Houses and buildings are something that have always mesmerized me. They tell stories and express their traditions and customs, even if they resemble to be motionless for us at all times. Filled with magic, they hold something mysterious inside.

In recent years I have visited a considerable number of houses that have given me an unmatchable inner joy. I decided that I would carry on with this project and take a step further, having photographed a company – devoted to the reconstruction of old houses – located in my city: Oporto. In this case, the people responsible for it are focused on keeping the story of the buildings, preserving the original tiles or keeping the frescos that have been existing for a long time. One day, when the restorer arrived, he noticed that the ceiling was over a hundred years old. This should be the modus operandi of all companies that dedicate themselves to this field, working with the mission to preserve the heritage.

Going a few years back in time, Oporto, particularly its downtown, was stuck in a sort of abyss that no one seemed to care about: vacant houses and streets filled with shadows yet devoid of people. Nowadays the story is rather different, the dissemination of tourism and the lack of attention by those who run these projects are, little by little, selling our city or turning it into a funfair. Oporto is magical, but can it stay that way if we persist on this route?

These are the houses which fill themselves with colour, with people but that, gradually, are losing their oldest elements: their stories and traditions.