I grew up in a country with high social inequality, Chile, where wealth is poorly distributed and highly concentrated. According to the CASEN suvery for 2017, the richest 10% earned 39.1 times more than the poorest decile. Well, these are data for the world, but what does it mean to grow in this social situation, it means to grow with few possibilities of changing the economic reality, and to have a brainwash, year after year in your precarious schooling, learning that all your life nothing will change much, however I revealed myself against the ayasys, I grew with opinion, although believing that I do not have a window to share it. Inequality teaches you that when you have no purchasing power, you hace no power of opinion, that is, your opinion has no value.
Caption: A photo taken by me, of the coast near where I grew up, “El Humedal Mirasol”.
Now you’re asking yourselves, what does thus have to do being a Local Guide? Or in this specific case, what Local Guides means to me? Well, for Google, your opinion does matter. When I realized years ago that I could upload photos and give my opinion about places, I felt as if Google had hugged me and said: Come, you are just like us, you are a human being, you can give your opinion and your criticism is as valid, or your criticism is as valid and important, as anybody else’s. It doesn’t matter your nationality, color or social class, it only matters that you are a human being and your opinion is valuable, you can generate lists with places of interest, give your opinion about places that you loved or didn’t love so much, help people in their concerns, give your own perception of how “unique” a place can be, as a born of the area, as who else knows the area, a Local Tour Guide.
Caption: A photo of a cardboard ATM in the rural sector of “El Totoral”.
One day my daughter took my cell phone and saw a Google mail Wich said; - “Congratulations you are popular, your photos have more than 32000 views”-, she of 13 years old exclaimed; -“mom look! You are popular! You have a lot of views”-, and I thought, right! I didn’t see it that way, so I said to myself I want to contribute more and show my perception of seeing things, highlighting places that should be known.
Caption: A photo taken by me, of the panoramic view of “El Canelo” beach and a delicudel Chilean wine.
Begin a Local Guide, for me, means having a valuable opinion, like everyone else, regardless of social or economic structures. You just have to take your phone, go out, diacoved your city, take pictures, share them and give your opinion, so you can help the rest.
Caption: A photo of me taking a picture of “El Cantalao” beach, looking for coasts for a list, where the sea is not the most important thing.