ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Kitra Cahana - Vagabond photojournalist + conceptual artist
Kitra Cahana is a Canadian photographer who blurs the line between anthropologist and journalist.

Why you should listen

Kitra Cahana is a wanderer. The American-born photographer was raised in Canada and Sweden, with a father who worked as a rabbi and took his family along with him everywhere he traveled. Cahana's itinerant childhood is evident in her work, which has taken her to teenage "rainbow parties," Venezuelan spiritual rituals, Ukranian Ultra-Orthodox prayer sites, American boxcars and bus stops and many more places. The 2014 TED Fellow embeds herself in the societies she documents, playing the part of photojouralist as well as enthnographer.

More profile about the speaker
Kitra Cahana | Speaker | TED.com
TED2014

Kitra Cahana: A glimpse of life on the road

Kitra Cahana: Histórias dos sem-teto e dos que se escondem.

Filmed:
1,573,445 views

Quando era jovem, a fotojornalista e TED Fellow Kitra Cahana sonhava em fugir de casa para viver livremente na estrada. Agora, como uma adulta e auto-proclamada vagante, ela segue nômades modernos em suas casas: vagões cobertos, pontos de ônibus, estacionamentos, banheiros de parada de ônibus; dando um vislumbre da cultura que vive à margem da sociedade.
- Vagabond photojournalist + conceptual artist
Kitra Cahana is a Canadian photographer who blurs the line between anthropologist and journalist. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
As a little girl, I always imagined
0
914
2297
Quando eu era pequena, sempre imaginei
00:15
I would one day run away.
1
3211
2335
que um dia eu fugiria.
00:17
From the age of six on,
2
5546
1464
A partir dos seis anos
00:19
I kept a packed bag with some clothes
3
7010
2452
eu mantinha um saco com algumas roupas
00:21
and cans of food tucked away
4
9462
1526
e latas de comida escondido
00:22
in the back of a closet.
5
10988
1994
no fundo de um armário.
00:24
There was a deep restlessness in me,
6
12982
2622
Havia em mim uma profunda inquietação,
00:27
a primal fear that I would fall prey
7
15604
2546
um medo primordial de
cair em uma vida de rotina e tédio.
00:30
to a life of routine and boredom.
8
18150
2775
00:32
And so, many of my early memories involved
9
20925
2609
Muitas das minhas memórias
de infância envolvem
00:35
intricate daydreams where
I would walk across borders,
10
23534
3566
devaneios de que eu cruzaria fronteiras,
00:39
forage for berries,
11
27100
1368
colheria frutos silvestres,
00:40
and meet all kinds of strange people
12
28468
2064
e encontraria todo tipo de estranhos
00:42
living unconventional lives on the road.
13
30532
3044
vivendo vidas
não convencionais na estrada.
00:45
Years have passed, but many of the adventures
14
33576
2584
Anos se passaram, mas muitas das aventuras
00:48
I fantasized about as a child --
15
36160
2767
que eu fantasiei quando era criança,
00:50
traveling and weaving my way
16
38927
1597
viajando e tecendo meu caminho
00:52
between worlds other than my own —
17
40524
2000
entre outros mundos além do meu,
00:54
have become realities through my work
18
42524
1600
tornaram-se realidade através
00:56
as a documentary photographer.
19
44124
2561
do meu trabalho como
fotógrafa documental.
00:58
But no other experience has felt as true
20
46685
3135
Mas nenhuma outra experiência foi tão fiel
01:01
to my childhood dreams
21
49820
1920
aos meus sonhos de criança
01:03
as living amongst and documenting the lives
22
51740
2718
quanto viver junto e documentar as vidas
01:06
of fellow wanderers across the United States.
23
54458
4692
de companheiros errantes
nos Estados Unidos.
01:11
This is the nomadic dream,
24
59150
2760
Este é o sonho nômade,
01:13
a different kind of American dream
25
61910
1910
um tipo diferente de sonho americano
01:15
lived by young hobos, travelers,
26
63820
2644
vivido por jovens vagabundos, viajantes,
01:18
hitchhikers, vagrants and tramps.
27
66464
3384
caroneiros, vagantes e errantes.
Nas mentes da maioria de nós
01:21
In most of our minds,
28
69848
1349
01:23
the vagabond is a creature from the past.
29
71197
3091
o vagabundo é uma criatura do passado.
01:26
The word "hobo" conjures up an old
30
74288
2303
A palavra vagabundo evoca
uma velha imagem preta e branca
01:28
black and white image
31
76591
1437
01:30
of a weathered old man covered in coal,
32
78028
2506
de um velho homem encharcado,
coberto de carvão,
01:32
legs dangling out of a boxcar,
33
80534
2401
pernas balançando para fora
de um vagão de carga,
01:34
but these photographs are in color,
34
82935
2112
mas essas fotos são coloridas,
01:37
and they portray a community
35
85047
1783
e elas retratam uma comunidade
01:38
swirling across the country,
36
86830
1722
rodando pelo país
01:40
fiercely alive and creatively free,
37
88552
2825
ferozmente viva e livremente criativa,
01:43
seeing sides of America that no one else
38
91377
2499
vendo lados da América que ninguém mais
01:45
gets to see.
39
93876
2190
consegue ver.
01:48
Like their predecessors, today's nomads
40
96066
2690
Tal como seus antecessores,
os nômades de hoje
01:50
travel the steel and asphalt arteries
41
98756
2667
viajam pelas artérias de aço e asfalto
dos Estados Unidos.
01:53
of the United States.
42
101423
1689
01:55
By day, they hop freight trains,
stick out their thumbs,
43
103112
3188
De dia, eles param os trens de carga,
levantam o polegar
e viajam pelas rodovias com qualquer um,
01:58
and ride the highways with anyone
44
106300
1854
02:00
from truckers to soccer moms.
45
108154
3016
de caminhoneiros às mães
de aprendizes de futebol.
02:03
By night, they sleep beneath the stars,
46
111170
2326
À noite, dormem sob as estrelas
02:05
huddled together with their packs of dogs,
47
113496
2682
amontoados com suas matilhas de cães,
02:08
cats and pet rats between their bodies.
48
116178
3708
gatos e ratos de estimação
entre seus corpos.
02:11
Some travelers take to the road by choice,
49
119886
2628
Alguns viajantes pegam a
estrada por opção,
02:14
renouncing materialism, traditional jobs
50
122514
2586
renunciando ao materialismo,
aos empregos tradicionais
02:17
and university degrees in exchange
for a glimmer of adventure.
51
125100
3934
e diplomas, em troca de um
lampejo de aventura.
02:21
Others come from the underbelly of society,
52
129034
3250
Outros vêm do baixo-ventre da sociedade,
02:24
never given a chance to mobilize upwards:
53
132284
3040
nunca tiveram a chance de subirem:
02:27
foster care dropouts, teenage runaways escaping
54
135324
3376
abandono de orfanatos,
adolescentes fugitivos
02:30
abuse and unforgiving homes.
55
138700
3144
que escapam do abuso e
de lares implacáveis​​.
02:33
Where others see stories of privation
56
141844
2910
Onde os outros veem histórias de privação
02:36
and economic failure,
57
144754
2080
e fracasso financeiro,
02:38
travelers view their own existence
58
146834
1860
viajantes veem a sua própria existência
02:40
through the prism of liberation and freedom.
59
148694
3573
através do prisma da libertação
e da liberdade.
02:44
They'd rather live off of the excess
60
152267
2215
Eles preferem viver sem o excesso
02:46
of what they view as a wasteful consumer society
61
154482
2950
do que eles veem como uma sociedade
de consumo perdulário,
02:49
than slave away at an unrealistic chance
62
157432
2801
do que se escravizarem por
uma chance irreal
02:52
at the traditional American dream.
63
160233
2679
do tradicional sonho americano.
02:54
They take advantage of the fact
64
162912
2089
Eles se aproveitam do fato de
02:57
that in the United States,
65
165001
1548
de que nos Estados Unidos
02:58
up to 40 percent of all food ends up in the garbage
66
166549
3821
até 40% de toda a comida
acabam no lixo,
03:02
by scavenging for perfectly good produce
67
170370
2633
coletando alimentos perfeitamente bons
03:05
in dumpsters and trash cans.
68
173003
2674
em lixeiras e latas de lixo.
03:07
They sacrifice material comforts in exchange
69
175677
2369
Eles sacrificam confortos
materiais em troca
03:10
for the space and the time to explore
70
178046
2723
do espaço e do tempo para explorar
03:12
a creative interior,
71
180769
1722
um interior criativo,
03:14
to dream, to read, to work on music, art and writing.
72
182491
4882
para sonhar, ler, trabalhar com
música, arte e escrita.
03:19
But there are many aspects to this life
73
187373
2508
Mas há muitos aspectos desta vida
03:21
that are far from idyllic.
74
189881
2363
que estão longe do idílico.
03:24
No one loses their inner demons
75
192244
2123
Ninguém se livra de seus
demônios interiores
03:26
by taking to the road.
76
194367
1709
só por pegar a estrada.
03:28
Addiction is real, the elements are real,
77
196076
3162
O vício é real, os elementos são reais,
03:31
freight trains maim and kill,
78
199238
2212
trens de carga mutilam e matam,
03:33
and anyone who has lived on the streets can attest
79
201450
2660
e qualquer um que tenha vivido
nas ruas pode atestar
03:36
to the exhaustive list of laws
80
204110
1890
a lista exaustiva de leis
03:38
that criminalize homeless existence.
81
206000
4106
que criminalizam a existência
dos desabrigados.
03:42
Who here knows that in many cities
82
210106
1830
Quem aqui sabe que em muitas cidades
03:43
across the United States it is now illegal
83
211936
2650
em todo os Estados Unidos, agora é ilegal
03:46
to sit on the sidewalk,
84
214586
2033
sentar-se na calçada,
03:48
to wrap oneself in a blanket,
85
216619
3387
enrolar-se em um cobertor,
03:52
to sleep in your own car,
86
220006
2735
dormir no próprio carro,
03:54
to offer food to a stranger?
87
222741
3359
oferecer comida a um estranho?
03:58
I know about these laws because I've watched
88
226100
1772
Eu sei sobre essas leis porque eu vi
03:59
as friends and other travelers
89
227872
1792
como meus amigos e outros viajantes
04:01
were hauled off to jail or received citations
90
229664
2670
foram levados para a cadeia ou
receberam advertências
04:04
for committing these so-called crimes.
91
232334
3588
por cometerem esses supostos crimes.
04:07
Many of you might be wondering why anyone
92
235922
2161
Vocês podem se perguntar
por que alguém
04:10
would choose a life like this,
93
238083
1711
escolheria uma vida como esta,
04:11
under the thumb of discriminatory laws,
94
239794
2366
sob o jugo de leis discriminatórias
04:14
eating out of trash cans,
95
242160
1318
comendo de latas de lixo,
04:15
sleeping under bridges,
96
243478
1789
dormindo sob pontes,
04:17
picking up seasonal jobs here and there.
97
245267
3251
pegando empregos sazonais aqui e ali.
04:20
The answer to such a question is as varied
98
248518
2514
A resposta a essa pergunta é tão variada
04:23
as the people that take to the road,
99
251032
2536
quanto as pessoas que pegam a estrada,
04:25
but travelers often respond with a single word:
100
253568
3382
mas os viajantes costumam respondê-la
com uma única palavra:
04:28
freedom.
101
256950
2331
liberdade.
04:31
Until we live in a society where every human
102
259281
3513
Até que vivamos em uma sociedade
onde cada ser humano
04:34
is assured dignity in their labor
103
262794
2069
tenha a garantia de um trabalho digno
04:36
so that they can work to live well,
104
264863
1875
para que trabalhemos para viver bem
04:38
not only work to survive,
105
266738
2107
e não apenas para sobreviver,
04:40
there will always be an element of those
106
268845
1917
sempre haverá um desses elementos
04:42
who seek the open road as a means of escape,
107
270762
3132
procurando a estrada como um meio de fuga,
04:45
of liberation and, of course, of rebellion.
108
273894
5058
de libertação e, é claro, de rebeldia.
04:50
Thank you.
109
278952
2016
Obrigada.
04:52
(Applause)
110
280968
2269
(Aplausos)
Translated by Andrea Mussap
Reviewed by Gustavo Rocha

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Kitra Cahana - Vagabond photojournalist + conceptual artist
Kitra Cahana is a Canadian photographer who blurs the line between anthropologist and journalist.

Why you should listen

Kitra Cahana is a wanderer. The American-born photographer was raised in Canada and Sweden, with a father who worked as a rabbi and took his family along with him everywhere he traveled. Cahana's itinerant childhood is evident in her work, which has taken her to teenage "rainbow parties," Venezuelan spiritual rituals, Ukranian Ultra-Orthodox prayer sites, American boxcars and bus stops and many more places. The 2014 TED Fellow embeds herself in the societies she documents, playing the part of photojouralist as well as enthnographer.

More profile about the speaker
Kitra Cahana | Speaker | TED.com

Data provided by TED.

This site was created in May 2015 and the last update was on January 12, 2020. It will no longer be updated.

We are currently creating a new site called "eng.lish.video" and would be grateful if you could access it.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to write comments in your language on the contact form.

Privacy Policy

Developer's Blog

Buy Me A Coffee