Marco

Amid the sounds of the city near the end of the cable car line at Powell and Market, I could barely make out the slightly amplified guitar chords and a raspy voice.  I looked around and spotted him.  A street entrepreneur for sure;  perched on a milk crate, with a small amplifier, and old acoustic guitar, a plastic spoon as a pick, strumming and singing, right where the line forms to board the cable car.  A new mini-audience, up front and personal every 7-10 minutes.  I watched from afar, not wanting to break his momentum nor interrupt his mini-concert audience.  I waited until the next cable car came and he took a short break to let the line queue up again.

I walked over and struck up a conversation, complimenting him on his raspy, bluesy sound.  It is truly a small world.  Marco originally hails from San Francisco but spent 15 years in Chicago, my home town, and last lived around 76th and Halsted on the south side, within blocks of where my father-in-law had a dry cleaning and tailoring store for over 40 years.  He's been in San Francisco for over 8 years since his divorce, mostly living on disability, social security and money he picks up playing music on the streets around town.  Marco, who is 54 years old, used to be a fab maintenance operator, working in computer wafer/chip manufacturing until the hydrofluoric (?) acid he worked with took a toll on his bones.  From his time in Chicago, he recounted the times he played at Buddy Guy's Legends on Wabash.  To play there, you are the real deal.

I told Marco about my photo project and he gladly allowed me to take his picture.  He is really an animated character.  I hung around, shooting, listening and watching him chat up his mini-audiences.  I contributed to his cause, spurring some of those waiting in the cable car line to do the same.  We bantered back and forth about Chicago, about our respective ages, about why I'm in SF, about where he plays in town and about the respective strength of our grips when we shook hands.  Laughing, joking, smiling; we connected.

I hope to bump into Marco again; for his music and his personality.  Check out another shot of Marco here.

Check out my other $2 Portraits here.

Taken 4/26/11
Posted 5/6/11 - Week 18