Brasilia can be a tough city to photograph in at first. Its huge, empty open spaces and unwalkable roads; the way people seems to always be in their cars and never on the rare sidewalks; its narrowly planned boredom so typical of a city built to segregate.
The only place one can find some energy and life in is the central transport station – the Rodoviária do Plano Piloto – a microcosmos just a couple of kilometers away from National Congress. It’s a place where two worlds collide. The unique meeting point between people from the lower class satellite towns and affluent blocks within Plano Piloto, either on their way to work or rushing home. It’s also the place where many hopeless outsiders who come to the capital roam, trying to get a job or begging, sleeping under its arcades at night, by themselves or with their families.
This series is an attempt to show the tension between the two faces of the city, to immerse more deeply in its flux and to get slightly closer to its citizens in a city always prone to separate.
About the author:
Gustavo Minas was born in 1981 in Brazil. He lives and works as a journalist and photographer in Brasília. He graduated at Universidade Estadual de Londrina. His work has been published by the NYT, Aperture Magazine, Vice, Buzzfeed and other media in Brazil. He’s a member of SelvaSP, Vivo and Flanares collectives.
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