Latin American, Portuguese and Spanish Photographers Explore Global Migration

Ever since the earth's plates shifted to form the continents, man has been moving.

When you think about it, much of the population of the United States of America is a product of immigration. Whether it be the Pilgrims who came on the Mayflower, Africans brought over as slaves, the Irish and Italians who came through Ellis Island - there are countless stories...

As local economies and governments change (for better or worse), people still find themselves on the move. A new traveling exhibit brings together a collection of photos and videos entitled "Laberinto de Miradas", or Labyrinth of Glances, to be shown in more than 20 countries over the next three years.

Excerpt from the AFP article, Mexico: traveling photo show explores global migration:

According to the IOM (International Organization of Migration) website, there are now about 192 million people living outside their place of birth, or one in every 35 persons in the world.

In one telling photo, a Japanese family carries on native customs in their home in Argentina, while a world away shy, indigenous Mexican children mix traditional and street fashion to try to fit into the sprawling capital.

"What interests me is to document this visual discourse," said Mexican photographer Federico Gama who caputured some of these youngsters with a telephoto lens.

"It's like when someone puts on a mask and immediately changes their character, like an actor," he said.

The exhibition, organized by the Spanish Agency of International Cooperation for Development and the Catalunya America House, has been arranged in three parts -- the first to travel through Central America, with detours to Miami and Cuba.

The second and third parts will set off respectively southwards from the Peruvian capital Lima and northwards from Sao Paulo later this year, finishing up in the Spanish city of Barcelona in 2010.


Also check out the International Organization for Migration's Photo Stories page featuring documentary photography of the world's immigration and refugee crises. Especially haunting are the black and white images of "Children at Work" by photographer Fernando Moleres.

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