Fika

Mariangelis Ortiz Lugo
Departamento de Física
Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, UPR RP

Description

Fika is a Swedish word with no proper translation, which means to gather together to talk and take a break from everyday routines, at a café or home, often for hours on end. After Hurricane María, the nights in my house went “back to the ol’ days”. In order to pass the time before we went to bed or felt sleepy, we gathered around the table to talk, play board or card games and draw while illuminating our surroundings with solar powered lamps, candles and battery flashlights. There was no phone reception, let alone an internet connection nor power, so we left our tech-devices rest and went back to do the things that withstand the test of time. I decided to capture this moment, so that when our lives went back to “normal” we could see that we survived without modern technology but also notice how much our lives rely on it, even if it’s for little things like drinking cold water. All Puerto Ricans went through a forced fika after the hurricane. In a way, it served as a reality check and took us all out of the bubbles that we live in.

Año de ejecución: 2017

Medio: Fotografía

Dimensiones de obra: 13.5” x 24