When I photographed this woman, I did it in passing.
It is one of the most touching portraits I have made but I realized its communicative power only later.
The hand is outstretched in search of alms, but that same hand also seems to demand some comfort.
This woman is one of the 3663 inhabitants of the island of Amantani of Lake Titicaca, it is a difficult place to live, especially because it is isolated and secondly because there is a shortage of water.
In fact, the water of the lake is slightly salty and so the inhabitants use for the agriculture some springs on the same island, which unfortunately too often are insufficient.
This is why the harvest is done only once a year.