Otra cosa es desaparecer

Description

The photo can’t be trash, the photo isn’t trash, the photo can’t be thrown away. I read how to destroy photographic paper. They recommend
not burning it because it’s toxic due to its chemicals. They recommend not throwing it away with regular trash because it’s neither recycled nor biodegradable. Photographic paper is eternal. They recommend making crafts with it. A garden of photographic paper flowers with bits of our faces on their petals isn’t for me. I also wouldn’t want to throw them in the regular trash; it always makes me uncomfortable to see photos in or near garbage dumps, those little faces there, those hugs, those smiles, amidst piles of diapers and yerba mate. I know that’s not what I want for our captured moments. They recommend shredding them and then putting the strips in bags that, again, can’t be thrown away anywhere. I imagine my mother moving to her new, smaller home with photos in every room, or surrounded by garbage bags with our faces in strips.