Let me tell you of a magical experience I had in this magical place. A dream like Alice had when she fell through the rabbit hole and entered wonderland. A place full of characters living their lives, some with worries others with happiness.
This was a holiday back in 2008 when my beautiful fiancé and I as well as both of our parents decided to go to my dad’s birthplace, Pemba. For those who don’t know Pemba, I can only say that this place has deep powers of attraction which attach to your soul, so relaxing that there is almost nothing to do except accepting how nature really is. With its calm, crystalline white beaches and untouched coral reefs, Pemba has the third largest natural bay in the world.
Being in love with photography, I captured some moments of our walk through Pemba.
Vendedora de polvo
This first photo it is of a lady selling octopus (vendedora de polvo) , walking in the same path has us, doing what she does everyday catching octopus to sell or to feed her family. Seafood forms part of the staple diet in this remote part of Mozambique.
No freedom in paradise
The second photo I named “ no freedom in paradise “, and you can understand why? For some it can be cruel, but on the other side, this young guy lives with less than five US dollars a month, therefore any way to survive helps.
Waiting
The third photo is of a fisherman’s boat secured at shore during high tide. The ocean provides so much for the people of this region, making fishing the key to survival.
Palmeiras de Morrebue
These are the palm trees of Morebue (palmeiras de morebue), this infinite plantation belongs to my family, they own about 40 hectares of palm trees, for those who don’t know, the traditional dishes from Mozambique contain coconuts and coconut milk which brings a tropical infusion with rich and yet subtle aroma to the food.
Smiles
The fifth and one of my favorites its named “ smiles “, this shows that we don’t need material stuff to be happy, this kids were so amazing, energetic, playful and just happy for us to be there, even though we didn’t spoke the same language an affectionate bond was created. I like this photo because every time I look at it, I feel spiritually inspired, its like I met gods from an ancient civilization that were there to make us better human beings.
Morrebue Panorama
The final image is a panoramic view of this magical place (panoramic of morrebue), here you can feel the dimension of nature and how small and sometimes insignificant humans can be compared to this gigantic and beautiful planet.
About Hugo Soeiro
Hugo has always believed in the value of education, and he knows his photography career was created by his desire to always find out more about the things he is passionate about. Education encourages creativity, it opens your eyes to the possibilities available to you.
We all have a responsibility to future generations to ensure they have an education, because education is a great leveler – it makes us equal and it gives us an opportunity to craft the lives we desire. To this end, Hugo created the HSFund, and a percentage of every Hugo Soeiro photograph sold is donated to this fund, which was created to fund early childhood education for children in Mozambique.
If you would like to find out more about Hugo Soeiro’s work and view his portfolio, click through to his website at www.hsoeirophotography.com or email him directly.
What beautiful photos! Thank you for a visual tour of the beauty of Mozambique, Hugo. I write about Mozambique in my work, although I’ve never visited there. Thanks for bringing me a little closer.