These Powerful Pictures Show What Life Is Like In Latin America Today

In recent years, Latin American countries have increasingly dominated US headlines, with immigration at the southern border now a flashpoint in American politics. Unfortunately, what is often lost in these headlines is the humanity of immigrants and their families, as well as the vibrant cultures they come from.

Helping to bridge this gap is the annual Latin American Foto Festival, on view at the Bronx Documentary Center in New York City. The festival, which takes place July 11–21, brings together 10 award-winning photographers from across the Caribbean and Latin America to share their stories and to help teach valuable skills in photography to the students of the the Bronx Documentary Center.

"When people look at these photos, they're confronted with the reality of what’s happening and the experiences of individuals," says festival curator and Bronx Documentary Center founder Michael Kamber. "It makes things very real and it makes things personal for them. These are not abstract figures. These are people’s lives."

This year in particular, immigration is at the forefront of visual storytelling. "We’ve got photographers from Venezuela, El Salvador, Mexico, and Colombia," Kamber says. "Places where conditions can be bad and where people are on the move. People are doing their best to find a better life."

These are some of the powerful images and stories on view now at the Bronx Documentary Center's Latin American Foto Festival.

To learn more about the Latin American Foto Festival, visit bronxdoc.org.