A coincidence. An encounter. Love at first sight. A unique context too: just meters from the Palais des Festivals in Cannes where Mipcom, the international market for audiovisual content, takes place—the honey of television bees, men in suits and ties, women in Chanel No. 5 and men in Azzaro. The major hotels nearby. In short, a land of contrast to be moved by a character, sleeping on the beach with cardboard as his only shelter.
A lover of freedom and living his dreams, Juan Carlos has been choosing his destiny for the past two years. Born in Lisbon 32 years ago, he is nothing but a homeless person. More precisely, a ‘No Fixed Beach’ person: “I worked on small contracts at construction sites in Spain and France. I lived well, I ate well, I stayed in beautiful apartments or hotel rooms but I was not happy. Why? Simply because I had to obey a boss. I felt exploited. And then, twelve hours a day building houses, I wasn’t enjoying life. I would go home, eat, sleep. My only leisure activity was drawing in the evening while watching television. I would sketch the houses I built.” Juan Carlos sums up an existence that only awaited a trigger to completely change.
This happened one evening in April 2003 on a beach in Majorca: “I saw a 10-year-old child sculpting in the sand. I was intrigued. I stayed for an hour watching him. Gradually, the sculpture took shape and a turtle appeared. At that moment, I thought: I want to do this. The next day, I went to the same place, took my mason tools and my sketches of animals that I had drawn. That evening I started what would become my passion.” For two months on the same beach, he learned to replicate his drawings. He also reflected and dreamed. An avid traveler, enjoying discovering new cities, at the end of his masonry contract, he decided to go back to Lisbon but stopped to sculpt on the beaches along the way. An ideal life, without a grain of sand out of place. Like a vacation. He stayed at hotels, setting up with his trowels by the water. “I quickly ended up sleeping on the beach. It’s very frustrating to see your unfinished sculptures destroyed at night. I started sleeping next to them to protect them as if they were my child,” he explains.
Spain and Portugal as starters for the first year of his new life as an artist. The Canary Islands as the main course and since January 2005, Juan Carlos has begun a Tour de France. First Corsica during the winter. The Atlantic Coast from La Baule to Hendaye via Royan, Arcachon, Saint-Jean de Luz during the spring and summer season. Stays of three or four days maximum. “The first day, I visit the city, buy newspapers to keep up with the news while looking for a nice spot on the beach where I could lay my cardboard and trowels. I sculpt for two days, then I move on.”
Since mid-August, he roams the French Riviera: Marseille, Saint-Tropez, Fréjus, Cannes… Like a holiday fling, by chance one catches his glance, feels a thrill for a moment, wishes to see him again but he moves on. He will leave Cannes before the weekend. Heading to the beaches of Hérault: Palavas-les-Flots or La Grande Motte. “These are the only French sand beaches I haven’t done. I’m going to take the train to Montpellier and walk from beach to beach all the way to Barcelona.” Juan Carlos already has his schedule planned until December.
Juan Carlos has chosen his life and does not regret it. He savors each moment, content with a simple happiness: “I love when a child comes to sit next to me trying to do what I do. I help him. He smiles. I also watch people on the beach. They enjoy their family, have fun, take the time to live. The same people on the street seem tense, sad.” Such is the life of Juan Carlos. A different philosophy from ours. With ten euros a day, he feeds himself and funds his travels. “Passersby give me money so I accept it. Initially, I dipped into my savings from masonry. Savings that I still have. I earned good salaries without spending anything. That money is sitting in a bank account in Portugal.” He will use it to fulfill his dream: to travel the world and tread the sands of the five continents. Juan Carlos has dreams aplenty. He asks for nothing except to remain free.
Vincent Trinquat
