CARACAS, THE CITY OF LOST BULLETS (Venezuela, 2008-2009)
In Venezuela, says the Spanish photographer Lurdes R. Basolí, a life is worth precisely one bullet. Being born in a barrio, the slums of Caracas, is being born in the shadow of death. Dozens die every weekend, on the face of things victims of the drug trade and street violence. But there are deeper causes behind this: the lack of opportunities to escape the slums, corruption, millions of freely available weapons, disfunctional families. Boys in the barrios, whether they are malandros (juvenile delinquents) or ‘healthy’ (which is to say, without problems) know that they can be struck down by a stray bullet at any moment. In some cases they themselves may have fired the bullet.
