Spain declared a state of emergency on March 14, only four days before Portugal followed suit. And while they ramped up containment measures in a similar timeline, their situation was already disparate: Portugal had only three deaths due to COVID-19, and Spain had 84.

In other words, Portugal responded to the coronavirus before the situation got out of control. The country benefited from a later arrival of the coronavirus, with an estimated lag of between a week and a half to two weeks, according Filipe Froes, lung specialist and advisor to the country’s department of health.

“These days of preparation were precious,” he said.

They allowed Portugal to assemble a response strategy for the national healthcare system, before it could be overwhelmed with coronavirus cases. In fact, the country never even reached a state where hospitals became overwhelmed with the number of patients.

“We could have had these days of advance and not have done anything,” Froes said. “We had the merit of knowing how to utilize the days of advance that the pandemic gave us.”

Portugal established a primary health care network, which sorted through cases, only allowing the most serious ones to go to hospitals, effectively controlling the inflow of patients and allowing hospitals to manage them with ease.

Froes gave the following example: if 1,000 people are sick, maybe 800 will have slight symptoms and 200 will need to be admitted, and of those maybe 50 will need to go to the intensive care unit. But in order to get to those 50, the hospital would still need to go through 1,000 patients. 

“If you don’t see 1,000 and see, for example, around 300, you have a much better capacity of identifying the 50 that are going to intensive care,” Froes said. “That’s what we did.”

The strategy itself is not groundbreaking, he stressed — more importantly, the timeframe in which it was implemented was key. Both countries took action “practically on the same day”, around mid-March, but the case count at that point was much lower in Portugal, which only saw its first confirmed case on March 2.

It also allowed for time for hospitals to increase their intensive care unit capacity.

“In my hospital [Hospital Pulido Valente, to which he is Head of Intensive Care Unit], we went from 20 to 60 or 80 beds, which at the time aren’t even fully occupied,” he said.

Ricardo Mexia, a public health doctor at the Department of Epidemiology of the National Association of Public Health Doctors, said that Portugal wasn’t particularly well prepared to take on this pandemic.

“We had the fortune of being affected later. We ended up having the opportunity of buying some time, so that everything could work and measures were put in place earlier,” he said. “This avoided an exponential growth, it avoided a situation in which our national healthcare system would have to respond beyond its capacity, like it happened in Spain.”

It’s also relevant to look at the way the outbreaks started in both countries, he said. While Madrid has a much more complicated situation than the rest of Spain, we can also see that the southern region of Alentejo, in Portugal, with its low population density, has a much lower number of cases.

The virus hit both countries in very distinct ways.

“Both in Italy and in Spain, the beginning of the [pandemic] activity was very explosive,” Froes said. “It happened in multiple outbreaks simultaneously, in various places.”

In Spain, early on, the virus hit a more susceptible part of the population, he said.

“When an outbreak involves a hospital or a nursing home you have the conditions for a faster dissemination in a very fragile population, that is then going to need a lot of health care,” he said. 

Meanwhile, in Portugal, the initial outbreak had been traced back to a group of businessmen that had traveled back from a trade fair in Milan.

“It is a younger age group and a group that is not as tied to chronic illnesses,” he said. “Therefore, healthier people. And those people don’t attend health institutions and most likely didn’t go to nursing homes.”

All and all, experts agree, that the contrast between Portugal and Spain is most likely due to timing, combined with the government’s capacity to make use of that time and implementing the measures that needed to be put in place. In the future, more information will fill in some of the blanks, and allow them to draw more permanent conclusions.

Froes also stressed the way the Portuguese responded.

“I think that up until now the population in general was compliant and showed proof of great civism,” he said.

Some other factors have been pinpointed as potential variables. The rate of BCG vaccination, for example, is higher in Portugal than it is in Spain. And some studies have suggested (while not confirmed) that this vaccine — which protects against tuberculosis — might also have a protective effect towards complications developed from COVID-19.

Others have also pointed out how in Portugal different political parties have put aside their differences and banded together in the fight against COVID-19. The leader of the biggest opposition party (PSD) made his support clear when the state of emergency was declared, speaking in front of parliament.

“It’s important that the country knows that [our party] PSD supports the government in this battle,” he said. “Mr. Prime Minister, count on the collaboration of PDS.  With everything we can, we will help. I wish you courage, nerves of steel and a lot of luck. Because your luck is our luck.”

Meanwhile, the Spanish government has been hindered by political fighting with the right wing opposition parties. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has not been able to count on the support of other political leaders, in a country characterized by a starkly polarized political field and disunion among its people.

As of early May, the number of confirmed cases in Spain reached over 224,000, while Portugal has over 27,000. Both countries are now taking their first steps to reopen the economy.

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“It’s possible there will be some [deaths],” he said in an interview with ABC News, while traveling for the first trip outside of Washington in almost two months, to visit a factory manufacturing masks in Arizona. “But at the same time we’re gonna practice social distancing, we’re gonna be washing hands, we’re gonna be doing a lot of the things that we’ve learned to do.”

The president said that that people are dying in other ways, from drug abuse to suicide.

“We have to get our country back,” he added.

His comments came as a response to a statement made yesterday by Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and point man on the coronavirus taskforce, on the decision to reopen the country.

“It’s the balance of something that’s a very difficult choice: How many deaths and how much suffering are you willing to accept to get back to what you want to be,” he said. 

 Trump has ceased doing daily press conferences, instead holding meetings with a smaller number of reporters and in different settings. He said on Monday that the briefings will return, just not daily, adding that “everybody” enjoyed them.

But that hasn’t kept him from speaking out. And in an interview with the New York Post on Monday he showed his opposition to federal relief money being directed to so-called blue states, some of which have seen the biggest increases in coronavirus cases.

“It’s not fair to the Republicans because all the states that need help — they’re run by Democrats in every case,” he said. “Florida is doing phenomenal, Texas is doing phenomenal, the Midwest is, you know, fantastic — very little debt. You look at Illinois, you look at New York, look at California, you know, those three, there’s tremendous debt there, and many others.”

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo responded to Trump during his press briefing today.

“This is not a blue state issue. Every state has coronavirus cases,” he said. “It’s not just Democratic states that have an economic shortfall.”

Cuomo said that New York is dealing with a $13 billion  deficit and criticized the federal government for so far not having provided any aid to the state and local government, in order to fund police, healthcare and education. He also questioned the use of the term bailout. 

“I wasn’t asking for anything from the fed government before the coronavirus,” he said. “Because of the coronavirus, we need financial help in restarting the economy, and that’s what we’re asking for from the federal government. How do you call that a bailout? Which is such a loaded word. Such a rhetorical, hyperbolic word.”

Cuomo spent several minutes addressing Trump’s comments, going as far as pointing out that the state of New York has contributed more to the federal government than what it’s taken back “every year, for decades”.

On one thing, he and Trump seem to agree, that reopening the country is a balancing act between avoiding economic damage and saving human lives.

“There’s a cost to staying closed, no doubt. Economic cost, personal cost. There’s also a cost to reopening quickly. Either option has a cost,” Cuomo said. Although he added: “To me, I say, the cost of a human life – a human life is priceless, period. Our plan doesn’t have a trade-off. Our reopening says you monitor the data.”

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 But they may soon come to a halt, or at least become less frequent.

Still dealing with the fallout from his controversial words about the possibility of treating coronavirus patients by injecting them with disinfectant, President Trump cut short Friday’s press briefing and canceled Saturday’s and today’s.

Instead he went Twitter, he went on to question the validity of press briefings, attacking the media for their “hostile questions” and news coverage.

What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately. They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2020

Trump’s statement on Thursday ignited a storm of criticism, from politicians to health experts, condemning the commander-in-chief for floating such a dangerous idea. Even the makers of disinfectant products felt the need to put out statements clearly advising people against ingesting their products.

Turning to medical experts on the coronavirus taskforce, the president mused about whether injecting disinfectant or UV light into the body could prove to be an effective treatment.

“I see the disinfectant, where it knocks [the virus] out in a minute, and is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning (…) It would be interesting to check that,” he said.

The next day, Trump was grilled by a reporter on his statements and said that he was only being sarcastic.

The President has previously promoted other treatment methods with little to no scientific evidence of being effective, most notably hydroxychloroquine, a drug commonly used for malaria. According to director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci, who is part of Trump’s team, the data on its effectiveness in treating Coronavirus is “at best suggestive”.

As Trump’s approval numbers have dwindled back to low 40s in recent weeks and democratic challenger Joe Biden has gained battleground in some states, Trump is under pressure to drive his reelection campaign forward. His response to the coronavirus, which has faced plenty of criticism, has become central to the campaign.

And now Trump’s own advisors seem to think that the President’s “near-constant presence on television” might actually be working against him, according to Politico. Some are insisting that he shorten the length of the daily briefing and leave the medical advice to experts.

“I am worried about overexposure, yes,” a source close to Trump told Politico. “Bickering with the media for two hours on live television does nothing to help Americans who are struggling right now and want to know how and when their lives will return to normal.”

Even without a press briefing, yesterday Trump still gave his two-cents on Georgia’s reopening of certain businesses this weekend. Trump has voiced support for stay-at-home protestors, but he doubled down on his criticism towards Georgia Governor Brian Kemp’s decision, tweeting that he was “NOT happy” with him.

On twitter rampage today,Trump attacked, which included the media, the Democrats and political analyst, Donna Brazile who works for  Fox News. The networks  coverage is usually favorable.

.@FoxNews just doesn’t get what’s happening! They are being fed Democrat talking points, and they play them without hesitation or research. They forgot that Fake News @CNN & MSDNC wouldn’t let @FoxNews participate, even a little bit, in the poor ratings Democrat Debates…..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 26, 2020

….Even the Radical Left Do Nothing Democrats laughed at the Fox suggestion. No respect for the people running @FoxNews. But Fox keeps on plugging to try and become politically correct. They put RINO Paul Ryan on their Board. They hire “debate questions to Crooked Hillary”….

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 26, 2020

….fraud @donnabrazile (and others who are even worse). Chris Wallace is nastier to Republicans than even Deface the Nation or Sleepy Eyes. The people who are watching @FoxNews, in record numbers (thank you President Trump), are angry. They want an alternative now. So do I!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 26, 2020

Some states to reopen

Meanwhile many states will remain shutdown, others have stay-at-home orders that will expire in a few days, by April 30. And four states have already relaxed measures in some form.

In Georgia, businesses like gyms, hair salons and bowling alleys were allowed to reopen, provided that they maintain social distancing rules and screen employees. And on April 27 theaters and restaurants will follow suit. South Carolina, Oklahoma and Alaska have likewise allowed some businesses to reopen, with certain rules.

Today Governor Cuomo announced a rough plan on how New York state, which has been hit the hardest by the coronavirus, will reopen. “Phase 1” will ses the reopening of construction and manufacturing activities which pose a low risk of infection, by around the middle of May. And “Phase 2” will include other industries, depending on their priority and risk levels.

“We need businesses to do that analysis,” Cuomo said, adding that there need to be safeguards and precautions in place and that the way each business plans to open will determine the risk factor.”

Cuomo’s plan will follow federal guidance from the CDS, which says that hospitalizations must be down for at least 14 days before the state reopens. In New York, numbers have already been going down for almost two weeks. And the plan will apply differently depending on which part of the state. Central New York and North County, for example, will likely be first, contrary to other more dense areas, like New York City.

Cuomo also said that there will be a period of two weeks in between phases, in order for state officials to monitor the progress of the spread and determine whether it’s safe to proceed.

“All that progress we made by flattening that curve, we could lose that in a matter of days if we’re not careful,” Cuomo said.

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Governor Andrew Coumo announced today an executive order ordering people in the state of New York to wear masks or mouth and nose coverings in public spaces where they cannot maintain social distance. This will go into effect in three days.

At his daily press conference, Cuomo explained this includes places such as crowded streets, public transportation, busy neighborhoods and anywhere else where people can’t maintain a distance of at least 6 feet from other individuals.

Disobeying  this rule will not subject anyone to civil penalties, at least for the time being.

“You’re not gonna go to jail for not wearing a mask,” Cuomo said. “We haven’t seen flagrant non-compliance.”

However, the governor maintained that that might just change if people don’t comply with the new rule and added that New Yorkers themselves would likely act if they see someone disregarding the rule.

Last week, New Jersey Governor Philip Murphy announced a similar measure, ordering everyone to wear a mask in grocery stores.

New York is flattening the curve, with hospitalizations and intubations going down, but the state is still experiencing an average of 2000 new coronavirus cases per day. In total, there have been a total of over 100,000  confirmed cases and 10,000 deaths.

Cuomo said that the healthcare situation has stabilized, with New York having increased its healthcare capacity by 50% in one month. Two weeks ago, Cuomo called out for health professionals in other states to come in and offer their help. And at least 90,000 retired and active health care workers have come to aid in the battle, including 25,000 from outside New York.

“The fear of overwhelming the health care system has not happened,” Cuomo said today.

The state is now giving away a total of 100 ventilators to Michigan and 50 to Maryland, both states that have been experiencing an increase in the number of coronavirus cases.

However, the fight is long from being over.

“We’re still in the woods,” he said. “Just because that number has plateaued, doesn’t mean it anytime to relax what we’re doing.

But, in good news, the governor said the numbers show that we can change the curve and control the spread.

Cuomo also touched on the reopening of the economy,  which he projected to take around 18 months, when a vaccine for the coronavirus is expected to be approved.

“I say it’s over when we have a vaccine,” Cuomo said.

Capitalizing on the completion of the Tappan Zee Bridge, which he campaigned on back in 2010, he said that we have to build a bridge from today to the “new normal”. He also offered up New York as a testing ground for a future vaccine.

It will be a “phased reopening” as  New York, could still see an increase in infection rate, if social distancing measures are lifted too soon, Cuomo said.

This phased reopening would be based on a model that would take into consideration two main criteria: how essencial a business is and what the risk of infection within the work environment is.

Reopening the economy will rest fundamentally on large-scale testing, Cuomo said. Everything from diagnostic to antibody, saliva, finger prick and blood sampling. So far New York has conducted a total of 500,000 tests, but Cuomo hopes that a yet to be approved by the FDA test could improve the numbers to up to 100,000 a day. The New York population is over 19 million.

Pointing to what happened earlier on with state and federal governments fighting over ventilators, the governor warned against a repeat of this with testing.

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At the White House press briefing on the coronavirus today, Trump said his administration will be reaching out to governors on Thursday, to announce new federal guidelines about reopening the country.

He said some states would be opening sooner than others, hopefully some as early as May 1st.

“We wanna get our country open again,” Trump said. “We’re gonna have an economy that really comes back quickly.”

This comes after the president had already backpaddled on his earlier statement that the federal government had “absolutely authority” to reopen the country. 

“The president of the United States calls the shots,” Trump said on Monday, in a particularly contentious press briefing. “I have the ultimate authority.”

Then on Tuesday, he said that it would be up to each individual state to return to normal, adding that they would still need his authorization to do so.

“I’m not going to put any pressure on any governor to open,” he said.

Pundits have been quick to point out how his earlier statements were false.

“It’s so plain and obvious it’s not even debatable,” Kathleen Bergin, a professor at Cornell Law School, told NPR. “Trump has no authority to ease social distancing, or to open schools or private businesses. These are matters for states to decide under their power to promote public health and welfare, a power guaranteed by the 10th Amendment to the Constitution.”

Others have criticized Trump for refusing to issue a nationwide stay-at-home order, even though numbers of coronavirus cases were growing rapidly in states like Florida, which only told its residents to stay home at the beginning of April, instead deferring responsibility to state governments.

“The president is certainly the captain of the ship, but he jumped overboard about three months ago, when he decided to leave all the tough decisions to the governors and the mayors,” Democrat Senator Chris Murphy said on a conference call with reporters Tuesday.

While Trump continues to refer to May 1st as a desired point of reference for reopening the country, some state governors have indicated that this will be a slow and gradual process.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo,  said today that we will see a “phased reopening” and that it will likely take around 18 months to fully get back to the “new normal”. He also announced an executive order requiring residents to wear masks every time they are in a public space where they cannot maintain social distance. California Governor Gavin Newsom has so far abstained from indicating a possible date for ending the stay-at-home order.

“I know you want the timeline, but we can’t get ahead of ourselves and dream of regretting,” Newsom said. “Let’s not make the mistake of pulling the plug too early, as much as we want to.”

Meanwhile, Alabama Governor Will Ainsworth is considering whether the state can get non-essential businesses running again by May 1st. And Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy wants to reopen the state as early as next week.

 Trump, who yesterday announced the U.S. would be cutting funding to the World Health Organization, restated his criticism over the organization’s supposed “mismanagement of coronavirus”.

“I feel very badly about the world health organization,” Trump said. “But it’s been a tool of China.”

However, the president has himself been criticized for his own performance in dealing with the crisis, for failing to respond faster and even downplaying the threat of the spread as late as February.

And experts have come out to discredit his judgment of how the World Health Organization dealt with the pandemic, highlighting their transparency. 

“I have been a longstanding critic and I’ve described their performance on Ebola as catastrophic,” Ashish Jha, a public health professor at Harvard, told The Guardian. “But I think overall their performance on this outbreak has been, not perfect, but pretty good.”

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The New York health care system is overwhelmed because of the coronavirus.

Every evening at 7  p.m New Yorkers have been coming out to their windows to cheer for health care professionals and essential workers, similar to movements like this all over the world.

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The numbers represent a best case scenario, assuming full mitigations practices are put in place. With no interventions, experts predicted the number of deaths would have resulted in between 1.5 million and 2.2 million deaths.

“I want every American to be prepared for the tough days that lie ahead,” Trump said, warning for some “painful two weeks” lying ahead. 

The government is now putting in place a program of 30 days to slow the spread, contrary to President Trump’s hope of having the country “open by Easter”. These measures include recommendations to avoid unnecessary travel, public spaces and gathering of more than 10 people.

Trump’s tone today was much more somber, characterizing the coronavirus as “vicious” and not like the flu, and equating it to the plague.

Regardless of these predictions, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that we should still be trying to cut the number down as much as possible.

“We don’t have to accept that,” he said, explaining that the models can change depending on how the situation progresses every day, “Models are as good as the assumptions you put into them.”

President Trump said that there are currently 10,000 ventilators “ready to go” to states in most need. Besides New York, which has been hit the worst so far, states like Michigan and Louisiana are in the radar of the White House, as possible larger outbreaks to come.

He also doubled down on his promise of having an additional 100,000 made available in the next 100 days.

As of now, the US has registered at least at least 183,532 cases of coronavirus, making it the number one country in the world. So far, 3,600 people have died from the disease. 

New York is the most affected state, with over 75,000 cases. In his own press conference earlier today, Governor Andrew Cuomo said the numbers are still going up, even though the number of intubations are down and discharges are up.

“We’re all in search of the apex and the other side of the mountain, but we are still headed up the mountain,” Cuomo said. “In general, I am tired of being behind this virus. You don’t win playing catch up”

According to expert’s predictions, the apex of the outbreak in the state will happen within 14 to 30 days from today, Cuomo said.

Cuomo stressed the importance of anticipating future needs by stockpiling supplies and recruiting healthcare professionals, again calling upon those outside of the state to help fight the outbreak in New York.

 Since the beginning of the week New York City saw the arrival of the USNS Comfort hospital ship and the installation of a 68-bed field hospital in Central Park, which are adding over 1000 beds to help support overflown hospitals in the city.

During the press conference, Cuomo also announced that his brother, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo has been tested positive for coronavirus, and is now quarantined in the basement of his house.

“He is gonna be fine,” Cuomo said. “He’s young, in good shape, strong. Not as strong as he thinks. But he will be fine.”

The governor pointed out a lesson to be learned, sharing that his brother had had their mother over to his house a couple of weeks ago, because she was feeling lonely. And although this was done out of love, had he done it more recently, “chances are she would have been exposed.”

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As people adjust to life at home, with the spread of the Coronavirus, the photographer took it upon herself to document the lives of families around her.  She calls the project, “Families at a Distance”.

“I want [the photos] to be real and honest,” she said. “But then I also felt like there almost is a little excitement or a strange way that people are finding this happiness and embracing the fact that everybody’s finally having to be together.”

Nydia’s kids. Photo  by Andrea Cipriani Mecchi

Yet the photographs evoke a historical sense, with their black and white tone and seemingly mundane subject matter. This was not by chance, but by design. Mecchi took inspiration from works such the Farm Security Administration (FSA) style photos, of the great depression era, when the government commissioned a group of photographers to document life in rural America. Of these, Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother is perhaps the most recognizable.

Jeb, Gena and their children, Gigi and Malachy. Photo by Andrea Cipriani Mecchi

 “They brought these images back to Washington. And it’s what actually helped shape some of the support that the government then offered the people out West,” Mecchi said. “I really wanted it to feel and sort of mimic, or at least feel consistent with documentary images of the past. There’s this subtle like ‘oh, we’ve kind of been here before or maybe we’re on the verge of this again’.”

Sofia and her father, Chris  cleans the glass door of their Bella Vista home. Photo by Andrea Cipriani Mecchi

Everyone is adapting to new times. And this project marks a pivotal moment in the artist’s own life and career.

For years, Mecchi kept her photography on the sidelines, focusing most of her attention on raising two children. They have now grown up, and at the end of last year, she decided to reshift her focus back to photography. 

“I had loaded my schedule starting in February, and I had some really great projects that I was working on,” she said. “ I’ve always walked the line between doing commercial work and documentary work.”

Anna and Rodney  and their  family in the window. of their South Philly home. Photo by Andrea Cipriani Mecchi

But the recent developments in the coronavirus outbreak derailed her plans.

“I ended up losing all my work pretty much once this hit. I started getting emails and calls,” she said. “I was going out to California for a project that was cancelled. I worked for a client that has a national preschool — that was put on hold. I had all of these jobs and suddenly people are working remotely, and obviously I can’t go in and be face to face.”

This took a toll on her.

“I have to be honest, I was pretty much super depressed for a few days,” she said. 

Then one day a friend of hers, who is also an artist, challenged her to photograph people “stuck in their homes”. And so a new project was born. Mecchi’s friend and her family became the first subjects, and the initial results immediately struck her.

Stacey and Mengistu with their family in Bella Vista. Photo by Andrea Cipriani Mecchi

“They weren’t really sad or depressing or feeling like everybody’s struggling and unhappy, which we all are,” she said. “I kind of sat with it for a bit and tried to figure out why, you know, because internally my own kids are struggling with not being able to interact with their friends.”

Through her lense, Mecchi saw a sense of duality in people’s spirits.

“I feel like people are in survival mode,” she said. “But also everybody right now is embracing this. I do feel like there is a little bit of a pause and everybody is collectively holding their breaths. It sort of allows everybody — the parents, as well — to kind of just be in the moment and realize that there’s also a little bit of a gift at this time, where we really aren’t racing places”

Gigi leaps. Photo by Andrea Cipriani Mecchi

According to the artist, there’s a stark contrast in how different age groups have reacted. Adults are more anxious, while older people seem to “have a little bit more wisdom”. And the kids, while frustrated, easily switch gears to having fun — especially when someone new shows up close to their house, to photograph the family.

After shooting some more of her own friends, Mecchi moved on to people she saw while out on the street to run errands. She makes sure to keep a safe distance from everyone, often shooting them across the street with longer lenses. That’s been made possible also because of the layout of residential neighborhoods in Philadelphia, which has a great amount of row homes, as opposed to high rise buildings.

Levi,6, puts his feet up. Photo by Andrea Cipriani Mecchi

The project reached a new level after Mecchi posted about it on social media.

“It was crazy how suddenly I went from, ‘oh my god, I’m not going to work for months’ to my phone blew up after I posted a few images on Instagram like never before with people saying, ‘Oh, my God, I love this, can you come shoot my family?’”

She started accepting appointments to photograph people who reach out, welcoming donations in exchange for the family portraits.

“I need to make money, I need to figure something out to keep my family afloat right now and contribute,” she said. “But at the same time, I feel like this has kind of become bigger than that.”

Lu with her dog  on her South Philly stoop. Photo by Andrea Cipriani Mecchi

Moving forward, she wants to make sure the photos she takes are representative of a diverse group of people.

“I want the project to really represent everyone. All socio-economic [status] people and people whose families don’t look like the traditional family,” she said. “When I ask someone to let me photograph [them], I don’t ask for a donation. I definitely am wanting to document things for myself and make it a comprehensive body of work.”

Chris, Carolina and their daughter, Sofia. Photo by Andrea Cipriani Mecchi

The project has some very obvious physical limitations, seeing as Mecchi cannot walk into people’s homes, being confined to photographing them from the outside looking in. In some of the photos, kids are pressing their faces against the windows, making silly faces, in others the whole family calmly stands together in the front steps. These restrictions have presented both a challenge and an opportunity.

“To a certain extent the boundaries are actually allowing me to sort of stay focused,” Mecchi said. “I’m not searching for the right angle in the house. It really ends up becoming the spirit, in a sense, of the family.”

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