Once a prestigious district, home to poets, intellectuals, traders and merchants, Santa Fe is now a red light zone, home instead to strip clubs, sex workers and brothels.
Now only a few traces of faded grandeur and elegant houses remain amidst the neon signs. Landlords began dividing and subdividing the large colonial buildings, providing accommodation for a never ending stream of people. Martinez and Sergio Enciso believe that there is still a place for art in the neighbourhood. The pair have been working together for the past five years to capture daily life there. William is an artist who has been living in Santa Fe since , and Sergio has been collaborating with him since The two artists go back a long way, having met in while studying art at the Universidad Nacional.
They have spent a lot of time talking to people, walking the streets and absorbing the atmosphere. In conjunction, Sergio hand wrote extracts of his book of cronicas entitled Mariposas de Burdel Brothel Butterflies on the walls, a collection of brief but poignant observations from his time spent exploring the neighbourhood.
Many bogotanos mistakenly refer to Santa Fe as a Zona de Tolerancia , one of several sites where prostitution, although illegal, is tolerated by the authorities. However, the district is actually a Zona de Alto Impacto ZAI , making it the only area in the country where prostitution is completely legal. It never becomes normal. Unlike in Amsterdam where the sex workers pose behind glass windows, here the women walk freely in the streets, wearing thongs, fishnet tights, miniskirts and dresses, watching on as potential clients scout out which lady they find most appealing.
We see other prostitutes eating in cafes on their lunch breaks. They work shifts, some taking the mornings and others preferring to work at night. It is surreal β though unsurprising β to witness this open prostitution alongside everyday life. There are hairdressers, bakeries, laundrettes and churches.
