I have long been drawn to the nuances of how people live, relate to one another, and give shape to their beliefs, both within communities and as individuals. This interest has shaped much of my work, leading me to spend time with Mariachi musicians in New York, Sifus (masters)  in Hong Kong, and priests in Nagorno-Karabakh. The origin of The Enchanted Ones goes back many years, to when I spent several years documenting the daily lives and the work of traditional midwives across the Amazon. I traveled through multiple states, over extended periods, drawn by a curiosity and interest to tell the story of the ribeirinho (river dweller)  communities, particularly that of the women. The project began with a broad scope, and I focused on the midwives as it evolved. They stood out as guardians of life and keepers of traditional medicine and local culture while connecting homes and communities through their travels, visiting pregnant women, and attending births. Much of my time was spent listening to stories while we canoed from one riverside home to another, during long hours attending births, or visiting women to check on their well-being. 

In those quiet, in-between hours, I began to uncover another side of these women who ushered life in and out of the world: they were also incredible storytellers. Among their stories were the myths of the encantados (enchanted), beings that live in the rivers’ underwater enchanted world or the forests and can shapeshift into humans. Through their stories, they connected homes with an invisible thread.

While the project on traditional midwives centered on the real, the everyday lives of women and the ribeirinhos, the book The Enchanted Ones, which came years later, explores the imaginary: the intangible world shaped by the myths, oral stories passed down through generations. And yet both approaches, documentary and abstract, in their own ways, are about a people and place through completely different angles, completing each other and, I hope, ultimately rendering the project more holistic.  Although it was through the midwives that I heard these stories, myths, and storytelling are a shared experience among the ribeirinhos and are part of the collective experience. They offer meaning, connect people, and help make sense of the world around them. The Enchanted Ones is a humble attempt to pay tribute to these stories.