Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Nazaré (3 of 5)







The Old Women of Nazaré:
Most of them are the wives (or widows) of fishermen. They sell goods at the market, they dry fish at the beach and in the evening they sit on the streets trying to rent rooms for tourists in summer.
(More photos of these brave women on my travel blog)

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

I see they don't wear only black anymore. Do they wear seven skirts yet?

Unknown said...

I haven't seen any wearing the traditional seven skirts. Maybe only on special ocasions like holidays or festivals...

brattcat said...

beautiful. this post is a poem.

Kate said...

Wonderful portraits! Their faces express aspects of their lives. . .days of hard work in the sun. Now tell me; what is the story of the 7 skirts?!

Unknown said...

@Kate: It is said the seven skirts represent the seven days of the week, the seven colours in the rainbow, the seven waves in a set and many other biblical, mythical and magical attributions which involve the number seven. Their arrival on the fashion scene in Nazaré is attributed to the fishwives of old fisherman who would await the safe return of their men on the beach in cold, wet, and windy conditions, developing the multiple layers to keep warm.

Tanya Breese said...

oh i just love them!

Mersad said...

You can really see their life experience in their faces! Great shots!

Mersad
Mersad Donko Photography

Sharon said...

Beautiful portraits of these enterprising women.

TexWisGirl said...

oh, each one so beautiful! love this post!

Sylvia K said...

They are beautiful indeed and you've captured them superbly! Wonderful post!!

Chattahoochee Valley Daily said...

Great series of portraits. Thanks for answering Kate's question about the skirts.

Haddock said...

A good study of the market place.... and colourful too. Like those candid shots.

CQUEK said...

beautiful pictures. thanks for sharing.

VP said...

Wonderful portraits with a sad story, I like this place even more... My compliments for your pictures and your choice!

PerthDailyPhoto said...

Wonderful series of portraits JM and so interesting to learn a bit more from comments above. I'm reading a book at the moment about the women in a fishing village in the Hebrides, fascinating!

Kay said...

Beautiful portraits all! Bravo! Thanks for the "7" info. Very interesting.

I've always been glad my husband gave up commercial fishing before I met him. It's a tough and dangerous life for the fishermen -- and hard, too, for the people they leave behind on shore.

Linda said...

Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful and heartwarming post.

RedPat said...

You always have the richest colours in your pics. Beautiful!

LONDONLULU said...

Brave is a truly apt word for them - wonderful portraits and glimpse of their life. I also appreciated the "7" information!

Jack said...

JM, you have such talent as a portrait photographer! Wonderful.

Randy said...

They are all so beautiful.

Babzy.B said...

great portraits for women who deserve it :)

Kovács Miklós said...

Very good portratit series from the streets of Nazaré. I very liked their colourful clothes too. Greetings

Laura. M said...

Comistes el pescado??

Joan Elizabeth said...

These are truly beautiful portraits.

Gunn said...

Superb images.
I like your documentary style.
A very nice posting.