Hello

My name is Sandrine Futureve and I am an anthropologist and photographer. I landed in Cantagallo by pure coincidence. The reasons for my visiting this “island” in the middle of chaotic Lima, Still unknown to many including many who lived all their life in Lima. Though my reasons were purely personal, my first visit did not leave me untouched. I decided to return and attempt to understand a little better about Cantagallo and its people. Cantagallo is a slum, is located within the “red zone” the “dangerous zone.” Cantagallo is made out of houses in cardboard, cheap woods, metal, and rarely do we see new houses made out of bricks and actual concrete. Cantagallo is dirty, noisy (extremely noisy,) In a jungle of concrete and metal sheets and cardboard, lives a population of mainly Shipibos Conibos who for economic reasons (all the cases I spoke with shared that to improve their life conditions, they left their communities to hopefully find work and improve their families’ life conditions a little more comfortable. Though there are non shipibos and other indigenous families that are not shipibos, the most striking thing one notices when you enter the main entrance of Cantagallo is the contrast… With downtown Lima. I found Cantagallo amazing and that is why I decided to return and research. Again, by another coincidence, I get introduced to Masato and more specifically the making of it and the symbology behind it. 

Part One of my project: A short film (documentary/experimental) depicting the making of the masato, very ancient beverage that has spiritual, worldview, and traditions. 

Part Two of the project: Titaboantee, a website that serves as a portfolio to some of the women I worked with, developed friendships with, collaborated and will again in the future… That is why Titaboantee is not a store in the particular sense of the word but more of an introduction and an invitation into Cantagallo…