During the nineties, the working class and social groups began squatting in abandoned buildings in São Paulo’s (Brazil) downtown. Today, there are more than 40 different movements throughout the country, of families, immigrants and/or workers squatting in hundreds of abandoned properties. On the thirteen floors of the Marconi squat, nearly four hundred people are waiting for a dignified housing solution. Within it, the notion of home (a space of emotional relationships and identity), becomes fleeting because of memories and expectations of a more stable future. Marconi is a place where life stories share common experiences of nostalgia and loss.
Javier Álvarez (Santiago de Chile, 1988) is a documentary photographer whose focus is on social issues regarding identity and resistance. Alvarez’s work has been exhibited and published in Chile, Mexico, Spain, USA and Brazil. Currently based in Denver, CO – USA.
Website: javieralvarezm.com
