BRATTLEBORO — The Vermont Center for Photography (VCP) will host photographer Marco Yunga Tacuri for an Artist Talk on Thursday, Jan. 26, at 6 p.m.
“Los Longos del Barrio,” Yunga Tacuri’s portrait project about Ecuadorian immigration, is on display in the Picker Print Gallery at VCP until the end of the month.
“This project attempts to tell a story through images about the life of many Ecuadorian immigrants living in New York,” he wrote in his artist statement. “The majority of the people portrayed in the first part of this project are friends and relatives of mine who, like me, left our hometowns and families in Ecuador a few decades ago to seek better opportunities in the U.S.
“In our youth in Ecuador, we were often pejoratively called ‘los longos del barrio’ — roughly translated as ‘the crud of the neighborhood’ — by people who believed they were superior because of their class and race. I would like to reclaim this phrase as a way of asserting our existence and identity through this project of portraits.
“As an immigrant myself, who was once undocumented, I believe that through this project, I will be able to open up a dialogue about the complexities of being an immigrant in this country, especially while undocumented. With this project, I believe I can create a bridge between those who, decades ago, left our home country and never got the opportunity to see each other again.”
Yunga Tacuri describes himself as “an Indigenous Ecuadorian immigrant, musician, anthropologist, soccer player, teacher, father of two beautiful kids, and partner of a wonderful and talented woman.” He moved to Brattleboro with his family in June 2014.
“I love being a part of this community,” he wrote, “walking, making connections with other people, helping and sharing when I can, as well as, of course, the magic of photography and the stories I can tell through the images I capture.”
More of Marco Yunga Tacuri’s work can be viewed at marcoyungatacuri.com.
VCP is located at 10 Green Street and lists its business hours as Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Call 802-251-6051 or email [email protected] for more information.