ValparaisoValparaiso

Chilean photographer Sergio Larrain (1931-2012) published very few books during his lifetime, but perhaps the most feted among them was 'Valparaiso'. He photographed this Chilean seaport throughout his career, but it was in the early 1960s, when he returned to his homeland after travelling the world for many years as a Magnum photographer, that it became a focus for his attention. He saw it as 'a rather sordid yet romantic city', standing between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean, falling into a slow decline as its trading importance faded away, yet still retaining hints of beauty and magic.