5<sup>th</sup> Annual Latin American Foto Festival | The Bronx Daily

The Bronx Documentary Center (BDC) will hold its 5^th Annual Latin American Foto Festival (LAFF) from July 14-31, 2022, featuring large-scale photographs by both emerging and established, award-winning photographers displayed throughout the South Bronx’s Melrose neighborhood.

The Festival includes works from Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, Mexico, El Salvador and more–photographs representing long-term projects on family, memory, culture, and other social issues. As part of the festival, the BDC will hold in-person workshops, tours, panel discussions, and other community events.

The Latin American Foto Festival is curated by Michael Kamber and Cynthia Rivera.

Mexican photographer Yael Martínez and filmmaker Sergio Ortiz Borbolla have spent time along the migration route between Honduras, Mexico, and the United States to meet with people who are taking extreme risks to achieve their dream of a better life in a safe place.

Volcano Land by Hector Guerrero is not only a portrait of Mexico’s volcanoes or of the dangers they pose but also captures the poverty and violence that threaten some local populations more than lava or ash.

Danzantes de la Historia is a visual investigation by José Cabezas of the tradition of the Los Historiantes dance in El Salvador.

Chilean photographer Tamara Merino’s project Isolated Soul evokes a deep emotional state of nostalgia and profound melancholy, known in Portuguese as “saudade”, a word originally used by African people forced into slavery, the very same who today shape the Afro-Brazilian community.

Nuevayorkinos, founded by Djali Brown-Cepeda, is a digital archive documenting and preserving New York City Latin and Caribbean culture and history through family photographs and stories.
Alejandro Olivares lived with and photographed the life of young people on the outskirts of Santiago, Chile, showing the suffering through the early stages of their contact with violence, drugs, loneliness, and social exclusion.

Skin Deep is an interactive photographic experience by Paola Paredes featuring fifteen stories that represent diverse sexualities and gender identities of the queer community in Ecuador.

In her series Dreams and Glory, Sofìa Torres Prida documents baseball as a main pillar of Dominican culture, but also pays homage to these icons for their sports performances and for their contributions off the field.

Casitas is a long-term photography project by Annie Y. Saldaña that documents those Puerto Ricans who live in wooden homes in the mountainous areas of the island.

Alimentar El Fuego De La Memoria is a collective project led by Jorge Panchoaga that aims to share narrative and visual skills with students and Afro communities in different parts of Latin America, seeking to more closely align the relationship between memory, oral tradition, and imagination.

The 5^th Annual BDC Latin American Foto Festival is made possible by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and by City Council member Rafael Salamanca; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul; the NY State Legislature; the National Endowment for the Arts; and Con Edison.

Featuring

Download the festival map here.

Latin American Foto Festival Events

Latin American Foto Festival Opening Receptiongl Opening Reception, Thursday, Jul 14, 2022, 06:00 – 09:00 p.m.
Block Party, Saturday, Jul 16, 2022, 11:00 a.m. – 06:00 p.m.
- The BDC annual block party returns at 151^st Street and Courtlandt Avenue. The event will include free portraits, exhibition tours in both English and Spanish, family-friendly activities and games, face painting, arts and crafts, sports, and more!
Book Launch: Oscar B. Castillo “Esos Que Sabenn”, Saturday, July 23, 2022, 07:00 p.m.
- Author and photographer Oscar B. Castillo will discuss his new photobook Esos Que Saben which explores prison, change, dreams, the Free Convict collective, and their journey from incarceration to freedom in Venezuela.
Conversacion en Espanol: Paola Martinez Fiterre y Jan Rattia, Thursday, July 28, 2022, 07:00 p.m.
- Acompaña a los artistas Paola Martinez Fiterre y Jan Rattia en una discusión al rededor de sus carreras artísticas y el uso de la cámara como una herramienta de exploración de la identidad, pertenencia y representación.
Book Launch: Johis Alarcón “Cimarrona”, Friday, Jul 29, 2022, 06:00 p.m.
- Author, and photographer, Johis Alarcón will discuss her new photobook Cimarrona, in which she explores the African spiritual tradition alive in Ecuador, by portraying the women who safeguard their ancestral practices.
Screening – Sara Escobar “Causar Alta”, Saturday, Jul 30, 2022, 06:00 p.m.
- Join the BDC for a screening of Sara Escobar’s award-winning documentary Causar Alta held in partnership with Foto Féminas. The film follows seven inhabitants of San Juan Guichicovi, Oaxaca as they explain their decision to enlist in the Mexican army, as it represents the only viable way to survive for a lot of people in one of the poorest areas of Mexico.