Pronto vendrá la lluvia (Soon the Rain Will Come)
Francisco Vigo (Peru)
The accelerated advance of globalization and extractivist policies that favor mega-mining have been affecting ancestral traditions in small rural communities of Cajamarca. The wisdom surrounding the use of medicinal plants, their original names, as well as the practice and mystic around them, has been disappearing from the territories where, only a few years ago, they were still commonly used to treat physical and emotional illnesses. This knowledge, transmitted from generation to generation in the form of orality and daily use, instead of being incorporated into contemporary medicine, has been set aside for many due to it being perceived as a symbol of ignorance and poverty. José Isabel lives a few kilometers from Minera Yanacocha (one of the largest gold extractors on the continent) in the Chilimpampa community. He is well aware that the culture of his ancestors is doomed to disappear from his community, surrendered to the benefits of globalization. Isabel acquired this knowledge from María Santos, his mother and former "Yachaq" (wise woman), who passed away ten years before Minera Yanacocha's attempt to exploit the “Quilish”, Apu, or sacred mountain. The mountain is also an important source of water that houses the ishpingo and chusqu tushpa, among other plants that José Isabel collects to treat those who still trust in the power of nature. However, despite the fact that an internal fire continues to mobilize septuagenarian José Isabel, he knows that he must find a way to preserve the memory bequeathed by his ancestors before this knowledge is lost forever in the chaos of development. Since 2014, I have been accompanying Isabel, collaborating with him to construct different narratives that compile his life, portraits, landscapes, and a herbarium. This process has been evolving, incorporating diverse aesthetics and typologies that narrate his inner world and community.

Biography

Francisco Vigo is a Peruvian visual storyteller and cultural promoter living in Cajamarca. Bachelor in Communications, he has participated in many workshops in Lima, Brasil, Ecuador and Mexico.

In his work, he uses oral tradition and mysticism to reflect on social issues around territory. His work about the Qayaqpuma mountain has been shown in Perú (Lima, Arequipa and Cajamarca) and Shanghai. In 2017 he selfpublished a photobook about this project.

He has been selected for Visionados Photoespana, Talleres Fluz (Ecuador) y E/CO by Vist Projects, he has also participated in collective shows in Perú.

His main interest falls into building relationships with the people living in and around territories he documents. Currently he is working with José Isabel on the book version for "Soon The Rain Will Come".