In 1033 the city was conquered by Mahmud of Ghazni that destroyed it. In 1194 it was sacked again by the armies of Ghurid army, until you get to the domain of Ala-ud-din Khilji of Delhi which destroyed the temples surviving to replace them with a large number of mosques. The Islamic influence remained until the eighteenth century when the name of the city was, for a short time, changed in Mohammadabad.

Every year millions of pilgrims visit the city, offering a unique opportunity to breathe and live millennial rites.

On the west bank of the river Ganges, buildings and dark alleys overlap disordered along the Ghats, the famous steps leading down along the sacred river.

Among the many steps the Assi Ghat is the most important. Located at the point where the Assi river flows into the Gange is considered one of the most sacred, is in fact identified as one of five sites where pilgrims should bathe in the day, to make effective their prayers. At dawn, in a dreamlike atmosphere the Ghats slowly begin to come alive.

Hundreds of boats carry pilgrims and inhabitants from one Ghat to another. When the sun begins to radiate its heat everything takes shape, the reflection in the river clearly outlines the beginning of a new day.

Along the stairways, priests, soothsayers and astrologers impart mantra to believers to ensure their salvation.

Within minutes, the Ghats swarm with people. A flow of life and death where there is no separation.

The shore is populated by hundreds of Sadhus who meditate practicing yoga, or live their spirituality.

Some plunge in the Gange, others lathers and rinse like they would do at home, and those who may be absorbed, sitting in meditation on the steps. Others engaged in the laundry laughing and playing around.

All strictly on the western shore, Varanasi is sacred only on this side. Over the other side there is only desert.

Along the Manikarnika Ghat workers prepare the wood for the pyres where burning the bodies of the dead. Fire purifies, and this is the fate that touches every Hindu.

With some exceptions; children do not need to be cremated (because they are already clean), those who die from the bite of a snake, pregnant women, animals and Sadhus.

A succession of souls where everyone has a place and live their lives.

When the twilight colors the sky pink, space is left to the fire ceremony, the Ganga Aarti.

The celebration takes place on the main Ghat where the Brahmins perform an elaborate Puja (ritual offering) that has as it’s essential component fire.

Thousands of people take the old and imposing staircases to attend the ceremony.

The candles offered by the faithful embrace the silence of the sunset, the life is gone…

L'articolo Benares, riva dell’anima sembra essere il primo su Matteo Marchionni - Fotografo di matrimonio a Roma.

These are the feelings I had during my experience on the island of Cuba.

A little knowledge of history..

After a failed attempt insurrection and a term of imprisonment, the lawyer Fidel Castro organized again in Mexico the fight against the dictatorship along with some volunteers, including the Argentine doctor Ernesto Guevara. The revolution began with the shipment of 82 people, who with a boat called “Granma” deplaned on the island, facing the army and escaping on the mountains of the Sierra Maestra. In this initial period they asked for and obtained the agreement of the population.

This allowed gingerly the establishment of a small army of people who faced the national one riding all over the island, until the decisive battle of Santa Clara, on the December 30th in 1958. On the new year’s day of 1959 Fulgencio Batista left Cuba stealing money from the national reserves. On the 1st January 1959 the rebels made their way to the capital without resistance, and on January 8th, Fidel Castro and the revolutionaries entered triumphantly in Havana.

The relations between the Cuban government and the United States were very conflicting right away. The Castro regime promoted a social and economic revolution and immediately he took charge of agrarian reform expropriating large estates and bringing together the farmers in cooperatives. The United States responded on the April 16th in 1961, when President John F. Kennedy put an armed landing of Cuban exiles on the shores of the Bay of Pigs to try to organize the counter. The failure of this attempt however caused Cuba political approach to the Soviet Union.

On the 25th April in 1961 United States decreed a total embargo against Cuba, forcing the island to be economically dependent by Sovietica. In 1961, in the middle of the Cold War, there was the installation of Soviet troops on Cuban territory and this fact caused the famous “Cuba Missile Crisis”. This event ended fortunately with a peaceful agreement between the U.S. president and Russian one, Nikita Krusciov.

During the seventies and the eighties Cuban military were involved in conflicts in Africa, supporting the governments of Angola and Ethiopia.

The crisis and the followed collapse of the Soviet system in 1991 has led to a severe economic crisis for Cuba. This period was named “Periodo especial”. During these years the people had to support very large economic efforts. In the following years to curb the problem some trade agreements were concluded with the organisation ALBA (Bolivarian Alternative para América Latina y el Caribe) a set of Latin American countries who have embarked on for the Caribbean island a slow recovery of trade and, in particular, the oil imports.

On the 31st July 2006, Fidel Castro for health reasons resigned from the position of secretary of Cuban Communist Party. Some of his duties were taken up by his brother Raul, who on the 28th February in 2008 was even elected president. In recent years several economic reforms have been approved and with them Cuban population has started to look towards new horizons.

Therefore the report wants to tell the faces and stories of a country that suffers from decades the decision of the U.S.A who damaged it economically preventing access to international markets through the embargo and because of it the effects in the everyday are evident. Despite this, or because of this reason, interpersonal relationships are more honest and true.

The simplicity of these people is disarming,they are always available to find a solution to your problem. I share an experience in Trinidad that I consider really meaningfull;

Some tourists had asked me politely if I could get for them an electric adapter. Unfortunately the shops were closed and without any fear I asked it to a passerby;

“No problem, now let’s see how to do!”

he exclaimed. He went to some houses in the square, he held a dialogue with the owners and one of them invited me to enter. Practically, using an old air fan, he built by his hand what I was looking for!

In 2006, after the worsening of the health of Fidel Castro, succeeded his brother Raul. Discrete economic openings more liberal have been undertaken by the successor of the Lider Maximo to encourage free enterprise.

For these reasons and many others I decided to call the book using the Spanish term, Suave.

I also produced a book of 120 pages containing the images with its contents. You can view it by clicking on SUAVE

L'articolo Suave sembra essere il primo su Matteo Marchionni - Fotografo di matrimonio a Roma.

The streets are flooded with a myriad of people; men with big mustache wearing colorful turbans, adorn their camels with braids and colorful ribbons, women with their colorful saris walk the dirt roads to get to the fair.

The cattle usually bred by semi nomadic tribes, also employs two weeks to travel the 500 kilometers, in the dunes of the desert, that divide their villages from Pushkar.

The trade of animals takes place in the first part of the week, the following days instead prevail religious activities.

The festive Luna Park is populated by musicians, acrobats and jugglers who entertain visitors. The market is flooded with tools and utensils for daily use, handicrafts, all colored by the local spices that adorn the stalls.

Outside the fair show emerge enormous camps used by traders to cook and spend the night.

A unique show with a mix of smells, sounds and colors of that remind of ancient traditions.

L'articolo Pushkar Fair sembra essere il primo su Matteo Marchionni - Fotografo di matrimonio a Roma.

L'articolo Reportage sembra essere il primo su Matteo Marchionni - Fotografo di matrimonio a Roma.

L'articolo Weddings sembra essere il primo su Matteo Marchionni - Fotografo di matrimonio a Roma.

L'articolo Portraits sembra essere il primo su Matteo Marchionni - Fotografo di matrimonio a Roma.