johann c. muñoz-tapasco

Amid the scorching heat of the Urabá region of Antioquia, Colombia, the country's largest banana-producing area, street vendors along Carrera 100 in Apartadó provide endless services and goods. However, one particular business stands out. Pictured is Nubis, a professional typist; her ergonomic set-up, stocked with stationary and an Olivetti typewriter, drafts official type-written documents, facilitating the completion of deeds, contracts, and government forms for those without access to a computer. Our exchange led to an incredible conversation about her trade and how she assists many in the community in navigating Colombian bureaucracy. It also led to the creation of this one-liner suspended in the middle of the page that reads,

NOSOTRAS CUYO AMOR NO PUEDE SER ATADO

ENERO 24/2024

translating to,

WE WHOSE LOVE CAN NOT BE BOUND

JANUARY 24/2024

These words highlight the philosophy of rebusque that informs so much of Latin America and the Caribbean's informal industries. They are a testament to resistance in the face of economic hardship.

Nubis' practice has historical and contemporary parallels across the Atlantic with the street scribes of the Ottoman Empire, who now work as writers for hire in the streets of Istanbul, Turkey.