The conditions in Q'ero aren't as welcoming as its people. At 4.600 meters I had altitude sickness which slowed my digestive system so much I was eating the same amount as a baby would. Trying new foods wasn't appealing. But soup never tasted so good. Sleeping next to a can of oxygen, a bag of medicine, and emergency heat packs, was new. Even though I had been there before - I had not been there alone. The first night there I cried. A lot. I missed my boyfriend, my bed, and warm sheets. I missed my comfort. Gloria really understood. She would help me in any way she could. On our way from Cusco to Q’ero, we stopped in Paucartambo for a much needed breather. I had just spent the last hour and a half attempting to manipulate myself into believing I DID NOT NEED TO THROW UP. So we stopped. Gloria got me a tea. And sat next to me until I was well. Right before the most amount of curved roads ever, we had some fried and stuffed yucas, potatoes, and chiles, from the side of the road, while in the moving car… Don’t ever eat before or while on that road. That unwell feeling didn’t go away until a few days after I was back home. Still the thought of those fried yucas make me feel unwell to this day. Sadly, they were really good. I feel unwell now. All I wanted to say was... It was hard. Gloria is awesome. This was a great coming of age 25th birthday present.

I have loved seeing Kin Coedels photographs of communities in Asia's mountains through my instagram feed for a while. It always felt like a breath of fresh air. Their photos were the kickstarter for the vision of this project. https://www.kinbykin.com/personal-projects/

Amy J. and I met at the beach and had a conversation about this coming project with Gloria, in Cusco and in the Ausangate mountain. It was a beautiful scenery in my hometown for a brainstorm about such a wonderful project... In order to move on to specifics about what we want to find out through Gloria… we posed questions surrounding marketing, image, intention, target audience, etc. In order to fully understand how the final product (Documentary) would evolve, how it would be presented to the world and to who it was intended for, amongst many other details that would help me have a clearer understanding of the Documentary itself.

 

• Where is the video going to be showcased/displayed and how?

• Who is your audience?

• Patagonia / National Geographic / Nowness [Possible References of:]

  • Connection

  • Vibrancy

  • Sharing [experiences] with the world

    • Tell the story

  • Clear vision of creative direction and prioritizes image quality.

• Where is Justin's video? Is it on the website? (The video that was filmed when we went for the first time?)

   

After clearing all those thoughts out of our heads, we focused on Gloria. Amy J, who has been keeping up with her periodically and more often than myself - has many many questions for Gloria. What had been of her life all these years since we last saw her with her baby a few years after meeting her? What were her aspirations? What had she lived in the world, in the so so different world that she’d now traveled around and away from a tiny village in the mountains of Cusco?

 

• How do you feel about it? Code switching. Cusco-Q’ero.Q’ero-Cusco. Perú-TheWorld. Going back and forth from Q’ero to Cusco?

• Your daughter?

• Your parents?

  • What did they teach you?

• Ask about her business

  • What’s the demand?

    • Is it tourists? Peruvians? 

  • Where do you sell it?

  • Is there a crossover?

  • Do you envision a big future with what you make?

  • Cultural norms from Q’ero.

    • Chaman

    • Pachamama

    • Food

    • Alapaca

    • Yarn

• What are your dreams and inspirations and where does it come from?

• Her experience… Being a woman in a man's world. Being an indigenous woman in this world.

These fears limit me on a day to day basis as they are barriers that show up through out my daily performance. There are many moments through out the day in which I am either defeated by these limiting beliefs or i must fight against them. Through out time I have found counter arguments to aid myself in pushing through these fears. These are listed in the mind map.