meaning due to the fact that it overlooks a stretch of Riachuelo, one of the most contaminated rivers in the world that flows into the Rio de la Plata) just taking a boat where an improvised Caronte drives you through the marsh waters to the opposite shore, it is possible to reach La Isla Maciel. It can also be reached by crossing the recently constructed Nicolas Avellaneda bridge, on both sides of which many drug dealers wait for phantoms who are looking for their goods.

La Isla was founded by Italian immigrants and port workers who dared to cross in the river and settle into what once was a swamp surrounded by the waters of Rio de la Plata, the dirty Riachuelo and the steam Maciel. Over time, a highway was constructed that cuts half the Isla delimiting two new zones, the favela of Villa Trankila and the Dock Sur with its towers and thanks to an infrastructure project over the past 10 years, Isla has lost its insular condition.

This division is now theater of conflicts, a war for territorial control made by Narcos groups. The only truce is possible on every Sunday in the football field located in the center of the Isla, where San Telmo plays, the barrio team, the team of everyone.

Buenos Aires, Isla Maciel. Young girls playing inside the convent for children in distress property of the Foundacion Isla Maciel.

Buenos Aires, Isla Maciel. F., K. and C. at the front door of K.’s mother’s house. C. is mother of 2 and she’s currently living between K.’s mother’s house and the street cause her family doesn’t want her at home anymore.

Buenos Aires, Isla Maciel. A. cries and her boyfriend K. tries to console her while F. is eating a candy. The only way to escape their daily horrible condition is love. Their relationship gives them strenght and confort from the lack of affects from the families and support from society. A. (14) lives with her mother, her sister (8) and her brother (7). Nobody knows anything about the father, the mother has been prostituting since many years. In 2016 there was a fire in her home. Her mother was working and she had the responsibility of the little brothers. It was a cold winter night, she went out with her friends leaving a candle lit by the bed of her little brother. The blankets took fire and he was saved thanks to F.’s intervention that pulled him out of the ames. Even today, F. remembers the feeling of his skin attacking on him. Her brother is burned on 85% of the body. An arm is deformed. A. passes from periods of addiction to periods clean. She prostitutes with the consent of her mother and her aunt to bring money home because she feels guilty of the fire. K. (18) lives between his father’s house, his mother’s and the A.’s. His brother (16) has a mental retardation and has never been to school. His sister (7) has problems in talking. His dad is very violent, he is s drug addict and he has abused him.
He frequently crippled his arms. Hip Hop is the only way out he has to escape the violence he daily lives.

Buenos Aires, Isla Maciel. View from inside the San Telmo stadium during a football match of the Barra Brava, the hardest supporters of the the local team that plays in the third division. Supporters come from the isla, from dock sur, villa trakila and from the touristic suburb of San Telmo. The only truce between the narcos of the suburbs is possible on these occasions in this field located in the center of the Isla. San Telmo is the team of everyone, without any difference of provenience.

Buenos Aires, Isla Maciel. Kids playing in the street. One girl jumps from one of the many burned stolen cars abandoned along the street. Behind her on a wall it is written “Poverty or??? mhmm”.

Buenos Aires, Isla Maciel. K. and one of her younger sisters in one of the alleys of the barrio. Many people doesn’t have access to primary goods and doesn’t have drinkable water at home. Drug deales are positioned on every corner. The youngsters are the most in danger.

Buenos Aires. Isla Maciel. The guys try to enter inside one house of the barrio to steal some food. It happens frequently when they remain with nothing to eat.

Buenos Aires, Isla Maciel. F. smokes in front of one of the entrances of the football stadium where San Telmo team plays before the start of a match. San Telmo currently plays in the third division. Supporters of the team come from the isla, from dock sur, villa trakila and from the touristic suburb of San Telmo. The only truce between the narcos of the suburbs is possible on these occasions in this field located in the center of the Isla. San Telmo is the team of everyone, without any difference of provenience.

People who live in neighborhood like this are often labeled as criminals, discriminated, relieved of any opportunity to improve their status, to have access to structures that can help them or achieve a different job and future for themselves and their families. Abandoned people who organize themselves to not die. Here there are cases of 12-year-old’s adolescents who want to kill themselves having no life’s expectations. Being together is the only way to support each other. Some guys struggle to keep themselves from dying, others let themselves go with no chances to come back.

Buenos Aires, Isla Maciel. A. dangerously in balance close to the highly contaminated by the quaint Riachuelo flowing a few inches from them. They don’t care about the risk they run for their health. They love dangers and always live to the limit risking a lot. Life does not have a very high price for so many kids who live in these conditions and it is constantly threatened. All of them at least once in life thought of committing suicide. Riachuelo is one of the most contaminated rivers in the world. Its dirty waters delimit borders and people who have their houses in its proximity live in alarming conditions.

Buenos Aires, Isla Maciel. “Even not death will separate us. From heaven I will support you” is written on a wall of the San Telmo’s football field in the center of Isla Maciel by the supporters. They come from the isla, from dock sur, villa trakila and from the touristic suburb of San Telmo to watch the matches. The only truce between the narcos of the suburbs is possible on these occasions in this field located in the center of the Isla. San Telmo is the team of everyone, without any difference of provenience.

Buenos Aires, Isla Maciel. F. and K. at the door of her room in her mother’s house after a moment of intimacy

Buenos Aires, Isla Maciel. Children play football on a field in a sunny autumn day.

Buenos Aires, Isla Maciel. F. and K. in a cold early winter morning in her room.

Buenos Aires, Isla Maciel. A little girl plays with her dog in front of the house where she lives with her mother M., her aunt and 8 among brothers, sisters and cousins. Her mother, who is addict and prostitutes herself, and two sisters have recently been diagnosed with syphilis.

Buenos Aires, Isla Maciel. K. and one of her younger sisters running out of their house.

Buenos Aires, Isla Maciel. A.,K. and F. in the rehabilitacion center from drug and alcooholic addictions they attends frequently.

Buenos Aires. K.,F. and A. sitted on the top of one of the towers of Dock Sur. Dock sur and Isla Maciel originally were the same neighborhood founded by Italian immigrants and port workers who dared to cross in the river and settle into what once was a swamp surrounded by the waters of Rio de la Plata, the dirty Riachuelo and the steam Maciel . Over time, a highway was constructed that cuts half the Isla delimiting two new zones, the favela of Villa Trankila and the Dock Sur with its towers and thanks to an infrastructure project over the past 10 years, Isla has lost its insular condition.
This division is now theater of conflicts, a war for territorial control made by Narcos groups. Guys from the Isla are scared to go close to the towers and the same happens to guys who live in Dock Sur. The towers are extremely dangerous places controlled by narcos with weapons who sells drugs under the buildings. All the towers are connected from dark alleys and tunnels.

Bio

Karl Mancini (b.1978) is an Italian documentary photographer based out of Rome and Buenos Aires. He studied photojournalism in New York at the International Center of Photography (ICP). Since 2001 he has worked in more than 90 countries, with a particular preference for Asia and South America, as a freelance photojournalist and writer, following socio-historical and political events and focusing on issues such as gender violence (to which he is working on since 12 years), war aftermaths, minorities, human rights, migration, the tragic story of landmines. His longterm work “Ni una menos” about the feminicide and violence against women has been shortlisted at the Sony World Photography Award 2017, won the 3rd prize at the Luis Valtuena Humanitarian Photography Award, the 2nd prize at Days Japan International Photojournalism Award 2018, the 2nd prize at the Kolga Awards 2017 and was finalist at Lugano Photo Days 2017. His works have also been exhibited in USA, England, Russia, Australia, India, Japan, Italy, Greece, Spain, Switzerland and in many important international festivals, earning him several awards in many prestigious competitions. His stories have been featured in some of the most prominent magazines and newspapers from all over the world and he regularly collaborate with International NGOs and international magazines and newspapers such as Newsweek, Stern Magazine, Der Spiegel, Marie Claire, CNN, Vanity Fair, Internazionale, Amnesty International Wordt Vervolgd, El Pais, El Mundo, Io Donna, NZZ am Sonntag, Woz, il Venerdi, La Repubblica and many others. In 2014 he was selected as one of the Emerging European Talents by the online magazine LensCulture and was one of the finalists at Portfolio Italia-Fiaf. In 2015 he published his first book, ITALIANSKIJ, about the Italian community in Crimea persecuted during the Stalinian Purges.

He’s currently working on violence against women extending his long term project ‘Ni una menos’ to the other Latin American countries where the situation is alarming. The common line that sadly connect so many and different countries is gender violence in all its aspects (domestic, psychological, physical, economic, institutional, cultural, obstetrical). He strongly believes that it’s very important to give visibility and voice to victims who doesn’t have it, inspiring more of them to come forward to tell their stories and bring pressure on the governments. At the same time he’s working on an other long term “La linea invisible” about life in the suburbs of South America through the eyes of the youngsters.

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