Marta Cecilia

This portrait honors Marta Cecilia, a hardworking woman, mother, and grandmother who every afternoon takes to the streets of northern Bogotá with her cart to sell chewing gum, cigarettes, snacks, and other products.

 

For decades, she has carried out her work on 79th Street and 7th Avenue under the sun, the cold, or the rain sustaining herself with dignity in the open air.

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Marta Cecilia lives in Portal de Usme and embodies the silent strength of so many Colombian women who, without the spotlight, are part of the invisible fabric that sustains our cities.

 

Though her work is informal, she performs it with responsibility and pride as an honest way of earning a living and supporting her family.

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This piece belongs to the Colombian Models series, a visual statement that seeks to make visible the humanity and value of real women working, struggling, essential. In the portrait, expressive strokes and intense color coexist with worn words and brands such as “Bogotá,” “quiero vivir” (“I want to live”), “medio ambiente” (“environment”), and “Kit Kat,” creating a dialogue between the intimate and the social, between the body and the system.

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Marta Cecilia is a soulful homage that transforms her face into a symbol of resistance, beauty, and truth.