Soul of a traveler, heart of a Brazilian
By Norine Berenz Read Spanish Version
Six years ago Miami photographer David Whitman first visited Ilha de Maré, an island in northeastern Brazil. His friend Jorge Antonio Espirito Santo Batista, a teacher there at the time, had promised Whitman a glimpse of a Brazil that was disappearing — an island without cars, where you arrive by boat and wade through the surf to the shore, a place still dependent on the sea and the legendary tides that give the island its name.
As they wandered along streets made of crushed shells and earth, Whitman noticed two barefooted boys playing marbles. “From where I stood, they happened to form a yin-yang shape,” Whitman recounts, “and I quietly reached for my camera, hoping I could record the moment, without intruding, before they shifted positions.”
He did, and the young marble players — Jefinho and Darlei — famously landed on the cover of the International Calendar of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers in 2005.
Jefinho and Darlei inspired the calendar’s theme that year: Harmony in Play. “The two boys playing marbles convey the age-old concept of Yin and Yang — opposites that fit together perfectly to make a whole — a reminder that harmony does not come from being the same. It comes from embracing differences and discovering how we complement and balance each other, thereby making the world a richer place.”
Whitman’s photo — and the story behind it — were featured at the time on Progreso Weekly and Progreso Semanal, and also caught the attention of Alhemar Altieri, the publisher of InfoBrazil, a site that offers independent analysis and opinion on Brazilian current affairs. “With most Brazilians absorbed by the annual Carnival celebrations, we at InfoBrazil decided to break away from the usual political, business and economic content, and asked David Whitman, an accomplished photographer, to reflect on his time spent in Brazil.”
“Alhemar invited me to describe — from an American photographer’s perspective — what I found different and compelling about Brazil,” Whitman recalls. He woke up in the middle of the night with an idea, and by daybreak had completed an essay “as lush and poetic as his photography,” commented one reader. He titled it “Yellow is the Color of My Brazil.”
“Surrounded by luminescent blues and greens, yellow is the reigning color of Carnival,” Whitman wrote. “Glorious, exuberant, pulsating yellow announces Brazil to the world. It radiates confidence, attracts attention, seduces. Yellow in Brazil has no close rival.”
“The color yellow flows through Brazil like the Amazon. Even in the countless shades of green, there is always underlying yellow, kissed by blue. Yellow transforms red, too, into rich orange earth and fiery reflections of the equatorial sun rising from the sea. And in the stunning diversity of Brazil’s people, irises from pale green to amber to darkest brown are all tinted by yellow.”
Because InfoBrazil could not include photos with the essay, Whitman asked a colleague in California to design and create a website to illustrate the article. Within weeks, comments started to flow in; Whitman’s photos and observations resonated with many Brazilians and Brazilophiles around the world.
“The first time I saw David Whitman’s photos,” wrote Erick Rocha from Rio de Janeiro, “I thought he was Brazilian and I was enchanted with the way he caught typically Brazilian moments. Then I found out he was from North America. When I met David Whitman, I realized that although he is American, his way of seeing is Brazilian. His photos make me want to feel the emotion of the moment they were snapped. There are no poses in his pictures — only sensations and light, the beauty of day-to-day life. His play of shadow and light capture the beauty of common situations: two boys playing in a park, a fisherman at work or a game of capoeira on the sand. Yes, yellow is Brazil and David Whitman is yellow. His eyes shine and make our trivial day-to-day shine. The photos are beautiful, as is his way of looking upon us, Brazilians.”
Last November, Whitman returned to Ilha de Maré during a four-week photographic journey through Brazil. As he was walking along the same road where he’d encountered Jefinho and Darlei five years earlier, he passed two boys — about the same age as the marble players had been — seated at a cement table. He gave them each a keyring from Miami, and asked if he could take their picture, the first shot of the day. That photo, “Best Friends,” is now the announcement for an upcoming exhibit of Whitman’s work, in Miami, called “Luminous Youth.”
Reviewing an exhibit of Whitman’s work in Berkeley, California, Stephanie Hornbeck, now a conservator at the National Museum of African Art, wrote, “Whitman’s photographs evoke a gentle world. Beneath leafy trees in sunny, seemingly carefree settings by the sea, warm smiles and bright eyes engage the viewer directly. He focuses on the inner warmth and outer beauty of his young subjects, separating them from their often sad circumstances.”
“Luminous Youth” runs from September 9 to November 2 at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center in Crandon Park, Key Biscayne. The opening reception is on Sunday, September 9, from 3 to 6 p.m., with Brazilian music performed by Rose Max and Ramatis.
Norine Berenz, Ph.D. is a professor of linguistics at InterAmerican University in Puerto Rico.
For more information, visit www.biscaynenaturecenter.org or www.davidwhitman.com.
