ZAP
Sanctuary of Fátima
One of the best-known Portuguese photojournalists visited the 25th of April, Iraq, Sri Lanka… But he has a particular fear of Fátima.
Alfredo Cunha is one of the most respected names in photojournalism Portuguese. At age 72, he worked for: Lusa agency, Público, Visão, Comércio do Porto, Tal & Qual, 24 Horas, Jornal de Notícias or Global Media.
Away from photojournalism (connected to a company) for more than 10 years, his CV includes stints in countries such as Iraq, Niger, Romania, Bangladesh, India, Haiti, Sri Lanka, Guinea-Bissau and Nepal.
And, of course, it is also a name linked to the historical photographs of April 25, 1974. It was also in the former colonies.
Have you ever felt afraid? The question came up during a conversation at .
“I felt scared, very scared. I felt scared, not at the place. Node Iraq, while I was photographing… I have a trick: I put the camera in front of me and, as I photograph and see through the camera, I think I am protected. It’s a stupid thing, but I do it systematically. And I’ve been doing well with that”, he begins by responding.
But, he admits, has photographed “horrible things. Then, when I see the photographs, I’m like… It’s like a filter that softens reality. But then, the rawness of the photographs alarms me. And then, afterwards, I feel scared, very scared”, he continues.
However, the The biggest “scare” he got was in… Fátima. It happened in 1973.
It was a report about Fátima, for The Illustrated Century. And going to Fátima, at the time, was a hassle. It was a drought, no one wanted to go to Fátima. My boss said: ‘Man, see if you can take a different picture. It’s always the same thing, old ladies with candles, and I don’t know what. Come on, come on’”.
“And I arrived in Fátima, saw that and thought: well, I’m going to take a different photograph here. I climbed to the top of the towerand from above you can see a cross of candles. And I was very happy photographing it, because it was a photograph I had never seen”, continues the report.
Suddenly, the bell starts to ring. “It’s just I was inside the bell. And I took a leap. But I took a leap to the right place. But it could also have gone to the wrong place.”
“For me it’s a miracle of Fatima, that’s it. It’s a miracle of Fatima!”, he recalls, between smiles.
“Hey, I went down. I don’t even know, I don’t remember going down. And I had that buzzing for months”, recalls Alfredo.
Even today, the photojournalist looks at the basilica when he goes to Fátima and thinks: “I could have jumped down here. And I jumped to the other side”.
