Temporalities and Rhythms of Living in Utría National Park, Colombia

• Published in: Visual anthropology review Vol. 34; no. 2; pp. 147 - 162
• Main Author: Acosta García, Nicolás
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-09-2018
• Subjects: Afro‐descendant; Colombia; Conservation; Decolonization; Embera; Emic and etic; Environmental aspects; Everyday life; Indigenous peoples; National parks; Photography; Political ecology; Postcolonialism; Villages; Colombia
• ISSN: 1058-7187; 1548-7458
• DOI: 10.1111/var.12165

This photo essay investigates the political ecology of living in and around Utría National Park, in Colombia's Pacific coast region of Chocó. This area is home to Afro‐descendant and indigenous Embera communities. I use the emic concept of “rhythms” to explore networks and temporalities in subtle elements of pictures displaying local livelihoods, places of dwelling, environmental change, and conservation practices. While acknowledging the complex and difficult realities of this area, my aim is to make explicit the networks that, with their rhythms and temporalities, weave and mark the pace of everyday life in the villages. These, in turn, give space to reflect on practices of living with a damaged planet and a postcolonial order.