The world · The destinations
Every destination is a lesson. Over the years I've crossed paths with cultures, landscapes and encounters that helped shape my view of the world — and strengthened the certainty that living somewhere else, one day, was not only possible but necessary.
Among all the journeys, one remained the turning point: Venezuela in 1997, the first contact with Latin America that planted the desire for a permanent move, a project realized twenty-six years later in the Dominican Republic.
The Journey to Venezuela
Nineteen days between Caracas, Puerto La Cruz, the Orinoco Delta with the Guaraho tribe, the Cueva del Guachero and the Los Roques archipelago by sailboat. A journey written day by day, with the curiosity of someone looking at South America for the first time — and recognizing something of himself in that world.
The trip ended with the in-flight failure of the Venezuelan airline Viasa and an emergency return with Air France. But the most important thing had already happened: the quiet, irrevocable certainty that one day I would move to Latin America.
1999: Santiago de Cuba: chasing the SON
Director: Wim Wenders · Screenplay: Wim Wenders and Nick Gold · Producer: Ry Cooder · Cinematography: Jörg Widmer.
Featuring the musicians of the Buena Vista Social Club. A Road Movies Filmproduktion (Germany) and ICAIC production.
It all started with a film: Buena Vista Social Club by Wim Wenders introduced me to Cuban son, and I fell in love with it. To follow its traces I made two trips to Cuba, the first one right to Santiago, cradle of the "trovas santiagueras" — small groups that, with little more than a guitar and a clave, play son in the streets and in the patios of houses.
I left the resort to chase that music through the streets of the city, camera in hand. The unusual behavior of a lone tourist didn't go unnoticed: a friendly Cuban man, actually sent by the security services to figure out my real intentions, ended up becoming my guide into real Cuban families, homes and tables. A misunderstanding that turned into the most authentic encounter of the trip.