Single stories
While doing the interviews on the street I was able to photograph some of the workers and with that I will attach their stories to the photograph. This lady that I photographed, was an American lady that used to feed the homeless on the street. She would go to restaurants; and she would ask for their left overs at night. She explained that the food that she was getting for these people was still in good conditions, and for most of the time it was the kind that the restaurants trash at the end of the night.
She told us that one day, something happened in her life (didn’t want to tell us) and she started looking for a job, which she could not obtain. After a while she started seeing the Mexican workers on the corners, and decided to try her luck. After working for a while with them she realized that even though she was the only woman standing there, she was being respected, and the guys would watch out for her safety.
After working with them a while, she decided to start getting food for the Mexican workers instead of the homeless. She said that she didn’t feed them anymore because all they do beg for money instead of lucking for a job. And that after working with the guys at the corner she wanted to thank them by bringing them the same food she used to feed the homeless. I was very happy to find this lady it made feel good, that at least she was looking after them.
The guys at the corner used to call her “guera” or “blondie”, and she also mentioned that when ever they have problems with the police, or they need to buy a car, or rent an apartment; she would actually go with them and help them with the translations. Most of the guys that stand on the corners, are what we call “new comers”, and so they don’t have much knowledge of what goes on and how they need to do things. As a matter of fact only a small percentage of them speak english, and it’s not a lot. They only know enough to say their name, say what they know to do, and ask for payment.
