Vera is a woman who is selling cotton candy for over 40 years in the Viennese “Wurstelprater” (amusement park). I met Vera one day when I was photographing in the park, which is near to the office where I work and from the first moment on I was enchanted by her positive attitude and the way she smiled and laughed all the time.

Vera left Yugoslavia (now Serbia) in 1969 and came to Vienna when she was only 21 years old. Her husband was already working in the Viennese “Wurstelprater” (amusement park) and she started working there selling cotton candy. Only one year later they had their own snack stand where they sold cotton candy and small snacks. Vera works in this stand until today.

Vera never felt unwelcome or as a foreigner, slowly she learned the german language in her own way, by selling cotton candy and talk to the people in the “Wurstelprater”. Vera quickly got integrated in the big family of workers and artists and was often called “Mama Vera”.

In 1973 she gave birth to her daughter, but because Vera had to work all day to make a living, she had to bring the daughter back to her mother to Yugoslavia, where she lived and went to school until she was eight years old. 1978 her husband died and she managed her business in the “Wurstelprater” all by herself, of which she is proud until today. Three years later Vera’s daughter came back to Vienna with her.

The project is about her achievements and her love to the “Wurstelprater” and started as a three month project for a workshop. I still meet Vera today on my weekly strolls through the park for a small chat or a taste of her pink cotton candy.