Since our Colombian adventures, we've been living, working, collaborating, evolving, and playing in Lobitos on what's known as Peru's North Shore. Lobo in Spanish translates to wolf in English. The name Lobitos means little wolves and it refers to the sea lion that use to frequent its beaches. Unfortunately, these sea lions are long gone whose come instead are surfers, oil companies, the Peruvian military, and the mafia. Through the Lobitos Cinema Project, Coast 2 Coast works with the artisanal fishing community, struggling for their livelihoods against unprecedented coastal resource exploitation but rich in their cultural heritage and local history.
Lobitos appears as a ghost town... it is like walking through a deserted old plot of land and lifting up a rock... underneath, you'll find a small patch of earth teeming with life. That's a little bit like Lobitos.
In partnership with Mi Primir Festival, Peru's first kids film festival, we had the privilege to work with Betty, the festival's founder, and Fidho, the son of a local fisherman, to organize weekend movie nights.
Betty setting up a screening at our home in Lobitos.
Martes Foto is a photography project started by Henry Espinoza Panta, a local surfer and talented photographer. With support from WAVES for Development and mentorship from the Lobitos Cinema Project paired with Henry's incredible eye and surf skills, the local legend offers free photography classes on Tuesday to any local youth who want to give it a shot.
Martes Foto was also highlight by popular Peruvian travel show, Tiempo de Viaje, hosted by Rafo León, when the crew visited the Lobitos Cinema Project to document the collective's local storytelling initiatives.
With Mi Primir Festival, we took Coast 2 Coast with Martes Foto on the road, up the coast to Mancora to facilitate a weekend long photography workshop with local youth and film screenings outside the local library in the early evening. Returning to Lobitos, we started working in collaboration with the UGEL (the governing body over all school districts in the state Lobitos is located in) and the U.S. Peace Corp to facilitate audiovisual arts education in participating public schools along the coast. We started with a participatory mural project to create a more creative environment for students. We invited artists from Lima with help from social responsible companies like Civa, an amazing Peruvian bus line, to assist with transport. By this June, we completely three different murals with local students in Lobitos and Talara!
Lobitos is know for its epic lefts. Nico gets tubed at Piscinas and Emi tip toes over the edge at La Punta.
At home in Lobitos, we befriended a feral friend and call him Gnarlfield. He likes spinach pasta.
We also celebrate sometimes with chocolate cookies we bake in a sauce pan.
