<strong>Old but not over: </strong>"People don't throw them out," Gallardo, 56, says in Spanish of the icons. "The feeling is, 'This is my figure and I will repair it.'"
Old but not over: "People don't throw them out," Gallardo, 56, says in Spanish of the icons. "The feeling is, 'This is my figure and I will repair it.'"
Colby Blount
<strong>Restauraciones Carrión:</strong> In this tiny shop in Quito, Ecuador, Gonzalo Gallardo mixes paint to repair religious figurines.
Restauraciones Carrión: In this tiny shop in Quito, Ecuador, Gonzalo Gallardo mixes paint to repair religious figurines.
Metropolitan Touring
<strong>The workshop: </strong>There are baby Jesus dolls, Virgin Mary statuettes, cherubs and saints made of ceramic, wood, resin, plaster, fiberglass and papier mache.
The workshop: There are baby Jesus dolls, Virgin Mary statuettes, cherubs and saints made of ceramic, wood, resin, plaster, fiberglass and papier mache.
Metropolitan Touring
<strong>Trauma repair: </strong>Some of the figurines are chipped and discolored, while others are burnt and sooty. Most look as if they barely escaped a natural disaster.
Trauma repair: Some of the figurines are chipped and discolored, while others are burnt and sooty. Most look as if they barely escaped a natural disaster.
Abby Ellin
<strong>Family trade:</strong> Gallardo and his wife, Rocío Carrión, work in the shop, doing a trade that has been in Carrión's family for more than 80 years.
Family trade: Gallardo and his wife, Rocío Carrión, work in the shop, doing a trade that has been in Carrión's family for more than 80 years.
Abby Ellin
<strong>For-sale items:</strong> Gallardo and his wife repair well-worn figurines, and they also sell some items, like this Virgin Mary, too.
For-sale items: Gallardo and his wife repair well-worn figurines, and they also sell some items, like this Virgin Mary, too.
Colby Blount
<strong>Transferable skills:</strong> Gallardo doesn't just paint inanimate objects; he also uses the pigments to treat people's scars, sunburns or bruises.
Transferable skills: Gallardo doesn't just paint inanimate objects; he also uses the pigments to treat people's scars, sunburns or bruises.
Colby Blount
<strong>Secret sauce:</strong> Gallardo won't reveal what's in the healing concoction, and he's quick to say he's in the business of restoring, which, in this corner of Quito, has wide-ranging meaning.
Secret sauce: Gallardo won't reveal what's in the healing concoction, and he's quick to say he's in the business of restoring, which, in this corner of Quito, has wide-ranging meaning.
Colby Blount