2021 Feature Story

Despite strict measures to control the coronavirus, this South American nation of 32 million people has become one of the countries worst hit by the COVID-19 disease. With more than 104,000 cases and 3,000 deaths, Peru was 12th in the world in numbers of confirmed diagnoses Wednesday, more than reported by China and just behind India.

The true scope of the disaster is even worse. With more than half of cases going uncounted, according to some doctors’ estimates, Peruvian officials call the coronavirus pandemic the most devastating to hit the country since 1492, when Europeans began bringing diseases like smallpox and measles to the Americas.

Peruvians are dying at home by the hundreds. In the capital, Lima, the grueling, dangerous work of recovering bodies from homes falls to Faneite, Zerpa and fellow workers from the Piedrangel funeral home, who, clad in full-body orange suits, face masks and goggles to protect themselves, collect as many as 10 bodies a day.

Piedrangel funeral worker Alexander Carballo, of Venezuela, enters a home to remove the body of a person who is suspected to have died from the new coronavirus, in Lima, Peru, Thursday, May 14, 2020. When other funeral homes refused to pick up the body of the first person who died of COVID-19 in Peru, Edgard Gonzales, who owns Piedrangel with his three brothers, saw an opportunity.

A bed sheet moistened with sodium hypochlorite covers the body of a person suspected to have died from the new coronavirus, in Lima, Peru, Wednesday, May 13, 2020.

In this photo from May 5, 2020, Luis Zerpa, 21, prepares to collect the corpse of Faustino Lopez, 68, who committed suicide inside his home in Lima, Peru. Faustino Lopez's son, Jorge Lopez, told The Associated Press that his father committed suicide "because of stress" and that Faustino was afraid of having COVID-19 because he was coughing and had a headache. Hours after his father committed suicide, health workers took blood samples from one of the fingers on his left hand and confirmed that Faustino had COVID-19.

In this May 9, 2020 photo, Palmira Cortez, 65, mourns while looking at funeral home works carrying the corpse of her husband Walter YarlequÈ, 79, who died allegedly from COVID-19, un Lima, Peru.

In this May 8, 2020 photo, Piedrangel funeral home workers Luis Zerpa, Luis Brito, center, and Jhoan Faneite, right, from Venezuela, carry the corpse to the hearse of Marcos Espinoza, 51, who died due to Coronavirus in Pachacamac, outskirts from Lima, Peru. Marcos, single and childless, was a humble electrician, who had changed his trade less than a decade ago after working 25 years as a private security guard. Oscar Espinoza, 50, and Marcos' only brother, said that hours before he died Marcos lamented that the plague had reached him. "Why did this plague get me, if I didn't hurt anyone," heard Oscar, who slept in the next room.

Teodoro Mejia, left, watches workers from the Piedrangel funeral home remove the body of his wife, Berta Cusi Palomino, from their home in Lima, Peru, May 14, 2020. Palomino was believed to have died from COVID-19.

In this May 19, 2020 photo, the corpse of Pedro Quispe, 74, who is suspected to have died from the new coronavirus, rests on his bed next to his cat minutes before Piedrangel funeral home workers pick up his corpse to take it to the crematorium, in Lima, Peru.

Piedrangel funeral home workers, Venezuelan Luis Zerpa and Peruvian Angelo Aza, pass the time playing games on their smartphones as they wait for the body of a person who died from the new coronavirus, while parked outside the Villa El Salvador Emergency Hospital in Lima, Peru, Saturday, May 9, 2020. The men are part of the Piedrangel funeral team who have been commissioned by the government to remove and cremate the bodies of deceased persons with suspected or confirmed COVID-19.

In this May 15, 2020 photo, Piedrangel funeral home workers prepares to pick up the corpse of an alleged victim of the Coronavirus, inside his house in Lima, Peru.

In this May 15, 2020 photo, workers enter the corpse of an allegedly victim of Coronavirus inside a truck container used as an improvised morgue inside Hipolito Unanue public hospital in Lima, Peru.

Theo Schrager, 6, relaxes in his hammock that he "loves" outside the tent he is living in with his mom Leah Naomi Gonzales (not pictured) in Berkeley, California, on Monday, Aug. 19, 2019. They have been living in a tent at Strawberry Creek Park for months after being unable to secure money for a hotel.

All 7-year-old Theo wants is his own room and a kitchen to bake a chocolate cake.He dreams about it while he sleeps in tents, in parks and under the freeway in Berkeley, California. Theo and his mother Leah have been homeless for much of his life. During the pandemic, Theo's life was devoid of structure. No school meant hours on the computer and erratic outbursts. After a year of ping-ponging between hotels and the streets, they ended up in a tent on the same block they started out on - outside a Tesla dealership. Theo's struggle, even amidst the affluent community of Berkeley, showsÊthe intractability of CaliforniaÕs homeless crisis.

Nearly asleep, homeless child Theo Schrager, 6, rides on his mom Leah Naomi Gonzales' shoulders on University Avenue in Berkeley, California, on Monday, Aug. 19, 2019. With no money, Leah went door to door to beg for food for her son. A Mexican restaurant gave them tortilla chips and cheese that they ate as they walked back to their tent in the park.

Theo Schrager, 7 watches videos on his mother Leah Naomi Gonzales' (right) phone while she begs for money on University Avenue in Berkeley, California, on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019. Sometimes she is able to get a decent amount of money but other days, like today, she only makes about $15 over several hours.

Theo Schrager, 6, grabs a bundle of balloons at Dollar Tree and yells out "Mom, can I have them?" the day before his 7th birthday in Berkeley, California, on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2019. They walked around Berkeley all afternoon, showered at the YMCA and took shelter in their tent at Strawberry Creek Park. The following morning a neighboring resident brought Theo a card for his birthday.

Theo Schrager, 7, has his face and hair toweled off by his mother Leah Naomi Gonzales (right) on Halloween night in Berkeley, California, on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2019. Halloween is a tricky time for Theo and his mother because Halloween of 2018 was the last time Theo saw his father.

Unsure of how many days they have left at the hotel, Leah Naomi Gonzales calls the front desk as her son Theo Schrager, 7, watches television in their hotel room at the Downtown Berkeley Inn Hotel in Berkeley, California, on Monday November, 11, 2019.

After scrambling up a tree, Theo Schrager, 7, takes a moment to rest at Strawberry Creek Park where he is staying in a tent with his mother Leah Naomi Gonzales (not pictured) in Berkeley, California, on Sunday, November, 17, 2019.

Theo Schrager, 7, and his mother Leah Naomi Gonzales carry all of their belongings as they move from sleeping outside in a tent to a hotel in Berkeley, California, on Sunday, November, 17, 2019.

Theo Schrager, 7, (left) takes gauze off of his mother Leah Naomi Gonzales' arm as she rests in the hospital with severe stomach and back pains on Christmas Eve, Tuesday, December 24, 2019, in Berkeley, California, U.S.A. While at the hospital Theo looked at his mother and asked, "Are you going to die?" She said, "Horribly. Just kidding. Come here. Am I gonna die? Mommy has been pretty sick but no honey I'm not gonna die I don't think. It's not a dying day."

Homeless mother Leah Naomi Gonzales (right) restrains her son Theo Schrager, 7, after she scolded him for stealing balloons from a window display on Wednesday, May 20, 2020, in Berkeley, California. ÒStupid!Ó Theo yelled as he attacked his mom in the street, ÒStop it right now, youÕve got to quit it!Ó she said as she tried to restrain him. During the coronavirus pandemic, TheoÕs life has lacked structure. No school has meant many hours on the computer and increased irritability.

Theo Schrager, 7, holds on to his mom Leah Naomi Gonzales' hand as he cries out "Puppies, I want puppies." as they visit friends tent under the Gilman Street underpass in Berkeley, California, on Friday, June 12, 2020. They spent the afternoon looking for their friend Elf who has two new puppies. Theo loves dogs and desperately wants one. "Mama, I want one and I want one now." Theo declared. She answered, "Theo, I have way too much to take care of. There's just no way we can have a dog in our situation."

Leah Naomi Gonzales holds her son Theo Schrager, 7, in her arms as she sings ÒYou are my SunshineÓ by Johnny Cash as she tried to get him to sleep in a tent under the freeway in Berkeley, California on Monday, July 13, 2020. Naomi and her son Theo were kicked out of the hotel they had been staying at and had no where to go Naomi said, ÒI donÕt have anywhere to take him. This is a nightmare.Ó

This series chronicles some of Peru’s largest cemeteries during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Cemetery workers carry the coffin of a person who died of COVID-19, during the burial in cemetery “Martires 19 de Julio”, in Comas, outskirts from Lima, Peru, Wednesday, July 8, 2020. Peruvian authorities and the Pan American Health Organization are investigating whether the country failed to classify just over 27,000 deaths as caused by the novel coronavirus, a figure that could more than double the country’s official death toll from the disease.

Relatives pour beer into the tomb of Victor Gaspar, who died of COVID-19 complications, during his burial at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Thursday, May 28, 2020.

Cemetery workers shovel dirt into the grave of 85-year-old Lupicino Fernandez who died of the new coronavirus, at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Wednesday, May 27, 2020.

Cemetery workers carry the remains of Flavio Juarez, 50, who died of COVID-19, up the hill at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Tuesday, May 26, 2020.

Harpist and cemetery worker Charlie Juarez plays music as Gregoria Zumaeta, left, mourns the death of her brothers Jorge Zumaeta, 50, and Miguel Zumaeta, 54, who died of COVID-19, at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Tuesday, May 26, 2020.

Dayra Montalbo, 12, center, cries next to her sister Valeria, 18, and brother Carlos, 16, during the burial of their father Carlos Montalbo, 45, who died of COVID-19 complications, at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Thursday, May 28, 2020. Carlos Montalbo Sr. died at his home after calls from his relatives to the Health Ministry went unanswered.

An exhausted cemetery worker lies on the ground after carrying the coffin of Victor Gaspar, who died of COVID-19 complications, up the hill at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery, on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Thursday, May 28, 2020.

A relative uses rocks to decorate the tomb of Adrian Tarazona Manrique, 72, who died of COVID-19 complications, at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Thursday, May 28, 2020.

Relatives of brothers Jorge Zumaeta, 50, and Miguel Zumaeta, 54, who died of COVID-19, drink beer and joke during their burial at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Tuesday, May 26, 2020.

Ruth Morales, 36, center, waits for the arrival of the coffin of her husband, Juan Paucar Quispe, 63, who died from COVID-19 complications, during his burial at a cemetery in Carabayllo, Lima, Peru, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020.

Serenity Capers stands for a portrait in her home on August 26, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. Capers, her boyfriend, and then-unborn son were shot and nearly killed in April 2003.

Serenity brushes her son Rashard Jr.Õs teeth before he goes to school on November 13, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. Rashard Jr., who goes by Pooh, was injured in utero and born with cerebral palsy. Doctors said that the fetus pushing her vital organs higher in her body likely saved her life.

Serenity carries Pooh down their front steps to the car on August 26, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. Pooh canÕt walk or talk and needs a wheelchair to get around.


Story description:

ÒSerenityÓ explores the ways gun violence insidiously weaves itself into a family and a community, and how traumatic incidents reverberate over generations.

In 2003, Serenity Capers was five months pregnant when she was shot in her stomach in front of her house. As a result of the shooting, Rashard Jr. was born with cerebral palsy.

Most of the more than 80,000 gun deaths and injuries in 2020 were in isolated incidents like SerenityÕs, which taken together form a catastrophic picture. Whether a shooting results in a death, an injury, or traumatized survivors and witnesses, each represents lives changed forever.

PoohÕs teachers, Johnny Lopez and Bri Meskin, help set up an iPad with special software to help Pooh communicate and learn one November 13, 2019 in Portland Oregon. PoohÕs limitations are mostly physical. He understands everything and has adaptive technology for more complex communication.

Pooh and Serenity laugh together in front of their house on November 13, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. Pooh is a boisterous, mischievous, and perpetually happy teenager who is currently obsessed with fashion, something Serenity says reminds her that inside heÕs still a normal child.

Serenity puts makeup on before meeting friends on September 20, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. It was one of the first times sheÕs gone out since she was shot and nearly killed in 2003.

Serenity gets her handgun ready before meeting friends on September 20, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. Gun violence has touched SerenityÕs life numerous times before and after 2003 but she says she feels less scared being out when she has her handgun.

Serenity talks to ex-boyfriend and close friend Deron Crain on September 20, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. Crain, who helped raise Pooh, was shot and killed in July 2020.

Serenity feeds Pooh a french fry on July 30, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. Although he canÕt talk, she has a motherÕs instinct for what he wants or is trying to say.

A nurse takes PoohÕs blood pressure at a doctorÕs appointment on August 12, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. The following week Pooh would have a surgery to cut muscles in his arm so that he could straighten it more and reduce pain.

Serenity looks on as a nurse re-fills a pump with muscle relaxer that helps ease PoohÕs pain on Febuary 11, 2020 in Portland, Oregon. PoohÕs muscles are constantly spasming and the muscle relaxer pump was surgically implanted to help reduce the spasms.

Serenity roller skates with Pooh on the 16th anniversary of the shooting that almost killed them both on April 7, 2020 in Portland, Oregon. It was two weeks into OregonÕs coronavirus lockdown but Serenity had bought new roller skates and was determined to celebrate.

In the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Americans, who have an outsized cultural attachment to their cars, began using their vehicles to find community while also adhering to social distancing guidelines. Across the country, this led to a revitalization of a classic American pastime: the drive-in movie theater. Cars occupy a unique quasi-public space: you are in your own bubble, but you are still in public and interacting with others. At the drive-ins, visitors said they were seeking the feeling of being alone together; sharing the same experience with others while being safely isolated in their own bubble.

Taylor Robinson (left) and Mason Feathers watch the first movie of the evening at the Family Drive-In Theatre in Stephens City, Virginia on Friday, August 21, 2020. With the COVID-19 pandemic making social distancing necessary throughout the summer, drive-ins saw new customers who viewed them as a safe way to get outside the house and have a shared experience with others while inside their own bubble. The Family Drive-In, a two-screen theater, opened in 1956.

Drive-in patrons watch the first movie of the evening in their cars at the Haar's Drive-In in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, on Friday, August 28, 2020. The drive-in was opened in 1953 and is still run by the same family. There are an estimated 330 permanent drive-ins still in operation in the United States, down from a high of about 4,000 in the late-1950s.

Jenny Jackson welcomes a car while running the box office at the The Spud Drive-In in Driggs, Idaho, on Friday, September 18, 2020. The drive-in has been in operation since 1953. With the post-World-War II automobile boom, drive-ins really took off in the United States in the 1950s and the decade was the golden era of the drive-in.

Brian R. Jackson decorates his car with balloons to celebrate his anniversary with Angela Evans-Evans at Shankweiler's Drive-In Theatre in Orefield, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, August 29, 2020. The couple came to the drive-in to have a safe, socially-distanced date night during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cars drive into Shankweiler's Drive-In Theatre in Orefield, Pennsylvania, USA, after a rainstorm that produced a rainbow on Saturday, August 29, 2020. The drive-in is the oldest operating drive-in in the country. Shankweiler's opened on April 15th, 1934 and was only the second one ever built.

Margot Deppe (left) and Shania Moyer wear costumes from "The Wizard of Oz," one of the movies being shown that night, at Becky's Drive-In Theatre in Walnutport, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, September 6, 2020. The theater, which opened in 1946, is currently run by Margot's grandmother, the founder's daughter.

Olivia Berrier puts her feet up in her car while waiting for the movie to start at the Haar's Drive-In in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, USA on Friday, August 28, 2020. The drive-in was opened in 1953 and is still run by the same family. Berrier grew up in the area and went to the drive-in as a child.

Angel Fernandez, Kayla Huertas and Noel Santiago (left to right) prepare to eat dinner from the concession stand with their dog Thumper at Becky's Drive-In Theatre in Walnutport, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, September 6, 2020. It was the 17th annual "Dusk Til Dawn Marathon" where 5 movies were shown, dusk until dawn and customers were allowed to stay all night long.

Customers walk up to the concession stand to pick up their food at the Family Drive-In Theatre in Stephens City, Virginia on Friday, August 21, 2020. The concession stand at the drive-in was turned into a walkup window due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Guests could pre-order food on their phone using the Fan Food app and would receive a text when it was ready for pickup.

Tony Lawson (top of car) watches the movie "Grease" with his dad Noah Mumford at the Ocean City Drive-In Movies event in the parking lot of the Roland E. Powell Convention Center in Ocean City, Maryland, on Tuesday, August 25, 2020. With the need to social-distance due the COVID-19 virus, the beach resort town created the free event to provide safe entertainment for visitors and families. The convention center was not being used for events due to the pandemic so they used the venue's large parking lot for the pop-up drive-in.

Chris Gearhart closes up the ticket booth for the night after the second movie has started for the evening at the Haar's Drive-In in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, USA on Friday, August 28, 2020. Growing up in the area, she used to come to the drive-in and the roller rink they used to have and now works there on the weekends.

The sign at the Startlite Drive-In Theatre in Mitchell, South Dakota is seen from inside the drive-in on Friday, September 11, 2020. The drive-in had been closed for several years and re-opened for the 2020 season due to COVID-19 and the need to social distance. The family that owns the drive-in took one of the digital projectors from their indoor theater and moved it to the drive-in where people could safely watch movies. The sign has been moved around over the years to their various movie businesses in town as movie watching habits have changed over the decades and they’ve had to close and open up different businesses. At one point it graced a VHS rental store in town and now it is back in its proper place at the drive-in. ⁠⠀