El Muqui
by Paccarik Orue

portfolio winners call 'WHAT'S THE URGENCY?', 2021

Cerro de Pasco is a historic city of 80,000 people in the Peruvian Andes, situated on top of one of the most significant sources of income for the Peruvian government: mineral deposits. Due to economic interests and the expansion of the mine, the city is going through an environmental disaster. Tailings in very close proximity to densely populated areas are making children sick with very high levels of lead in their bloodstream, killing lakes and livestock, contaminating water supplies, and polluting the air. Cerro de Pasco is doomed to disappear. My project narrates a story of daily lives and environmental concerns, combined with local folklore and cultural traditions. "El Muqui" is a folkloric character in the Andean mines that miners highly respect and have a strong moral code. Popular tales talk about how he is aware of the miners' desires and actions and playful with children. El Muqui is the center of many of the celebrations and traditions in Cerro de Pasco. The people of Cerro de Pasco are very proud of their culture and their contribution to Peru's economy. Their wish is not to shut down the mine but to operate responsibly towards the community and the environment. With this project, I want to celebrate the inhabitants of Cerro de Pasco and give them a voice that they struggle to find and save the memory of a place that is threatened to exist as we know it today.


share this page
   also from WHAT'S THE URGENCY?
portfolio
The land under your feet
Carmelo Stompo
portfolio
Fragile
Noah Addis
portfolio
The place of trees
Enzo Crispino
portfolio
Under The Rainbow
Pedro J. Márquez
portfolio
Pazienza Rubata
Giuseppe De Santis & Giuseppe Dipace
portfolio
Cycles
Simon Carruthers
portfolio
The Mountain
Claire Power
portfolio
Mediati
Noris Cocci
portfolio
change
Laura Egger
portfolio
The breath of Darth Vader
Tasos Biris
portfolio
ETICO!
Giovanni Presutti
portfolio
Excl
Julius C Schreiner
portfolio
North East
Alessandro Tegon
portfolio
Another American Place
Auston Marek
portfolio
Ädno / Älven / The River
Mia, Rogersdotter Gran
portfolio
Archèo
Tommaso Vitiello
portfolio
Light the World Anew
Casey Moore
portfolio
Blériot beach
Stéphane Goin
portfolio
Moulding
Michaela Nagyidaiová
portfolio
Civil Atrocities
Amy Bassin
portfolio
Of Rocks and the Man
Mania Benissi
portfolio
Inherently Unpredictable and Reassuringly Expectable
Panos Charalampidis & Mary Chairetaki
portfolio
Upside Down
Siva Sai Jeevanantham
portfolio
Forgotten People
Gianni Aiazzi
portfolio
R
Miguel Rodrigues
portfolio
If You Can Dream
James Ellaway
portfolio
GIANT
Artem Humilevskiy
portfolio
breathing through the uncertain
Nikos Papangelis
portfolio
Naples is not changing
Umberto Verdoliva
portfolio
Damage control
Silvia Mangosio
portfolio
OH! Open House
Abel Picogna
portfolio
Earth 1 “New Images from the Earth”
Tolga Akbaş
portfolio
Off the Mark
Diego Brambilla
portfolio
A short story on oil, pollution and racism
Tommaso Rada
portfolio
Cose Certe
Mauro Corinti
call
WHAT'S THE URGENCY? CHASING RELEVANT SOCIAL ISSUES