Andinos Encounters in Cusco, Peru

Peruvian photographer Gabriel Baretto celebrates the notions of what it means to be Andino. Much like the Humans of New York for the people and indigenous culture of Peru. 

In collaboration with Peruvian anthropologist Francesco D’Angelo, Gabriel Barreto Bentín offers an intimate portrait of the Andean society of Cusco, Peru. This socio-anthropological, photographic study offers a unique perspective on the Andino people, exploring narratives of spatial modernity and social hierarchies, challenging the commonly portrayed clichéd romantic versions of indigenous people pictured against breathtaking landscapes devoid of social context. Bentín travelled to Cusco and the Sacred Valley to photograph locals against white backgrounds, focusing on how they dress for different types of work and occasions. The images portray the diversity of the Andean people through their faces and attire, irrespective of the landscape. The portraits are accompanied by observations by neighbors from nearby communities—interviews that explicitly guide the reader through the articulation of modernity in the Andean society of Cusco.

Gabriel Barreto Bentín is a New York City–based Peruvian fashion and portrait photographer. He recently graduated from the School of Visual Arts, Class of 2020, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography & Video. Ruven Afanador is a Colombian-born photographer best known for his photographic portraits in Torero (2001) and Mil Besos (Rizzoli, 2009).