Pictures of the Year: A Picture and its Story
Bolivia's President and current presidential candidate for the Movement for Socialism (MAS) party Evo Morales offers fruit to residents on a street in Shinahota in the Chapare region, Bolivia, October 19, 2019. Reuters Photographer Ueslei Marcelino: "I'd been covering Evo Morales' final days campaigning. The day before the Bolivian election we visited the small town where Morales was born politically. The president was due to arrive in Villa Tunarri in the late afternoon and spend the night before voting the next day. We were waiting for the presidential entourage by the side of the highway back. I noticed the cars slowing and I guessed the president would get out to greet people, so I ran over to photograph. Many people surrounded him to greet him next to a roadside fruit market. He bought a lot of fruit from the vendor and shared it. Morales offered oranges to his staff and our cameraman. The president was in a good mood. One person handed President Morales some pineapple. He looked at me and walked towards me as I photographed him. He held out his hand offering me a piece of pineapple. Smiling, he said that I also had to eat, drawing laughter from everyone. I said, 'Gracias Presidente' picking up the fruit. I was surprised, but I didn't stop shooting. I ate the fruit while the president continued talking to those who had gathered. A few minutes later he said goodbye and headed for the town. The challenge of covering a presidential campaign is photographing the candidates' moments of intimacy and this moment with Morales achieved that. He was comfortable in front of the camera and acted very naturally. Here in Brazil, the word pineapple is used in an expression about tricky problem-solving. People in difficult situations might say, 'All thatÕs left for me is to peel the pineapple'." REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino/File Photo SEARCH "POY STORIES 2019" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY