10/05/2011 – Father Fontes is known for his wisdom in witchcraft and herbs, Vilar de Perdizes, Portugal [M]an always search answers. Throughout history, throughout the ages, we are continually looking for ways to justify our existence, reasons to justify what our mind could not. Long time ago, some truths were taken for granted. At that time, men and women of faith said to hold the cure for all ills, the answers to all concerns. They were masters of the occult, holders of a truth that ordinary mortals could only imagine without never understanding. Today, they seem to have disappeared. Thrown by a civilization to obscurantism, remain there, hidden from the gaze of the modern world. (2011-in progress)
“The birth of science was the death of superstition” Thomas Huxley (Darwin’s Bulldog).
10/05/2011 – Witch mask at Father’s house, Vilar de Perdizes, Portugal13/05/2011 – Friday 13th, bad luck day sign found at a roundabout near Montalegre, Portugal12/04/2011 – José do Alvar near the spanish border where he picks the best herbs to do his remedies.12/04/2011 – Remedy made with the best selection of herbs and olive oil which is used to cure the loss of hair. The remedy is exported to various parts of the world.19/04/2011 – José Borges, the healer known to cure cancer learned all the skills during his military service in the Portuguese colonies in Africa. Vale do Salgueiro, Portugal19/04/2011 – Scorpions used to cure cancer, the venom animals are captured in the wild and kept in plastic boxes with flour. The cure of the illness is done through several bites usually in the arms and legs.15/03/2011- Aphrodisiac Liquors, made with a recipe of natural herbs and brandy are known to increase sexual desire. Montalegre.21/03/2011 – Ana Barreira, the oldest healer in the village now blind passes the days in the Daycare Center after her family moved away. Vilar de Perdizes, Portugal08/02/2012 – Best view from Misarela bridge where the Napoleon soldiers where trapped and killed after the invasion in 1809. Portugal17/05/2011 – Maria Joaquina preparing the smoker to bless the animals. Vilar de Perdizes, Portugal05/17/2011 – Smoker, boils down to the burning of: rosemary, olive, laurel leaves, four bread crumbs and some drops of olive oil. In the end, after a pray, the ashes have to be dropped in the hill.
