tin roofs & brick oceans juxtaposing sleek high rises & centuries-old architecture
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a glimpse
glimpse: EXPENSIVE POVERTY | What a sinister paradox: if you belong to the 35 % of Limeños, who live in the many shanty towns of Peru’s capital, you pay up to 10 times more for water than wealthier residents, according to Oxfam estimates. Abundant water, filling the pools of affluent Miraflores, is a scarce commodity in next door San Juan de Miraflores, where squatter settlements crawl up muddy hills. Without plumbing they depend on costly water truck deliveries, which don’t make it up the slopes. This means additional labor and costs for those living higher up. Despite an infamous perpetual winter drizzle, it almost never rains in Lima, which undermines rainwater harvesting efforts. And as though that wasn't bitterly ironic enough, the occasional rain comes down as torrential downpours, washing out these very hills and demolishing the brittle existences of those who dwell here.
glimpse: DEATH BIRTHING LIFE | You are not gone. Because when you went, all of you stayed here. Peekaboo. You didn't need that white marble heaven after all, or an ending repackaged as eternity. You just changed once more, effortlessly.
Escadaria Selarón, Rio de Janeiro / Brazil colorful artwork with tiles by Chilean artist Selarón
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Medellin / Colombia bricks crawling up the hills
Medellin / Colombia contemporary architecture

Valparaíso / Chile sheet metal facades - originally the sheet metal was used to secure freight in cargo ships arriving from Europe and what was practical then, looks artful now
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gallery
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related
photos | essays
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Valparaíso / TV, Tsunami, Fire, Neruda and the Quintessence of Hills & Timing
ups and downs: a poetic matter of perspective
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the morals of sneaking in and getting what you pay for
...naturally, Kant's principals are noble, intact, and upright, while mine dangled lazily between mischievous and preposterous. But, from a pragmatic point of view no harm was done and this factual utilitarian reality was more convenient for me that day... explore
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