Mossos d’Esquadra’s Agents, the Catalan Autonomous Police, came in the early hours of this last Saturday in the two largest Catalonia’s prostitution centres, Riviera and Saratoga, and closed them, as a precautionary measure.
In 2000 I photographed inside the Riviera, using a hidden camera, for Public magazine in which I was the Head of Photography.
I don’t like doing this kind of photography, always related to investigation subjects. Early in my career, I did many of these photos for Interviú magazine. I think someone had to do it and I did. They were very valuable as a news but not as photographs. I entered inside the Riviera together with the publisher that had been previously. I used a F80 Nikon, with 28mm f: 2.8 wide-angle, loaded with colour negative film Fuji 800 ASA. The camera was hidden in a dark raincoat, rolled on my right arm, where the lens peeked by the sleeve. I shoot in an automatic program, without looking at waist high, with my left hand holding a beer, politely rejecting the proposals, more or less attractive, from the ladies approaching me.
When I run out of film, I went to the toilet and put another one. In the two rolls there were many shots that did not turn out well, but a few were suitable enough such as those shown here. Before publishing the story, I consulted Josep Cruanyes, the UPIFC lawyer, which certainly is the person in this country who knows more about image rights. Clients and prostitutes can’t be recognizable - said Cruanyes, what it was neither my intention nor that of the magazine,- because they could sue you. As for a possible demand from the Riviera -it was another possibility that I was concerned about - you must know that places hasn’t got image rights pointed the lawyer-. After that information, we published the story in the October 2000 issue and titled it Pimp connexion. Powerful organizations controlle the multimillionaire business of the big sex centres.
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