" LA VIE EST BELLE "

Nowadays it is very common to find people living on the streets in precarious conditions. It does not take much imagination to see that in the future, if things continue as they are, people who are now living in comfortable conditions may find themselves in this same situation.

The main character in this report is Antonio Henrique Dos Santos who was born in Portugal in 1960. He is one of thousands who does not have the economic means to be able to afford a place to live and survive on a day to day basis adapting to society.

After having lived in France for 32 years, he arrived in Barcelona where he sought refuge in some caves near Montjuic. His day is spent on the sidewalks of the city, with his most trusted companion, a little dog called Fanny, who never leaves his side. He moves around on his bike and often goes to the local community kitchen where he shares a table with others in the same situation.

He is always on the look out for copper and other valuable objects, which he can then sell on for small amounts of money. Occasionally he goes to the local supermarkets where he finds food that has been disposed of owing to the proximity of its sell by date.

I spent six months working on this project and for two of these he was living in an apartment in the Eixample. Someone he had met on the street, with whom he had struck up a friendship, offered him this uninhabited apartment. However, this roof over his head was only on a temporary basis.

There are people in the area who support him because of his situation, but above all, they help him because of his kindness and good manners.

The important thing for him is not to lose hope and to look for solutions.

"I am a street-dweller, and always will be."