Camilo José Vergara is a New York-based sociologist and photographer who photographs the same urban locations over time to document changing communities. Before participating in a panel on how people reinvent spaces, he confessed in the Zócalo green room that although he was born in Chile and has lived and worked all over the U.S. and the world, he can’t imagine living anywhere but New York.
What’s your favorite spot in Santiago?
A lot of the places that I like very much have been built up. When I left Santiago it had under 1 million people. Now it has 4.5 million. … And I actually like places that are not built up.
What’s your hidden talent?
I have no idea. Alienate people?
What is the last habit you tried to kick?
Getting laid.
Will you ever stop photographing with film entirely?
I thought that was not possible. But now I’m using digital. And it’s a lot simpler because you don’t have to digitize your film. And also the digital cameras are getting much better in terms of speed and in terms of light.
If you didn’t live in New York, where would you be?
I was born in Chile. I was a citizen of Chile. I grew up in a small town. I’ve lived in different places in the United States. And I’ve lived abroad. I feel like I’m a citizen of New York. And if New York was taken out of me, it’s the last place I would consider my place. When I go home, I’m a foreigner. New York belongs to me, and I belong to it.
What household chore will you do anything to avoid?
Mopping the floors.
What keeps you up at night?
Sometimes when I’m writing a book, and I’m getting to a chapter, and finding out what do I say about something. Trying to perceptualize a feeling that I have about buildings, about cities, and about people, trying to find what the right word is. Also, loneliness.
If you had one more extra hour in the day, how would you use it?
I like what I do. I wouldn’t change. I would just do more of what I do. The type of work that I decided to do demands not just my time but demands the time of a lot of other people. I could use another day. I could use many more years, another lifetime.
Did you have any nicknames as a kid?
Several. I used to laugh with what they call a horse laugh. They called me the filly. I used to use strange words and laugh about strange people, and they called me cultisimo.
What city won’t you travel to again?
I like cities. I like them all. What I hate is sameness. A city that’s kind of homogenous. It would be a city that didn’t have poverty. If they succeed in the abolition of poverty, there will be perfect cities where everybody has what they need, and I would be very bored. It’s selfish, but it’s never going to happen.