Archivo Latino

Born in the town of Balnearia, next to the Mar de Chiquita lagoon, photographer Nino Gangretto has returned time and again to that biodiversity sanctuary to build the largest graphic document on migratory birds. The area called Ansenuza National Park contains the largest salt lagoon in South America and 66% of Argentina's migratory birds. 150 species of birds live there, including colorful flamingos. The wetland of almost one million hectares in the province of Cordoba is a stopover for migratory birds that go from one hemisphere to the other, and is also home to mammals, amphibians, reptiles and fish. Capybaras, red weasel, brown corzuela, collared peccary, Jaguarundi cat and Pampas gray fox are some of the hundreds of inhabitants of the wetland, where species at risk of extinction also take refuge, such as the land turtle, the river wolf and the maned guazú.

Javier Milei, an outsider who emerged from nowhere and surprisingly swept the national elections, took office as the new president of Argentina. The photographer Enrique Garcia Medina was there and gives us his testimony

Newlywed couples and their families cross the bridges of La Paz. This urban tradition, reinforced year after year, repeats every second Saturday of even months to attract good fortune and to strengthen family bonds. From China to Italy, brides and grooms slowly glide across the bridges, symbolizing the transition to a new phase. In La Paz iat the Bridge of the Americas, with offerings to Pachamama (mother earth) and the bustling city in the background, they navigate the thread of concrete leaving behind a life as singles to become a family. A story by photographer Christian Lombardi

In a long waited runoff, two presidential candidates, Sergio Massa and Javier Milei, face each other in a final of tremendous expectations in Argentina. By Enrique Garcia Medina and Bernardino Avila from Buenos Aires

Extraordinario trabajo del domentalista Jorge Vinueza sobre el Dia de los Muertos en Ecuador Cada 2 de Noviembre, la población indígena de Otavalo e Imbabura, visita los cementerios para practicar un antiguo ritual, llevar comida y bebida a sus muertos. La tradición no es sólo llevar alimento, también llevan música y oraciones que, a través del personaje del ángel, elevan oraciones con lo cual abre la puerta entre el mundo de los muertos y los vivos para que estos puedan salir a disfrutar de las ofrendas que sus familiares traen cada 2 de noviembre.

En una oscura racha de soledad y angustia Cristian Lombardi entró al Dojo del Artes Marciales Mixtas en La Paz, Bolivia, buscando un refugio, un lugar donde pensar cómo seguir adelante con su vida. “Cuando entras a un Dojo, tienes que pasar la puerta a otra dimensión, como una pequeña muerte donde dejas afuera todo lo que cargas....y a la salida tu veras si lo cargas de nuevo o no” De esa experiencia al límite surgió este ensayo fotográfico que muestra la intimidad de un difícil deporte . “Aquí encontré valores. Me puse a entrenar y olvidé deprimirme”. Nacido en Francia, Cristian tuvo una niñez complicada y ya mayor se alistó en la Fuerza Aerea y fue destinado al Atolón del Pacifico Sur. Dio vueltas por el mundo y finalmente, ya no recuerda buscando qué, llegó a La Paz. Se quedó en esa ciudad que define “como un hongo de los Andes abandonado a su suerte”. Gracias a que su presencia en el gimnasio se volvió cotidiana “mis compañeros se concentran en lo suyo y me olvidan de mi cámara, eso es todo lo que les pido. Yo me encargo de evitar patadas y puñetes” Su enorme talento fotográfico no lo ayuda cuando se calza los guantes. Confiesa que recibe alguna que otra paliza, pero no le importa. Siempre vuelve a entrenar y cuando pisa el tatame se hace un juramento : cortesia, integridad, autocontrol, perseverancia y espíritu indomable

A destination for those seeking excursions into the heart of the world's driest desert, San Pedro offers stunning landscapes and unique experiences. By Lorenzo Moscia

Forty years ago, on September 11, 1973, a military coup led by General Augusto Pinochet toppled the democratic socialist government of Chile. President Salvador Allende was killed during the attack to seize La Moneda presidential palace. In the aftermath of the coup, a quarter of a million people were detained for their political beliefs, 3000 were killed or disappeared and many thousands were tortured. Some years later in 1981, while Pinochet ruled Chile with iron fist, a young photographer called Juan Carlos Caceres started to freelance in the streets of Santiago and the poblaciones or poor outskirts, showing the growing resistance against the dictatorship. For the next 10 years Caceres photographed every single protest and social movement fighting for the restoration of democracy. He knew that his camera was his only weapon, he knew that his fate was to register the daily violence and leave his images for the History. In this days Caceres is working to rescue and organize his collection of images in the project Imagenes de la Resistencia http://www.imagenesdelaresistencia.cl . With support of some Chilean official institutions, thousands of negatives are digitalized and organized to set up the more complete visual heritage of this violent period of Chile´s history. In a time when technology was not very friendly and communications were kind of basic, Juan Carlos Caceres and other photojournalist were always at the right place in the right moment defying the threats of the police. Their work is now a visual heritage that documents and remind us the fight of Chilean people for democracy.

Some printed works by our agency across the Globe

Many people consider La Pampa province like one of the most boring and irrelevant places of Argentina.To the west of Buenos Aires, is basically a huge desert. But local photographer Jimmy Rodriguez has another vision: for him this desert is a beautiful corner of the planet , full of details and natural signs, that he captures and bring us through this stunning collection of pictures. Jimmy shows us the beauty of this land as well the sadness of abandonment: the remains of old buildings torn down, trains not running anymore , sand making progress in a desertification process and the rare beauty of the calden, the characteristic tree of the area.

Man's persecution and important environmental changes have led condors , the bird also known as King of the Andes, to near extinction. Some foundations based in Argentina are fighting the extinction breeding condors in captivity to later release them in the mountains of Patagonia. So far scientists and collaborators were able to raise and release 83 condors in South America. Photographer Martin Acosta followed this process for 2 years and here presents an unique document .

Homeless families occupied a vacant land of Guatemala´s State near Matamoros army headquarters in the capital city. Few months later, last August 15th, they were evicted by force without any trace of a solution for their problem. The fact, which is not uncommon in this inequitative Central American country, shows once more the social tensions lying under the large mass of poor and unemoployed.

Just 25 years ago it was a small group of houses around La Paz airport, at an altitude of 12,000 feet. Now El Alto city has nearly one million people, surpassing even the capital of Bolivia, and it is the city of Latin America that grew faster . It is also a paradigmatic city of the troubles and traumas of the country. There got refugee thousands of miners that lost their jobs in 90 ´s after the privatization and closure of many mines. The peasants expelled by the lack of land or low prices for their production. Also many who did not want to live in regions where coca growers and the Army faced with violence. In short, anyone who did not have anything at all and was looking for a place to survive ended up in El Alto. Today is an amazing city. Not only for its size. Also by showing how its inhabitants,the poorest of the poor in one of the poorest countries in Latin America, managed to get into society, to get some economic development, to replace their firs cardboard houses with new ones made with bricks , to trace its streets, to raise their clubs, churches and schools for their children. Better or worse, some have managed to become a sort of middle class, a section of the society that sociologists call emerging sectors. Many, maybe most of them, remain for statistics as poor. But clearly all of them feel they got for their children a better life than the one they had to face themselves .

Jose Luis Gonzalez bring us this sad collection of images showing the high death toll that Covid 19 virus is taking in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, in border with the USA

About half the lithium of the planet is located in Uyuni Salt Flats in Bolivia, a place known for its incredible fantastic landscape. Despite the potential richness of this mineral used for batteries of all kinds, the mining is just starting by a government agency. Photographer Daniel Krom visited the area, here his report

Honduras reefs has one of the more important populations of sharks in the World. Accompanied by a proper guide, tourists can dive and swim along this marine creatures, and even touch them.

Our photographer in Chile Roberto Candia just set up and exhibition of his last and very rare essay. What is curious about it? First, he invited his father, Sergio, do work with him. Then they decided to portrait one of the last places almost without contact with the rest of the world, an isolated island of Southern Chile calle Maillen. The name of Maillen Island comes from Huilliche Indian, meaning young lady, reminding a legend of a lady brought to the place by Dutch pirates who found a refugee in this remote place. The island is located in the Southern region of Chile , 45 minutes from Puerto Montt city by boat, the only link with the rest of the world. The island , unknown for most Chileans, has about 1,000 inhabitants who make a a living basically from agriculture, fisheries and some minor scale cattle breading. Dweller are mostly elder people. Youngs preffer to look for some better luck elsewhere. Maillen has no doctors, no police either. The only authority is man designed as Sea Mayor. Roberto made this astonishing essay with support of Chile arts institute, Fondart.

Long before the arrival of Spanish conquerors Muxes already existed. They are gay Zapotecos indigenous dressed as women and taking the female rol in their family and towards society These Indians of Oaxaca, southern Mexico, were not discriminated until the arrival of Catholicism in the XV Century, when priest tried to make them behave as heterosexuals. They never got it, today in the town of Juchitán Muxes have their own space in their community , where they are respected. Muxes are part of Juchiteca society. You may see them walking the streets, buying and selling in the markets, catching the eye of some passersbyes, sometimes with desire, others with disgust. Muxes can be very different among themselves. Some take hormones and go through surgery to deep their convertion. Others just dress as women every day, but some just for holidays. All share the acceptance of people, even if discrimimation still exists. It is not uncommon to see parents evicting from his home a teen who first announced his intention to become Muxe. Each year in November Muxes held a big party called La Vela. It is a dance, preceded by the crowning of the queen of the Muxes The more popular Vela is one called The Authentic Fearless Seekers of Danger,an organization created 30 years ago in Juchitán . In recent years Muxes have excelled in the fight against AIDS and all forms ofdiscrimination.

In the South end of Mexico, a town called Calakmul is suffering the worst drought of the last 20 years. The impact of global climate change is very high and rains are more and more scarce. Peasants spend most of their time collecting and transporting water cans, but all of it is contaminated. Recently Infinitum Humanitarian System, and NGO based in the USA, arrived to the village bringing a very innovative water purification system that works with solar energy and purifies all the water that the town needs to subsist.

One our finest photographers Jorge Vinueza bring us this astonishing bright landscapes from Southern Ecuador, in a remote area of Zamora province.

For gourmets all over the World lobster is a favorite, and for sure expensive dish. But for the fishermen from Miskitos keys, in the north of Nicaragua, this slippery fish creature is the only mean for a tight living . They get paid 3 US dollars for a pound, but to catch their fish they must dive 150 feet under the Ocean. Without instruction and security, fishermen accidents are common and infrastructure to help victims of accidents is quite poor.

For many people is a brutal spectacle, but for most in Puerto Rico cockfighting is a sports and, for sure, is part of their culture.

Every spring in the pampas or plains of Argentina, gauchos, the local version of a cowboy, eat about 20 million calf's testicles in the belief this food will help them to improve their manhood. Castration of calf´s is a standard practice in the cattle raising industry to make them gain weight more easily.

During the extremely warm summer, with temperatures well over 41 Celsius, many Rio de Janeiro dwellers find a way to avoid the crowds at the beaches: enjoy them at night. Space for everybody, even for playing sports, and no need of sunscreen or post solar gels. Photographer Ariel Subira bring us his view.

For second day, volunteers rescue workers try to find survivors digging into the debris left by a 7.1 earthquake that shaked Mexico capital city, leaving a still unknown death toll.

Full of life and color, San Telmo neighborhood narrow streets are a glimpse on how the old Buenos Aires looked like. Relatively untouched during a century or more, the district now receives legions of visitors looking for some of the best atractions of the capital of Argentina: tango, cafe, arts, pizza and more.

In the small town of Viacha, Bolivia, descendents from Army soldiers organized the war testimonies of the Chaco War they inherited from their families, organizing complete museums inside their home

In this collection gathered and curated by our photographer Cristian Lombardi, we show the work of a new generation of photographers and their new way to regard their country, Bolivia, one of the most impoverished States of South America. . In a country where photographers are extremely poorly paid, no one can image that this army of young guys and girls are always ready to risk their lives running behind they care most: a good picture telling a news.

In Colombia every September 24th is celebrated the day of Virgen de las Mercedes, the patroness of the inmates of all the prisons of the country. During these celebrations a beauty contest is held in Buen Pastor prison, where Inmates compete to be elected the most beautiful of this large penitentiary center in Bogota, the capital city of Colombia

The customs and beliefs of Andean people are a hybrid of catholic religion and old beliefs. One of its highest expressions is within the Bolivian mining culture that worships the Pacha Mama (Mother Earth), the Celestial Divinity personified in the Catholic God and "El Tio" of the mine (Satan). To the latter, who rules the underworld, they make offerings with sacrifices of llamas inside the mines to ask for protection in the depths of the mountain and abundant mineral.

In a country with a chronic shortage of resources it is surprising that anonymous artists are willing to spend paintings and brushes simply to paint walls. This occurs in Havana, whose cracked and damaged walls are decked out with paintings of all kinds. No one knows who makes them. No one ever sees them paint. It is assumed that it is not allowed to do so. But more and more paintings appear. Looks like political content is non existent. Cuba art street is every where, as show us photographer Desmond Boylan.

Photographer Daniel Krom accompanied scientists from Upstate New York Medical University to Machala, Ecuador, to investigate the behavior of diseases that like Zika virus are related to poverty.

Hurricane Matthew aftermath in Jeremie, a 30,000 people town destroyed by the phenomena. About 900 people resulted killed in Haiti by the Hurricane Matthew, thousands are homeless. The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere has never completely recovered from a devastating earthquake in 2010. The Haitian town of Jeremie with a population of 30,000 is completely destroyed, The United Nations said nearly 6 million Haitians have been affected by the storm with 350,000 people still needing immediate aid. Cholera outbreak is a major problem right now.

"Llevábamos dos días andando entre los toldos y no lo sabíamos". Esta frase escrita en el diario de viaje del Padre Donatti, integrante de la comitiva de Lucio V Mansilla que acompañó al general Julio Roca en su Campaña del Desierto en marzo de 1870, fue un verdadero disparador para el fotógrafo pampeano Jimmy Rodriguez, ducho en las interminables soledades de esas tierras del oeste y centro patagonico. Jimmy decidió localizar y visitar cada lugar donde se asentaban las grandes tolderías de ranqueles, araucanos y pampas. Logró fotografiar 3 lugares cuando lo detuvo la pandemia de COVID, pero se propone completar la serie muy pronto. Las imágenes que hoy exponemos en Archivolatino muestran Chilihue, la capital, por definirla de alguna manera, del cacique Cafulcurá, apodado el Emperador de las Pampas. Llegado de Chile en 1830, el lonco Cafulcurá estaba dotado de una gran habilidad política que le sirvió para mantener una alianza primero con Juan Manuel de Rosas y luego con Justo Jose de Urquiza, imponiéndose además a las otras etnias que habitaban la Patagonia. “Lo que me impactó -dice Jimmy - es que lo que yo vi en ese lugar y muestro en mis fotos, es lo mismo que veía Cafulcura y es lo mismo que vieron los soldados que llegaron en la Campaña del Desierto, porque las ciudades eran invisibles. No existía el concepto occidental de ciudad con una plaza, sede de gobierno, calles. Ellos vivian en toldos quizás a miles de metrosuno del otro, mimetizados con la naturaleza. Sin embargo, desde esa ciudad que no se veía, Cafulcura comandaba una maquinaria militar y política de 6 mil lanceros y controlaba territorios extensos como varios países europeos juntos. La llamó Chilihué o Pequeño Chile. El desierto inalterable, una vegetación rala, trazos de lo que fue un camino y un cauce de agua que hizo posible la vida es todo lo que se ve , y todo lo que siempre se vió, de esta ciudad invisible.

Crowdy , filled with stalls and alll kind of shops, Tijuana got a fame as a smuggling base in the extreme North of Mexico dessert, next to California. Our photographer Lorenzo Moscia visited the place and brought this report of a city edged by a large fence separating Mexico from the United States .

While they wait to sign a peace treaty with the government of Juan Manuel Santos in Colombia, leftist FARC guerrilllas gathered in Yari Plains, Meta department. Our photographer Salym Fayad was there and made this report.

Almost a God for the Argentines who saw in his soul the feeling of their country. Controversial, contradictory, changing , Diego Armando Maradona, who became a soccer star from his childhood, is the Argentine who most represents the whole country. One year after his sudden and early death, everyone continues to remember him and pay tribute From Buenos Aires by Enrique Garcia Medina and Valeria Ruiz

The first destination of brides and grooms as soon they get married in La Paz, Bolivia, is one of the three bridges that cross the city Crossing the bridge is a relatively new urban tradition meaning to pass from life as a single single person to a married one. All the three bridges are kind of narrow, always packed with buses and cars, so the celebration including champagne opening must be fast. In this indigenous culture country marriage is considered an economical alliance between families, as in the old Spanish way.Christian Lombardi found this feature and made a great job

New faces are seen around in the Old Cuba. Raves, discos, young people dressed and haired fashionably, tablets and cell phones, free stores with imported goods...al this combined with the cracking buildings and cars from the 50s is what photographer Juliana Spinola saw in her recent trip to the Island

Colombian photographer Gilmar Villamil bring us this reportage on Muzo emerald miners in Boyaca department. Digging in the mud in the outskirts of an emeral mine, hundreds of people face a life of sacrifice and privations looking for those "two minutes of good luck" that will save them forever. Many of them never get more than little money and dye in the attempt. Just a few manage to earn a better life.

The Argentino Hotel in Piriapolis, a resort dedicated to thalassotherapy in Uruguay, is one of the highlights of the legacy of Francisco Piria, an Italian immigrant that started as a young dreamer with no cent in his pockets and become one of the richest man of this South American country. Born in 1848, Piria began a small auction shop in Montevideo market, but soon lost almost everything due a fire destroying the place. Restarted with a clothes shop in downtown, He did well and jumped to buy lands, develop a district, and sell the parcels. It´s believed that he created a hundred neighborhoods of what is the modern Montevideo. In 1890 he bought a large piece of land in the East of the shore, 96 kilometers from Montevideo, and created an entire city, later known as Piriapolis where he built the Argentino Hotel. Devoted to alchemy and masonry, Piria left signs of his belives in all his buildings, including huge and historical ones like the now seat of Justice Supreme Court of Uruguay. Piria tried to made a version of Piriapolis in the opposite shore of the Rio de la Plata, in the Argentine city of Ensenada. Local bureaucracy created so many barriers that , even if he bought the land and built a castle, was forced to abandon the project. Never feeling defeated, Piria inaugurated the magnificient Argentino Hot el in 1930, few years before dying at the age of 98. His success as businessman never translated as good luck in politics. He tried several Uruguay political parties , he founded his own party Democratic Union. In his only presidential candidacy in 1919 Piria got just 600 votes. Our photographer Gato Herdener visited this amazing hotel and brought us this views

Since year 1920 Villa Epecuén was a peaceful and prosperous tourist village specially known for those seeking therapeutic salty waters . Located 500 kilometers from the capital city of Argentina, in 1985 a rare weather phenomena flooded the area destroying the dam and the wall protecting the town. People was quickly evacuated as the salty water covered the entire town. For 25 Epecuén disappeared . Recently the water over the town dried and the spectral, impressing ruins of Epecuen are visible.

In this striking report by photographer Lorenzo Moscia and his wife, Colette Rodriguez, we feel straight looking into the eyes of the everage Cubans , anonimous and common people roaming the streets of Havana. Colette, who was visiting her homeland after 7 years in Europe, says "Havana has drawn contradictions, increasing confrontations between modern tourist facilities and civilian homes in very poor condition. The picture is really shocking. Between the smell of grave and widespread devastation I notice the resemblance to the images we see daily on the news of war in the Middle East. Pictures of Syria, Libya, Palestine are not stranger to me anymore. My dear Havana is a victim of the war a conflict maybe invisible, not easy to see or understand . A conflict that organizations like Amnesty International and the UN seems not to notice.".

Born in Genoa, Italy in the year 1450, Cristopher Columbus was one of the boldest travelers of all times. He convinced the Catholic Monarchs of Spain to finance his expedition to get Asia saling towards the West discovering in 1492, just by chance, an entire new continent. Colon only got to Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina, in the form of a massive 650 tons 26 meters tall statue made by artist Arnoldo Zocchi donated by the Italian community to celebrate the centennial of the country independence in 1910. Placed behind the government palace, also know as Pink House, Colombus watched the shore of Rio de la Plata for more than a century. In June 2013 was waked up. Bitterly. Argentina president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner ordered to take him away to inaugurate in his place another statue of Juana Azurduy donated by Bolivian community. Maybe the President liked to be sympathetic at the eyes the small Indians communities of Argentina. Or maybe she just wanted to be in the headlines. But she stayed firm in his plan to send the statue to Mar del Plata, a beach resort 400 kilometers away. The news aroused loud critics in the country, from the political opposition to Italian community in Argentina. Lawyers appeared. Lawsuits erupted. The scandal peaked when Buenos Aires City Hall, under the command of the opposition, ruled that the statue belongs to the city and could not be removed from its boundaries. Patient, cut in pieces, laying in the grounds behind the government palace, the sailor Cristopher Columbus waited for his new destination. An agreement between the President and the city authorities was reached early this year. But so far, no one knows when Christopher will be put togheter again, where and who will pay the bill of the restoration of the deteriorated statue and its new emplacement.

Photo Essay on the life of the people Lafkenche, a part of the Mapuche indian nation from Southern Chile. Lafkenche mean "people from the sea", they live from Bio-Bio river towards the southern coast of the country, making a living as fishermen. Their traditions are strong and new groups of them are organizing to preserve their identity

One of the more beautiful cities of Latin America, Valparaiso suffered the worse fire on its history. Thousands of houses burned, several people killed and lots without a home or any belongings are the face of the historical harbor in this sad days. Fernando Rodriguez reports from the spot.

There is a drug called paco that has become a violent and disturbing social problem in Argentina. Paco enters low income social sectors thanks to its low unit cost, but the user will soon discover the trap, because the need of the drug turns immense every day, maybe dozens, even a hundred of doses a day. From there to steal, to violence, to crime, there is just a short drive. A group of mothers who had to witness as their children ends up destroyed by this drug created Mothers of Paco, an organization that with little resources try to help women, especially mothers and wives, who suffer the problem at home.

The parade of sexy outfits and clothes organized by prostitues NGO Daspu (for Brazilian Das Putas), an organization created and run by prostitues of Rio de Janeiro, March 19, 2014. Daspu, aimed to deffend the rights and safety of the prostitues, created their own brand of clothes and make promotions and advertesing in many ways, as this annual parade. This year the parade was in the memory of sociologist and prostitute Gabriela Leyte, dead in 2013.

Gaston Acurio is opening in this days Casa Moreira hisrestaurante in an old farm of San Isidro, Lima. Acurio made Peruvian cuisine world wide known through his chain of restaurants Astrid and Gaston. Now Gaston combines an ancient and beautiful place with the carefully presentation of his dishes made with the best Peruvian vegetables and fishes. The specialized site www.theworlds50best.com named Acurio´s restaurant as the best of Latin America and the 14th of the World.

Our photographer in Mexico Felix Marquez went to Michoacanto witness the endless violence involving gangs of criminals, people armed and organized to defend their comunities, corrupted police officers and the army. Mexican government seems alarming unable to handle with growing violence.

For the first time in its history, in January 2014 the Dakar Rally will be cross part of Bolivia, one of the wildest South American nations. "The organizers of the Dakar, attracted by the discovery of new spaces, were conquered by Bolivian landscapes that can be classified among the most striking of the continent," says the official site of the international race. The most impressive is the section that runs through the Salar of Uyuni, considered the world's largest salt flat and a place of surreal beauty, almost otherworldly. The competition is scheduled for in January 2014. Our photographer and friend Patricio Crooker show us the unique beauty of the places the rally will hit.

Again the news were filled with The Beast. The infamous cargo train ridden by Central American migrants heading to the U.S. derailed in a remote region of southern Mexico killing at least 11 people. The news brings back attention over the hundreds of migrants that ride the roof or hide under the dechs of the cargo train known as "The Beast".The face braving brutal conditions for a chance at crossing into the U.S. Our photographer Felix Marquez was in the spot of the accident and later visited shelters for inmigrants showing us the hard life of this people.

United Nations declared 2013 as Year of Quinoa to call international atention over a miracle but unknown cereal called   Chenopodium quinoa , grown in the Andes of South America. Largest world producer of organic quinoa, Bolivia has the best quinoa growing in a region flanked by two salt flats, Uyuni and Coipasa., because the salty soil of this region imporves the quality of the grain. Our photographer in Bolivia Patricio Crooker made this complete report on what is also known as a hope to fight hunger in the world.

For general surprise, cardinal Jorge Bergoglio from Argentina was elected Pope of the Roman Catholic Church.It was the first time for a bishop from outside Europe to become the highest authority of 1.5 billion of catholics all over the world.

Army paratrooper Hugo Chavez lived for 58 years, being the last 14 President and supreme leader of Venezuela. We selected 82 pictures showing different moments of his long stay in power, marked by a turn to socialism, verbal attacks to the USA and his friendship with some obscure leaders like Lybia´s Muamar el Gadafi and Iranian Mahmud Ahmadineyad.

In Rapa Nui, also called Easter Island, the king of the original people is back after a hundred years RirorokoTuki Valentino, the new monarch, is an old man who has made his living as a farmer and fisherman and traveled the world as a ship´s stowaways . He lives in a modest house in a rural area of the island near their 8 children and 24grandchildren. He was proclaimed King by the Assembly of Rapa Nui in July, and his reign has aunique purpose: to finish with the Treaty of Wills from 1888, by which Chile took possession of Easter Island. The demand for Valentino and people ask seeks for Independence and also a billionare suit against Chilean state for a century of apartheid and discrimination.

As part of their world wide famous carnival this year Brazilians decided to organize a parade very particular: the ones wearing costumes should be pets. In this way, Carioca, as residents of Rio are known, show their love for both, the Carnival and their dogs,

.Already in 1663 the Spanish chronicler Marquez Jerez de los Caballeros described the colorful miners carnival in Potosi. Four centuries later, the tradition of the legendary Cerro Rico miners is still alive. Another story by our photographer in Bolivia Patricio Crooker.

Dwellers of Ayutla de los Libres, Guerrero state, organized themselves to stop a violent crime wave that sparked with the narco war in Mexico. Hundreds of volunteers hooded , armed with shotguns and machetes, patroll the streets and fields to protect the population, and prevent the entry of police and army officers since, they say, both institutions are corrupted by drug lords money. Similar self defense groups already operate and grow in the states of Michoacan, Oaxaca and Chiapas. A clear evidence of government and institutional effectiveness keeping people safe. Even more, they are making they own trial accussing suspected of being involved with criminal gangas, Our photographer in Mexico City Monica Gonzalez visited Guerrero and brought us this astonishing report.

After a hard childhood and youth marked by parental abandonment, French born Cristian Lombardi, former gravedigger and soldier in the South Pacific, got to a country he did not know at all, Bolivia, where he started a career as press photographer. He married a Bolivian girl, had two children, covered with his camera the ups and downs of a handful of governments that, in many cases, were expelled from office well before the end of their terms. But at one point Cristian felt that his press work became meaningless. "Was this what I wanted? To feed the global propaganda machine?" he asked himself. . Not at all. Faithfull to his style honest and sharp, Cristian decided a radical change in his life style. It was not easy. Economic problems worsened while divorcing from his wife. He lived a long time at friends. Tried many jobs and saw life from other angles. Finally the worse part was over . He got a girl friend and ventured with her into designing hats. Cristian managed to rent a small and Spartan house in a suburb of La Paz . Maybe to proof that photography is in his own essence , during days of loneliness and depression , he made a photo essay about that house. A house like thousands. Anonymous and lost in a hillside around La Paz city. We show here a part of that brilliant and talented work he called Casbah.

Gisela Vola, a talented photographer of our partner in Argentina Sub cooperative, visited the shrine that people built at the side of route 12 to remember tropical pop singer Gilda, who died in that spot in a bus crash in 1996 at the age of 35. Born as Miriam Bianchi , Gilda had to drop her studies to help to support her family after the sudden death of her father. She wouldn´t be a professional musician until the age of 29, but soon become a success selling tens of thousands of copies of her 6 albums in just 6 years. The tragic crash that finished her life, along with her mother and one of her children, sparked true worship in Argentina. People mourned her during weeks, sang her songs, built shrines and soon after Gilda was mentioned as a saint, or at least a person with healing powers. Today, 16 years after his death, Gilda is a growing myth. Her stylish chaplet and with dress are worn by lots of young ladies while her music still sound in the radio almost everyday.

The rich and beautiful lands of Argentina pampa´s seen during a low altitude flight by Diego Giudice near Rojas, Buenos Aires province

In 1990 Venezuelan banker David Brillembourg began to build a forty storey, glass-clad skyscraper in Caracas, crowned by an heliport, aimed to transform a part of downtown Caracas into a Wall Street-style financial district. Brillembourg , also known as "King David", spent in "David's Tower" project a part of the fortune he got in the stock markets in the 8o´s. David died in 1993. One year later, his financial emporium Confinanzas, managed by one of his sons, went bankrupt, in a black year for Venezuelan banks. Immediately the work progress at David´s Tower interrupted, and never resumed. The project sunk in a legal swamp, managed by a state institution that tried a couple of unsuccessfull auctions. In 2007 people with housing problems invaded the towers and created a cooperative to keep some order and services inside, called Caciques de Venezuela. Now about 2.500 squatters live in David´s Tower, probably the largest invaded building of Latin America. Massive, impressive, seen from everywhere, David´s Tower is a symbol of projects never ended, promises never completed, decay. In this large breath work photographers and artists Angela Bonadies and Jose Olavarria show a stunning documentary work at the hearth of David's Tower in Caracas.

While Europe suffers an extreme cold winter and an even more extreme cold moment in its economy, Argentina enjoys a hot and sunny summer that reflects the country's astonishing economic growth. Around 1.5 million people visited Mar del Plata, the country main beach resort, just in January, the first month of summer.The city never had such a crowded season, thousands of people sharing every square meter of sand at the beach. After an acelerated GDP crowth of 9.1 percent during 2011 the country faces some clouds and troubles for 2012 but, so far, not big enough to worry most of the people. Diego Giudice went to Mar del Plata and brought us this report.

Renzo Gostoli cubre como todos los años desde Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, el evento de moda mas importante de la ciudad

Uruguay, one of the more tiny countries of Latin America, is a beautiful land full of surprises. Matilde Campodonico, our photographer based in Montevideo, captures the air of the old times, always alive in Uruguay, mixed with a touch of modernity brought by a recent economic boom.

Not long time ago, Veracruz use to be a touristic destination, full of joy and people day and night. But when narco violence came, nothing was left. Hundreds of people killed in the streets for wathever reason scared most visitors. Police and even the army seems of little help. The press is under menace. A nightmare becoming a little worse every day. Our photographers Gustavo Graf and Felix Marquez bring us this complete report on how the city is living and dying .

A simbol of Chilean copper production, the town of Chuqicamata in the North was abandoned in 2004 due the contamination aroun it. All the dweller were moved to Calama city. Chuqui, as everybody calls the place, remains silent and empty. People is allowed to visit it once a week. Even if they have a pretty better life in Calama, many of them still miss the old little town were they have born and grew up.

Papelito or small piece of paper is probably the poorest circus of Argentina, a form of art near to dissapear. With their ragged tent and vehicles in terrible state, they tour the smallest towns of the country, delighting kids and grown ups with a high quality show.

Lorenzo Moscia worked a story on San antonio harbour fishermen, where after decades of over fishing now the original people of the place, traditional small fishermen can barely survive with the small catch they get. Entire fishermen towns in Chile´s V Region are endangered

In the coast of Northern Peru Piura is a land of fishermen with ancient indian traditions coming from centuries.

Police and drug trafficl gang members clashed for several days in the slums of Rio de Janeiro. Shootings was so intense that police had to ask for reinforcements from the teh army and navy. Photographer Renzo Gostoli was there.

Paraguay is along with Haiti, the country with more babies born dead . The country also leads the statistics of young mothers.On the other side, ilegal abortion is the main cause of death of women under 19 years old.

Every spring gauchos or cowboys must mark, vaccinate and castrate all the animals born during the winter in the imense plains of Argentina, where the best cows for beef are risen.

Argentina tradition says that whenever people express their last farewell to a leader, it is a rainy day.That was true once more Friday, October 29, when thousands of people gathered in Plaza de Mayo shocked by the sudden death of former President Nestor Kirchner, who died at the age of 60 after a hearth attack. A silent and sad President Cristina Fernandez lead the funeral of her husband, the creator of a complex political project in the power since 2003.

Algo parecido al orgullo de un padre ante la proeza de su hijo, un poco así nos sentimos frente a la larga, impactante y exitosa cobertura de Lorenzo Moscia en el norte de Chile durante el rescate de los mineros. Entre cientos y cientos de fotógrafos profesionales del mundo entero que se agolpaban en el Campamento Esperanza, Lorenzo se fue destacando gracias a su fuerte personalidad fotográfica. El trabaja siempre a su manera, sin grandes equipos ni estructuras, poniéndo siempre el ojo en la parte humana de las cosas. Lorenzo percibió de entrada que esta sería la gran historia del mundo, y se fue casi desde el principio a lo que luego se llamó Campamento Esperanza. Allí se quedó los 70 dias que duró el rescate. Publicó sus fotos en el mundo todo, y esperamos en las próximas semanas y meses nos vayan llegando mas reportes con muestras de su trabajo. Por ahora ofrecemos estas pocas que han llegado a nuestras manos.

After 70 days of anxiety and expectation, all the 33 miners trapped in a tunnel since August 5th were rescued alive in an astonishing operation set by Chilean government.

Photographer Aaron Sosa visited Sinamica Laggon, South from Maracaibo , Venezuela. This laggon with stilt houses inhabited by 3,000 dwellers gave the name to Venezuela, since Sanish conquerors relationed this landscape with Venice, Italy. A majority of residents are indigenous Añu who live in stilt houses on stilts above the tropical lagoon. In a country where everything seems to roll around the figure of President Hugo Chavez, Aaron brings us this fresh and renewing vision of a beautiful country.

The story of the 33 miners trapped inside a mine after the collapse of a tunnel in August 5th is an astonishing story. After days of desperate attempts to reach them, the rescue team got to contact them. They are alive, surviving with very little food, and proving an impresive organization to survive in such extreme conditions. Now the rescuers got to send a tiny camera through a small hole in the rocks and get an unique document: the faces of the survivors.

Relatives and friends of 33 miners trapped inside San Jose mine in Northern Chile camp near rescue teams digging desperately to find survivors after a collapse August 5th. Miners are believed to be alive in some shelter inside the mine, 700 meters undeground.Keeping themselves togheter, relatives pray and make candle vigil every night since the tragedy began.

Near Santiago de Chile a touristic circuit is becoming popular showing how some of the best wines of Latin America are made.

Founded in 1889 La Pastora is one of the oldest districts of Caracas, the capital city of Venezuela. Narrow streets, large an tall colonial houses, wooden doors and windows in contrast with the glass and iron of the building in modern Eastern Caracas. Photographer Aaron Sosa grew up in this neighborhood protected by family and friends. He left his home place at the age of 19 and returned years later trying to recover his childhood. The result is this intimate, even melancholic black and white essay. "Many international photographers just enter Caraca's poor neighborhoods to show violence, crime and misery", says Aaron. "I understand, in photojournalism this is what sells. But reality is more complex, there are more good people, humble, hard workers living in that places tan evils. Most people just want to live in peace, have a job, rise their kids, give them love. I felt compelled to get back to my place and show this other face of the district, I think we photojournalists should show both sides of the coin, not just the wrong one."

Cuna de algunos de los mas brillantes escritores de la lengua hispana, no es de extrañar que en la Argentina miles de jóvenes sueñen con publicar algún dia su gran obra literaria. Talleres, conferencias, ferias del libro suelen convertirse en eventos masivos colmados por lectores y por un grupo anhelante, los aspirantes a escritor. Sin embargo la vida de un escritor puede ser muy dura. Solo uno pocos, un puñado, logra fama y prestigio para vivir de su obra. La mayoría costea la publicación de sus libros trabajando en oficios que poco y nada tienen que ver con las letras. Los que se empeñan en escribir y solamente escribir suelen tener una existencia azarosa, privada de todo bienestar material. Nuestro fotografo Jimmy Rodriguez realizo un ensayo sobre el prolífico escritor Juanjo Sena, nacido en la provincia de La Pampa, Argentina en 1944. Sena gano prestigio al publicar su novela "La última noche del Imperio" y luego una enorme sucesión de cuentos que se reeditaran este año en 3 tomos. Sin embargo Sena vive casi en la indigencia en su vieja casa de General Pico. Escribe dia y noche entre paredes derruidas y muebles destartalados. Un caso aun mas penoso nos ofrece el ensayo de Jeremias Gonzalez sobre el escritor Eduardo Perrone. Autor de "Preso común" y otras obras que le valieron reconocimiento en los años 70, Perrone murió en 2009 solo y abandonado en un vagon de ferrocarril que era su hogar en la ciudad de Tucuman.

For years this small indigenous town in North West Argentina was mentioned just for Hector Tizon novel, Fire in Casabindo. But the colorfull feast of Ascencion de la Virgen is now atracting thousands of visitors who dare to climb Jujuy highlands some 4,000 meters above sea level. Indians play their music and dance, parade in the streets and at the end brave men face brave bulls in the town square.

"For months I was looking for access to the religion of The Paleros , it is said they remove dead people in cementeries to make them blood offerings", tells Venezuelan photographer Howard Yanez. "In that failed effort I noticed small but prosperours illegal shops selling sacrificial animals. Later somebody told me about the Court of the holy thugs in the cementery, where people offer them cigars, chunks of marijuana and cheap alcohol. Hig Schoold students make a promess. If they aprove their examinations, they will leave their clothes and books at the cementery. There was thousands of uniforms at the place." This experience lead Howard to make a photo story on probably the more unkown side of Venezuelan society: its trend to popular religions far away from catholic churches, religions where voodoo followers mix with devotes of Maria Lionza Queen and words such as santeria, umbanda, candomble are pronounced often. "I went to Sorte Moutain (Moutain of Luck) and visited the worship tent of Queen Maria Lionza", says Howard. "I hunged around until I got lucky myself and was allowed to see and take pictures of a healing ceremony in the moutains, where a priestess healed a young girl with a physocological pregnancy. The ceremony was long and tiring. The girl was placed in the ground sourrounded by candles, something they called the gate of healing. After hours of praying the exausted priestess whispered evil is gone. Indeed, the belly of the girl looked now normal size". Howard called his essay The Borders of Faith in Venezuela because "This are religions or beliefs from which no one speaks clearly but everydoby knows they exist. Everybody pretends they are irrelevant, some of them even could laugh about this beliefs but nobody would dare to remove those pieces of voodoo ceremony you can find at any cementery, or to close down the illegal shops selling animals for sacrifice."

McCain coorporation makes in Argentina a wide variety of products, ranging from french fries ready to cook to vegetables and mobile restaurants. The secret of their world wide success, they say, is the quality of the potatoes they grow, because they have the exact combination to make them good for fry, not bake or boil. In farms near general Belgrano, south from Buenos Aires, McCain contractors pick the super potatoe for them.

During 12 days photographer Lorenzo Moscia accompanied a 9-people horse expedition through the Andes mountain range in Chillan, southern Chile. The expedition was aimed to find new unkown places suitable for adventure tourism.

El problema de los inmigrantes ilegales que cruzan desde Mexico a Estados Unidos no tiene fin. Gente desesperada por alcanzar una vida mejor cruzando la frontera desafia cualquier control. Alonso Castillo retrato algunos aspectos de esta realidad en Los Nogales, al norte de Mexico, frente al estado de Arizona.

Inmigrants from Central America in Chiapas, Southern Mexico, before boarding a train in their attempt to reach the US border. They are the poorest persons among the inmigrants, they got to Mexico walking from Honduras, Guatemala or Nicaragua. Once in Mexico they can rest in shelters run by catholic priests before facing the dangerous train travel. In this step, they are often abused by police and gangs that steal the men and rape the women.

Mucho se ha escrito sobre la frontera entre Mexico y Estados Unidos. Perforada constantemente por inmigrantes que buscan una vida mejor en la potencia economica del Norte, es un lugar lleno de historias macabras, de traficantes de seres humanos, de coyotes que asesinan a los migrantes luego de sacarles dinero, de familias que mueren al perderse en el desierto. Alonso Castillo, fotografo del norte de Mexico, nos brinda esta coleccion de imagenes que muestran algunos aspectos de la frontera mas dificil.

Venezuelan boxer edwin Valero, famed for an impressive record of 27 straight knockouts and a huge tattoo of Chavez on his chest, hanged himself in a jail. He was arrested 2 days before for stabbing his wife to death.Valero, the father of two children, had a troubled start to 2010, detained in March for mistreating his wife and then receiving treatment for alcohol problems. His wife was taken to hospital earlier this year with fractured ribs and a damaged lung. She initially accused Valero of causing the injuries, but later changed her story to say she had fallen down some stairs. Valero, who had an extreme poor childhood, finally killed his wife in a hotel room of valencia city, in Venezuela. Before becoming world welterweight champion Valero had an extreme poor childhood. he confessed his abuse of alcohol and drugs and was sent by the government to a rehabilitation center in Cuba.

Una fuerte lluvia que ya lleva varios dias azota Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Los muertos ya casi llegan a las dos centenas.El fenómeno esta asociado a las mayores precipitaciones producto de la Corriente del Niño, pero sus consecuencias se agravan por el viejo problema de las favelas o barrios precarios construidos sobre las inestables laderas de las montañas que rodean la ciudad. Douglas Engle de nuestro socio en Brasil Austral Fotos nos brinda estas imagenes.

Photographer Gil Montano of our Venezuelan partner agency Caribe Focus show us this nice photo package on Easter celebration in a poor slum of Caracas. Crist and Catholic faith alive in this oil rich country.

They drift along the beach walking over pieces of what use to be their homes. They look for pieces of their past, maybe a picture, maybe a furniture. They survived the devastating tsunami following last February 27th earthquake in Southern Chile.The giant wave destroyed in second in the middle of the night 400 kilometers of seaside villages and towns. Our photographer in Chile Lorenzo Moscia gathered for us this stories of survivors.

Hosptial Jose T Borda for the mental ill has been always critized. Some specialist callit a "lunatic´s dump". Several government expressed their willing to move the institution and relocate their interns. But finally they realize they don't know what to do with all this people, most of them sick, poor, with no family. This essay by Nicolas Pousthomis of our partners Sub Cooperative is a first glance to a complex reality

In Buenos Aires city you may find a love or sex hotel in every street. This are the "nest of love" for couples. There is a wide diversity on this motels architecture, and a wide diversity in prices as well, but all of them offer a starting price for 2 hours use.Photographer Nicolas Phoustomis, from our partner SUB Cooperative, bring us this wonderful approach to one of the most hidden places of the city.

Archivolatino photographer Douglas Engle is in Haiti showing us the aftermath of one of the largest humanitarian disasters ever. Port Au Prince, the capital city, is distroyed . People lost his house, has no food and survive thanks to humanitarian help sent by other countries. Here douglas photos.

Nicolas van Hemelryck from our partner agency Archivocriollo brings us this new collection of pictures showing some of the marvels of Ecuador nature, one of the more beautifull countries of Latin America.

Skull day in La Paz city cemetery, Bolivia. Believing that skulls are part of their home and bring good luck for business and love, people every November 8th look for their ancestor´s skull to take them to mass and to spend a day in the open. This year the Catholic priest of the cemetery, following Catholic Church disdain to this cult, decided not to open the little chapel of the place. But the pressure of the faithful ones was unbearable and he was forced to open and celebrate sunday mass. Participantes de la festividad de las ñatitas o calaveras se congregan en el cementerio general de La Paz, Bolivia. Para sus devotos, ellas son guardianes del hogar y de gran ayuda en negocios y premoniciones. Cada 8 de noviembre , pese a la resistencia de la iglesia católica en acogerlas durante las misas del día, miles de paceñosllevan sus calaveras a misa y luego de "día de campo" en el cementerio. Este año el cura de la iglesia del cementerio general de La Paz quizo cerrar la iglesia para impedir el acceso de los craneos, pero ante la presion de los fieles debio abrir y oficiar misa.

Before a kid gets three years old, they parents can notice a brain development disorder called autism. This kids don´t communicate with other people, just live in a world of their own, in silence, in loneliness. Photographer Nicolas Stulberg worked several months to obtain this photographic document showing the efforts of an institution based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to help to educate this kids.

Author of several books about his country, Ecuador, talented photographer Jorge Vinueza have worked for Archivolatino from the very beginning. Now Jorge shows us the pictures he is making for his next book about popular and colorful celebrations in Ecuador, a mix of religion and mystic beliefs.

South of Chile means the very South of Latin America. It is a beautiful land full of attractions: volcanoes, mountains, water falls, lakes and traditions like rodeo by horsemen. Archivolatino presents a selection of two young photographers living and portraying this fascinating corner of the World.

"I have read somewhere that to carry out a dream, first you must be able to dream, and then you need persistence and faith in your own dream." This was in the mind of Argentinean Ivan Pisarenko in the morning of May 20th 2005 when he got off a commercial flight in Seattle, United States, with his Honda Transalp 650 motorcycle packed in an aluminum box. He was then 29 years old, and his dream was quite ambitious: to travel America continent from end to end with his motobike, meaning, from Alaska toTierra del Fuego in the far South of Argentina.

From they very early childhood, Rio de Janeiro slum dwellers share a dream: to become professional soccer players to escape poverty and discrimination. With that goal in mind, they play all the day long in any place they can : a street, a small piece of ground in the middle of the slum, or the beach. Few will get to become famous and rich as soccer legends Pele or Romario, but sports help the kids to stay along from drugs and alcohol.

Easter is widely celebrated along Latin America, but Quito, the capital city of Ecuador, offers the best spectacle ever with Cucuruchos parade trough the old streets of downtown.

Su nombre es Avelino y vive en la calle Maynas del centro de Lima. Hace unos años, comenzó a vestirse de Superman para promocionar un centro comercial. Y dice que el personaje le gusto tanto que terminó adoptándolo para siempre. Aunque el centro comercial no lo contrate, Avelino se pone sus ropas de Hombre de Acero y recorre el centro de la ciudad ayudando ancianos a cruzar la calle o vigilando la salida de los niños de las escuelas. La policia ya lo conoce y acepta de muy buen grado su ayuda. El Superman peruano tiene 40 años y siempre quiso ser torero. No pudo, y terminó de estibador y tambien vigilante por las noches. Sus salarios han sido siempre miserables, pero al menos han alcanzado para vivir compartiendo una vieja casona con su madre y cuatro de sus ocho hermanos. Cuando esta en casa, se cambia la capa roja por vestimentas de Clark Kent. Poco antes de las elecciones, cuenta, algunos partidos políticos quisieron aprovechar su popularidad y le ofrecieron ser candidato al Congreso. Pero hasta ahora Avelino siempre ha dicho no porque, asegura, prefiere seguir siendo un justiciero solitario.

By the late 1920s, the automobile tycoon Henry Ford decided to break the back of rubbery monopoly. His hundreds of thousands of new cars needed millions of tires, which were very expensive to produce when buying raw materials from the rubber lords established in the Amazon jungle . To that end, he established Fordlândia, a tiny piece of America which was transplanted into the Amazon rain forest for a single purpose: to create the largest rubber plantation on the planet. Though enormously ambitious, the project was ultimately a fantastic failure. Ford purchased a 25,000 square kilometer tract of land along the Amazon river. Scores of Ford employees were relocated to the site, and over the first few months an American-as-apple-pie community sprung up from what was once a jungle wilderness. But Henry Ford had been sold a lame portion of land, and Fordlândia was an unadulterated failure.

A visitor in Argentina will not miss to spend a day in a real estancia, huge farms in the plains or pampas around Buenos Aires. A hundred years ago, during the golden age of the pampas, top European architects built astonishing houses and even castles to host their wealthy owners. Now such estancias also receive tourists, some have been refurbished as a Spa, other offer delicious regional meals and gaucho or cowboy parades.

Cristian Lombardi was a truck driver, a soldier and gravedigger until he became a professional photographer. He got to Bolivia 10 years ago from France, his homeland, and here he stayed seduced by "a chaotic and irrational atmosphere." He just finished a striking work on Bolivian catch. This sport-show peaked in times of Victor Peace Estensoro, the Bolivian president who nationalized mines and oil in 1952. Disguised as primitive men, skeletons or mummies the first "titans of the ring" roamed the mines blowing each other over makeshift stages. In those times the mines were full of workers with some money to spend in shows. Thousands cheered weekly Jimmy London , the glory of Bolivian catch who spread victorious blows across Latin America But things has changed. Privatizations came with massive unemployment and widespread poverty. Modernization also brought audiovisual entertainments such as television and videogames. The catch got into decay but, even against the ropes, so far eludes the knock out. It is no longer the gorgeous show it use to be. Anyhow, every Sunday in a dusty gym of El Alto city Ana the Avenger, Juana the Pacena, the Aztec thunder, the Red Baron and Insanity fight with brave courage. The conflicts of the Bolivian society are over the ring as well: "the skirts" (cholas of aymara roots) punish the "dress ones" for people's delight. Indians are ovationated when hiting "whites". And the rich ones...there are not rich people in El Alto, the poorest city of Bolivia

Images by Albatros Media Foundation by Balaguer and Alex Schmidheiny An unique environment preserved despite the growth of tourism. Albatros Media Foundation organized a photo exhibition with this images to spread conscience on the need to preserve this spectacular islands while tourism grows year by year.

Photographer Lorenzo Moscia went to Rapa Nui, also know as Eastern Island, and got fascinated by this tiny piece of Chilean land lost in the Ocean between Oceania and Latin America. After five days making the standard life of a tourist, Lorenzo made friendship with locals, left his hotel, and camped all around the islands shooting the daily life of Eastern Islanders

Rafael Trejo is a boxing gym in the oldest district of Havana, probably the city of the World with more box champions. Boys begin their training very young, many of them have no shoes or even enough food, but they keep going to the gym every day. Maybe some will be champions. The rest, at least, will be a little more away from the dangers of the street. Among them is Antonio Beitia, the old Munanga, a former sparring of the legend Jose Legra. He lives in the gym, blind and prematurely aged, only feed thanks to the mother of the boxer kids.