Ric Francis

Camalenque - Pallbearers

Camalenque (a vocational identity) are Afro-Peruvian men who are highly sought to carry coffins at the most upscale funerals in Peru. Clad in tuxedos and white gloves they are hired under the belief that their skin-color lends an aura of elegance to the job. In Peru, where racism against blacks and indigenous natives is strong, dark skin is not only used to exclude but to symbolize servitude. In May 2010 Peru's Ministry of Culture denounced the practice of the Camalenque as racist and requested - to no avail - that the mortuary business end the service.

Eduardo Genaro Rivas Castillo answers his cellphone as his brother Victor Julio Rivas Castillo struggles under the weight of a heavy coffin.
   
Clothes are set aside for two young Afro-Peruvian men who will work as Camalenque during an afternoon funeral.
   
Edwardo Alexander Rivas, 24, left, and a cousin get dressed as they prepare to work as Camalenque at a funeral.
     
  
Eduardo Genaro Rivas Castillo, right, and family members prepare for a funeral assignment.
   
Eduardo Castillo, right, his brother Victor Castillo, center, and Carlos Coychea prepare for work as pallbearers. Afro-Peruvian men who are highly sought to carry coffins at the most upscale funerals in Peru. Clad in tuxedos and white gloves they are hired under the belief that their skin-color lends an aura of elegance to the job.
  
While waiting for a cab to take them to a funeral service Edwardo Alexander Rivas, right,tries to pick up a teenage girl as Victor Castillo chats with a colleague. During the wait Rivas, 24, spent the entire time trying to speak with young and mature women. "I just love women, young or old it doesn't matter," explained Rivas.
     
  
Several Camalenque prepare to remove a casket from a church as a funeral service draws to a close.
   
Under the glare of television cameras Afro-Peruvian men carry the coffin of slain Peruvian Stephany Flores. Joran van der Sloot, of Holland, confessed to her killing.
  
Afro-Peruvians carry the coffin of Pedro Gregorio Moran Ramirez, 75, a wine and pisco maker, as his family and friends walk along quietly.
     
  
Eduardo Genaro Rivas Castillo leads a group of Camalenque at the conclusion of a funeral service.
   
Two groups of Camalenque encounter one another at a cemetery as one group waits to remove a coffin from a hearse.