I want to call this piece an informal minute ethnography.

The first time entering Ecuador's Amazon rain forest, it was a planned tour with a group. The experience filled me with a sense that can only be exclaimed by the word "wow". I suppose this is was eco-tours are supposed to do - give tourists a view of a part of the world they have probably never seen and are likely to never again. Indigenous communities, invite people to their communities. They do so with warmth and necessity - for eco-tourism is one of the only sources of income for some indigenous communities in Ecuador. While this does not water down the sense of entering into a sort of magical place, one must also realize that when they take part in this tourism the socio and economic factors involved, as well as the power relations that are unspoken. That is, that people from other countries who have the wealth to travel, who have the power of money, shape the market that they create in profound ways that determine livelihoods, shape the formation of territory, and change cultural and social norms in communities.

While my companion and I have stayed in the city of Tena in "The Orient" as it is called in Ecuador, and every day and moment we feel the jungle around us, to actually go into it, to a part less tamed, is a different story altogether. My second time entering this different realm in February was quite a different experience. It was with Maximo, the "pa" counterpart of the ma-pa hostel we are staying in. He owns land in the jungle and uses it for livestock and various cultivations. This day that Lan Anh and I went, we knew we were going for a reason other than to stroll around: to assist in the slaying of a pig. To witness this event, something I have never done before, was a lesson in part of the process how many in the rural or "less citified" attain their food. What might be called the "old fashioned way". To a select few hundred thousand, the industrial, factory super market complex is a luxury. While being conscious that this is the way most Americans now chose their meat, a process which I am somewhat familiar with, this is not the case for the majority of the world and so I felt it important to educate myself.

The actors of these few hours have given me an instance with which to reflect on. Maximo is a hard-working 60 something former petroleum company (GULF) laborer. One of the men we picked up was a young indigenous man living in a community on the outskirts of Tena. The other, also indigenous though smaller in stature though certainly hard worked has built him to do tasks that my body would fail me in.

Among the days events - feeding the Choma and Tilapia breeds of fish, the ducks, geese, turtle and of course the pigs, romping with the two dalmations - pecas and pecosas and Chihuahuas - Estrella and Orejas (Estrella's offspring), etc. Lan Anh and I enjoyed ourselves, Maximo taught me how to tell the difference between male and female fish, and we helped out where we could. Clearly, however, the two indigenous men were there as workers. They, unlike us, are not privileged with the power of money and face centuries long stigmas, oppression and problems associated with poverty that persist today.

With regards to stereotypes, an example. When passing through the villages, Maximo pointed out that the "Indians" don't know how to work hard, they only want to drink, play sports and make babies. As evidence of this, he pointed out the soccer field, generally well kept while noting how in shambles the houses are. There is a Russian woman, a shop keeper, by one of the communities we passed, who Maximo says works very hard and for this reason she has one of the nicer houses and stores. I have no idea how a russian is in the middle of the amazon, but then again, there is also a Chinese restaurant in Tena too Maximo pointed out also, how he can never keep workers for very long because they drink too much and try to steal the fish to eat, because they don’t want to buy them. All of these stereotypes, not without some truths I am sure, are what I think are products of the processes of power and economic asymmetries that have continued since the moment of first contact.

The indigenous laborers at the end of the back breaking 3-4 hours, were paid $5. While this is the minimum, and perhaps immediately helpful to the largely unemployed temporary physical labor work force of this region, it is by no means a wage that will help lift people out of poverty. When we consider that most people have families of more than 2 or 3 children (as it seems to me), $5 does not allow much purchasing power. Moreover, basic services and healthcare as numerous studies I have read point out, are in a shambles in Ecuador – especially in rural regions. Another source of difference of power relations that perhaps contributes to poverty, is the fact that to indigenous communities, Spanish is a second language. While Spanish is a second language for me, it is of course, by choice and not by necessity. Indigenous people, who in this part consist mostly of the Kichwa nation, the majority to be sure, learn Spanish because it is the only way to get a job, to be functionaries within a society that was forced upon them. Maximo does not necessarily have this difference facing him, since he self identifies as a mestiza and Spanish is his first language. Moreover, I do not need to know Spanish to be a functionary in an economy, since English is more than any thing the imperial (or business/diplomatic) language of Ecuadorians.

The point that I am getting to since this is just an introduction to a small photo journal, is that the two different experiences that I have had inside the jungle were different though markedly inter-related. On both occasions I was the "tourist", whose role it was to enjoy oneself. I have not done any thing to earn this except be born with a different history and place - one that has reaped the benefits of colonial and imperial exploitation and has been able to pass these rewards onto some of its population. On both occasions, indigenous people were the workers for low or sub-subsistence pay. The terms of engagement aren’t a new revelation. However, when interacting with other peoples, places and cultures, I feel it is important to reflect on these power relations and moreover, especially if you want to change them. Perhaps part of this process of awareness and change, is provoking these thoughts in others, who view these pictures or who travel. This photo journal, which I feel presents wonderfully part of the story and thoughts above, is only possible because Lan Anh is a genius photographer. Indeed, this long-winded introduction would mean nothing without her thoughtful clicking of the digital camera, capturing the day at Maximo's farm.

Two notes only: pigs are quite stupid, big bladders look absolutely un-delicious, and the Amazon is such a marvelously beautiful place.

So without further digression... here is the gallery:

(click)