Sérgio Ramos

I trained as a tile restorer before I started guiding, so São Bento station is where I feel most useful on camera. I hold the shot on individual tile panels long enough for the detail to register, since a sweeping shot loses everything that makes them worth seeing. I explain which panels depict which historical events, since the twenty thousand tiles are not simply decorative but tell a fairly specific story. I keep my pace slow throughout, since good tile work rewards patience rather than speed. I answer technical questions about the tiles themselves as happily as questions about the history they show.