Mihaela Noroc's Blog, page 4

I met Jacinta last year, in a Mayan village called...

I met Jacinta last year, in a Mayan village called Chichicastenango, in Guatemala. Her story begins many, many years ago.  It was 1916, when a 50 years old woman in Guatemala decided to cause herself an abortion. She thought she is too old to have another baby. The abortion failed and a few months later Jacinta was born. Now make the calculation. Yes, Jacinta is 103 years old. She was a surviver, even before she was born. She was the youngest daughter, so according to tradition she took care of her parents until they passed away. Then she got married, but the marriage wasn’t so great. Her husband used to be quite oppressive so they didn’t get along very well. She was 70 years old when he passed away. But Jacinta admitted frankly: after that she finally started to enjoy herself for the first time in her life. She was still feeling young and the best time of her life was just beginning. Jacinta lived by herself until she was 99 years old. Then, after broking a foot, she decided to live with one of her granddaughters. The granddaughter told me that Jacinta was always a humorous person. Once in a while she tells her laughing that her bed is really cold and she needs somebody there. When I met them, they were coming from a technician where they adjusted Jacinta’s hearing aid. Now she needs it more than ever, because she recently started to learn Spanish. Although Spanish is the official language of the country, Jacinta have spoken all of her life only Quiché, her indigenous native tongue. Now she watches TV programs in Spanish and asks her granddaughter about the new words that she hears. Incredible, right? So what are the secrets of Jacinta’s longevity? One is for sure the food.   Jacinta always loved to cook and kept in her memory dozens of traditional Mayan recipes. Her granddaughter gathered them and opened a traditional restaurant. Most recipes are very sophisticated, meat is rarely used, and there’s a rich combination of herbs. I could go on with stories about this extraordinary woman, but 103 years of strength and beauty would never get enough text. I just hope this inspires you to always be as young in spirit and beautiful as Jacinta.

Erica is a ballerina at the American Ballet Theatre, one of the...

Erica is a ballerina at the American Ballet Theatre, one of the most prestigious classical ballet companies in the world. She’s based in New York City where, last September, I had the pleasure to capture this powerful and gracious jump.In ballet this jump is called a “grand jeté” and Erica makes it look so naturally, that some might imagine it’s nothing complicated. But behind it there are years and years of hard work, sacrifices and passion.Erica grew up in Texas and discovered dancing when she was two, while accompanying her older sister at her dance classes. After years of practicing different dances, Erica started ballet when she was nine.  She loved it because it was much more challenging then anything before. Every day her parents had to do a very long and exhausting commute to bring her and take her from the classes.During these years she was usually the only dark girl in her classes. She was constantly advised to avoid the sun so she will not get too tanned. It must have felt terrible to hear such comments, but Erica kept jumping higher and higher and her efforts and talent didn’t go unnoticed. When she was 15 she left home and moved to New York City on her own, where she was invited to study ballet with some of the best teachers in the world. Imagine what a jump: from living in a small town, together with her family, to becoming an adult, in a huge metropolis. Malicious comments didn’t stop. Even today she still hears people, once in a while, suggesting that she is getting a part just because she’s black. But all these painful comments make her even more ambitious at the end of the day. Besides performing for the American Ballet Theatre she also mentors young dancers. She wishes to support more children and teenagers from disadvantaged communities to join ballet. Like her, they can jump too over all challenges and prejudices. Eventually, as you can see in this picture, jumping becomes flying and then nothing can really stop you anymore.

We met in August, last year, in Reykjavík, Iceland. Ragga is a...

We met in August, last year, in Reykjavík, Iceland. Ragga is a force of nature. She’s been part of a unique expedition at the South Pole, she drove huge trucks with tourists on glaciers, she worked in mountain rescue teams and as an EMT, and now works as a firefighter, all of these while being a dedicated mother too.She grew up with her three older brothers and although she was the only girl and the youngest in the family, her parents never treated her differently. Maybe this kind of education is one of the reasons why Iceland is considered the best country in the world in terms of gender equality. But Ragga told me that even here, in the most equal place on earth, there are still some prejudices regarding women working in fields dominated by men. But as you can imagine, nothing will ever stop this extraordinary woman from following her path.

She is Natalia. She has exactly the same name as my daughter....

She is Natalia. She has exactly the same name as my daughter. Even their age is close. I met her in Peru, a few months ago, in the Andes Mountains, where she lives with her family in an isolated village, far away from the modern world. Here she will learn to weave, she will learn the medicinal herbs and she will learn to coexist with nature. Meantime my daughter Natalia will live in a global world, mostly in modern places, learning foreign languages and developing her passions. Since I started The Atlas of Beauty I always had a dilemma. How should we support people from remote traditional communities? Their life is really hard, compared to ours. But is it okay for us to change it and bring our lifestyle to their communities, assuming that this will help them? Will their new life, besides being more comfortable, be truly better? If not, how can we support them without spoiling their culture? Are we, those in modern places, more aware of what they need? Definitely not. So who are we to decide for them? They never try to decide for us. If we try to teach them our modern values, aren’t we condescending? But if we ignore their struggles, aren’t we ignorant and selfish? It’s a complicated issue and we should maybe find a middle way, but that’s not easy. Who knows, maybe someday my Natalia and this sweet Natalia will have the chance to meet and sort this out. Maybe their generation will find a fair answer to my dilemma.

For a musician, the competition is incredible in Cuba. Probably...

For a musician, the competition is incredible in Cuba. Probably nowhere in the world you’ll find such a density of extraordinary musicians. So to make it to the top, besides talent, you need years and years of practice.  I met Yansa last October, on the colonial streets of old Havana, where she was playing with her band, at a terrace. Here the best music is on the streets, at terraces, in bars, not so much in concert halls. Yansa plays the flute since she was 8. While most of the other children were outside, playing, she was inside, practicing hard, defying the heat and the tiredness. But she told me that all the sacrifices worth it. Today she can make a decent living from doing what she loves most. More than that, she also supports her parents, financially. She knows how many efforts they did for her and now she’s happy to help them too.  Economically speaking, there are many shortages in Cuba. Humanly speaking, there’s definitely no shortage of beautiful people.

It was a day of September, last year, when I visited Barton...

It was a day of September, last year, when I visited Barton Spring, in Austin, USA. This is a place where people come to relax and swim. Looking around, at all those perfect bodies and the splendid landscape, you could feel like on the set of a photo shoot for a glamorous magazine.But for me beauty is much more than that. When I noticed Veronize and her serene expression I instantly knew that I want to photograph her. Veronize was mega surprised of my proposal. But she was equally thrilled. By chance that was the first time in her life when she was wearing a two pieces swimsuit. Sometimes things happens for a reason and maybe that’s why I was there, in that day of September. Veronize just started to work on accepting her body and that was one of the first steps. But on the way there were many years of struggles. Her parents emigrated to the States from the Dominican Republic, dreaming that their daughter will have a better life. They created a unique name for her, combining their owns, Veronica and Ezekiel.Veronize was bullied since she remembers. She was only 12 years old when somebody spread a rumour in her school that she was pregnant. And that was just one of the dozens of episodes when she was humiliated because of her body.  But with all the suffering, she remained a kind hearted person. Love was her answer to all the hate. Today she works in a holistic shop and she seems the kind of nurturing person who takes care of her beloved ones whenever are in need. Dear Veronize, not only that you have a special and beautiful name, but you are also a special and beautiful woman.

Ta Mai lives in a small village in Northern Vietnam and is part...

Ta Mai lives in a small village in Northern Vietnam and is part of an ethnic group called Red Dao. In her community women wear this red turban only after they get married.

Ta Mai got married when she was only 16. Now she’s 20 and already has two children. That’s common in her community. What is uncommon in her case is that she had a love marriage.

The life of these fascinating people is complicated. They mostly live from agriculture, eating only rice and a few vegetables every day. Meat is only for special occasions.

And still, they wear beautiful handmade clothes that take months to weave. This might seem impractical in our world: struggling to survive, while dedicating so much time to craft and beauty.
But I guess that any human being needs beauty and those who have a simple life are sometimes closer to it.

Natalia, my daughter, is almost 20 months. I can’t believe we’ve...

Natalia, my daughter, is almost 20 months. I can’t believe we’ve already visited together 27 countries, on 6 continents, meeting so many amazing women.

In January we were in China, when a mysterious virus started to make news in the country. Back home, in Europe, nobody cared about it, but being a few hundred kilometres away from the epicentre, seeing what’s happening around us, made me realise that our world will change a lot.

We’ve been fortunate enough to get back home safely, in Romania, and find a place with courtyard, during the lockdown. Although we can’t move, we can at least see the sky. I look at it and I’m wondering, when we will be back there, on a plane, traveling to a new destination to meet new amazing women?

I was looking at the news and saw that most of the countries that dealt best with coronavirus have women leaders. More than that, women comprise the majority of frontline healthcare workers globally. They are the heroes of our days, together with their male colleagues.

Maybe from now on women will receive a more prominent role in the society. Maybe we will learn from this crisis and create a more beautiful and equal world. I just hope Natalia will be fortunate to live such times.

Till then stay strong, stay optimist, stay healthy and stay beautiful! The world needs us!

Nujood is a painter, so when I met her in February, in the old...

Nujood is a painter, so when I met her in February, in the old town of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, I said to myself that I have to find a picturesque shot. But the light was really bad so we stayed for hours drinking tea and chatting, like so many locals love to do. After a lovely conversation, the picturesque shot was finally there, waiting for us.

From the beginning, Nujood was attracted by the visual part of life. Maybe because since childhood she suffered from a hearing disability and had to learn lip reading.

Today she wears hearing aids in both ears and that makes her life much easier. She feels fortunate and wants to give back to those in need. That’s why, besides painting, she also works with children with learning disabilities. She knows from her own experience what they need most.

I met these two friends in February, in Nang Loeng market, in...

I met these two friends in February, in Nang Loeng market, in Bangkok, Thailand.

As a pensioner Neaw was feeling very lonely, although she was always surrounded by pets.
Until she adopted Yaya, this loving female parrot. Now Neaw has more friends than ever. Yaya lives freely in the front of the house and asks Neaw to take her to their favourite place every day: the market.

This is the place where everybody knows them and everybody talks with them. No more loneliness, with such a sociable parrot. No, Yaya is not a talking parrot, but she knows to make herself understood. Neaw’s life became suddenly more colourful, exactly like her best friend’s plumage.