Wednesday January 27, 2010, Port-Au-Prince, Haiti

Haitians living in camps two weeks after the earthquake

One month old twin baby girls Julie and Julianne lay in a water bucket while their mother washes clothes at the camp in the University. She has another girl and says she has no food to give to her family.

Newborn twin girls lie in a water bucket while their mother washes clothes

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Wednesday April 29, 2009, Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico

Mexican hospital struggles to cope with Swine Flu

On April 13, 2009, a 39-year-old woman became Mexico's first Swine Flu casualty, after arriving at Oaxaca General Hospital for treatment. It was this hospital in Oaxaca that was responsible for alerting Mexican authorities about the possibility of an epidemic in the making. Samples were subsequently sent to laboratories in the U.S. and Canada, where detection of the new virus occurred.

A nurse wearing surgical scrubs and mask carries a baby also wearing a mask, while his mother, who arrived with flu like symptoms, is being checked by doctors at Oaxaca General Hospital.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Thursday October 1, 2009, Mexico City, Mexico

Tepito Mexico's diamond in the rough

Tepito is the place guidebooks warn you not to go, the place you can buy anything from a spider monkey to a bag of cocaine to an AK47. Dating back to pre-Colombian days, it was established as a market town. Later called the Barrio Bravo, the "Fierce Neighborhood," a name originally earned because of its defiance to outside authority, but which today alludes to its lawlessness and violence. Muggings and street fights occur daily, and no one even thinks of calling the police. Famed for boxing and the homage of the skeleton-effigy of death, Santa Muerte the bustling market attracts all types. In spite of all the violence, Tepito is also full of religion, history, pride and creativity. People work, live, worship and celebrate in their fierce independent neighborhood.

People crawl through the streets, gray-faced with pain, to make offerings to skeleton-effigies of death Santa Muerte

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Tuesday January 26, 2010, Port-Au-Prince, Haiti

Haitian live amidst rubble

Hatians live amidst the rubble of what is left of Port-Au-Prince following January 12th, 2010's devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake.

A young girl with her family trying to cross the street in downtown Port-au-Prince, one of the worst hit areas in the city.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Sunday July 6, 2008, Huehuetenango, Morelos, Guatemala

Rigoberta Menchu Tum

Rigoberta Menchu Tum in Huehuetenago, Guatemala, on July 5th, 2008. In 1992, Rigoberta Menchu Tum was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her work for social justice and ethno-cultural reconciliation based on respect for the rights of indigenous peoples in her native Guatemala. At 33, she became the youngest person and the first indigenous person ever to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

At her mother-in-law's home.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Monday December 7, 2009, Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico

Mexican army seizes massive marijuana field

Mexican national army soldiers take part in a drug eradication operation in the Sierra Madre mountains north of Culiacan, the capital of the northwestern Mexican state of Sinaloa. A 2,500 square meter field of marijuana was discovered by the Mexican forces and burned.

Mexican national army soldiers burn the marijuana field

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Tuesday December 1, 2009, Mexico City, Mexico

Tepito Mexico's diamond in the rough

Tepito is the place guidebooks warn you not to go, the place you can buy anything from a spider monkey to a bag of cocaine to an AK47. Dating back to pre-Colombian days, it was established as a market town. Later called the Barrio Bravo, the "Fierce Neighborhood," a name originally earned because of its defiance to outside authority, but which today alludes to its lawlessness and violence. Muggings and street fights occur daily, and no one even thinks of calling the police. Famed for boxing and the homage of the skeleton-effigy of death, Santa Muerte the bustling market attracts all types. In spite of all the violence, Tepito is also full of religion, history, pride and creativity. People work, live, worship and celebrate in their fierce independent neighborhood.

A young boy in a white suit on his First Communion day

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Sunday August 2, 2009, New Delhi, India

India

India, August 2009 - Street scene in Old Delhi or Shahjahanabad, built over a period of 10 years by Emperor Shah Jahan, is a labyrinth of tiny lanes crowded with rickshaws, and lined with 17th-century havelis (Indian mansions), with broken balustrades and once-ornate facades defaced with rusted signs and sprouting satellite dishes. Old Delhi is inhabited by a predominantly Muslim population whose lives revolve around work and the local mosque, much as it was a century ago.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Tuesday April 28, 2009, Perote, Veracruz, Mexico

Mexican child first with swine flu

Edgar Hernandez Hernandez, a 5 yr old Mexican boy believed to be one of the first infected with the swine flu, at his home in La Gloria neighborhood, with his his brother Jonathan. He recovered well but two boys from his school died.

Edgar Hernandez Hernandez, swine flu victim

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Saturday April 25, 2009, Mexico City, DF, Mexico

Mexicans face influenza outbreak

An influenza outbreak in Mexico City closed all public and private schools and is making people wear face masks.

Elsa Cruz Torres waits with her family for her sister's baptism inside MExico City's cathedral, all wearing masks

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Tuesday April 14, 2009, Mexico City, Mexico

Record exec-turned global music sensation Camilo Lara

Camilo Lara, Mexican musician and founder of the Mexican Institute of Sound, at his home in Mexico City with a few records from his collection. He owns upwards of 75,000 CDs and vinyl LPs. Lara, who serves as chairman of the EMI Music record label in Mexico, is also founder of the band, "Mexican Institute of Sound." In that capacity, he's carved himself a niche in recent years for his quirky combination of traditional Mexican folk sounds with a variety of more mainstream sounds.

Camilo Lara seated amid piles of CDs and cassettes.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Tuesday December 16, 2008, Mexico City, DF, Mexico

Pujol Restaurant

Restaurant, Pujol, in Mexico City.

Chef Enrique Olvera at his restaurant, Pujol, in Mexico City.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Thursday October 1, 2009, Mexico City, Mexico

Tepito Mexico's diamond in the rough

Tepito is the place guidebooks warn you not to go, the place you can buy anything from a spider monkey to a bag of cocaine to an AK47. Dating back to pre-Colombian days, it was established as a market town. Later called the Barrio Bravo, the "Fierce Neighborhood," a name originally earned because of its defiance to outside authority, but which today alludes to its lawlessness and violence. Muggings and street fights occur daily, and no one even thinks of calling the police. Famed for boxing and the homage of the skeleton-effigy of death, Santa Muerte the bustling market attracts all types. In spite of all the violence, Tepito is also full of religion, history, pride and creativity. People work, live, worship and celebrate in their fierce independent neighborhood.

A man shows of his large back tattoo

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Thursday September 4, 2008, San Miguel De Allende, Mexico

California artist's Mexican residence is an ode to color

After purchasing a run-down stone house in San Miguel de Allende for $100,000 several years ago, California artist Anado McLauchlin and his partner, Richard Schultz began a long-term art project, using the home as their canvas. Since 2001, the couple have worked tirelessly at covering every inch of the home in an eclectic array of colors.

The dining room of McLauchlin's residence.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Wednesday June 25, 2008, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico

A day in the life of Cesar Velazquez Castro.

Cesar lives with his parents Isabel Castro Trejo, 47 , Pascual Velazquez Lugarda, 51, and his sister Daniela, 8.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Thursday May 22, 2008, Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico

Heavy toll on Mexican police fighting drug war

Heavily armed Federal Police patrol the streets of Culiacan, searching for members of a drug cartel believed to be behind the assassination of their acting chief, Edgar Millan, who was gunned down outside his apartment in Mexico City on May 8. President Felipe Calderon has revamped the Federal police force to take on organized crime, but so far violence continues to escalate in drug-plagued cities like this one.

Mexican Federal Police officer ride in the back of a truck during a patrol.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Thursday April 24, 2008, Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico

Farmers in rural Mexico work to revive once-barren land

In the Mixteca region of Oaxaca, Mexico, Jesus Leon Santos is leading an unprecedented land renewal and economic development program that employs ancient indigenous agricultural practices to transform this barren, highly eroded area into rich, arable land. Leon has pioneered the construction of contour ditches, retention walls and terraces to capture rainfall and prevent erosion on hillsides. His practices have led to yields increasing three and fourfold and his efforts were recently honored with the 2008 Goldman Prize for grassroots environmentalists.

Lucia Pedro Montesinos, 39, and son Luis Fernando, 9-months, with their goat on a rocky mountain that is slated for reforestation. Although Mr. León has helped bring this rocky land back to life, people in this impoverished Mixtec region must rely on raising sheep and goat to sell to provide them with cash to buy that which they cannot grow.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Sunday March 30, 2008, Guacara, Venezuela

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez takes to the airwaves with weekly broadcast

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez arrives in Guacara, where he will transmit live, his weekly Sunday television show, "Alo Presidente." On this day, Chavez inaugurated the first "Petrocasas" community. A total of 409 new homes were unveiled as part of the new program.

Citizens attempt to pass by soldiers blocking their access at the site where the president was set to air his television show.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Friday January 16, 2009, Mexico City, DF, Mexico

Art galleries in Mexico City

Ubaldo Kramer, owner of kbk arte contemporaneo, at his gallery.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Saturday January 16, 2010, Port au Prince, Haiti

Relief for victims of Haiti quake

Five days after an earthquake devastated Port au Prince the capital of Haiti international relief efforts are starting to get organized although conditions on the streets are chaotic and unsafe. Up to 100 thousand may have died.

The Brazilian troops of the United Nations Minustah Blue Helmet forces handing water and food for distribution at the Sylvio Cator soccer stadium to wounded victims of the earthquake

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Sunday March 30, 2008, Guacara, Venezuela

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez takes to the airwaves with weekly broadcast

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez arrives in Guacara, where he will transmit live, his weekly Sunday television show, "Alo Presidente." On this day, Chavez inaugurated the first "Petrocasas" community. A total of 409 new homes were unveiled as part of the new program.

Hugo Chavez wipes sweat from his face while standing amid new Petrocasas.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Saturday March 1, 2008, Loreto, Baja California, Mexico

Loreto Bay of Baja California, Mexico

The Loreto Bay project on the east coast of Baja California, Mexico. 6,000 residences are planned, ranging in price from $1.5 million custom houses to entry-level one-bedroom casitas at around $350,000. The Mexican government targeted this area for its next major tourist development, working with an Arizona based developer to design the area to the highest standards of environmental sustainability. The master plan includes not only solar-heated hot water, but a seawater desalination plant and a 500-acre wind farm. The Mexican government put roughly $200 million into roads, water, sewers, electricity and a small area airport. US based Citigroup's property division is, the majority owner of the Loreto Bay Resort, offering home financing for Americans looking for vacation property.

The beach at the Loreto Bay Villages

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Thursday February 23, 2006, Divisadero, Copper Canyon, Mexico

Traversing Mexico's Copper Canyon

Mexico's only passenger train, the Copper Canyon Railroad, or Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacifico, runs through Mexico's Copper Canyon. The canyon, where Tarahumara Indians often sell their wares to those traveling aboard passing trains, is located in the portion of the Sierra Madre occidental mountain range that lies within Chihuahua state.

A Tarahumara Indian baby sits on railroad tracks at Divisadero station.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Thursday February 7, 2008, Mexico City, Mexico

Felipe Calderon, president of Mexico

Mexican President Felipe Calderon in his office at the presidential residence Los Pinos. To halt the continuing civilian role played by military troops in the fight against drug trafficking, Calderon wants to phase out the Army's role preferring to develop the use of police forces across the country.

Felipe Calderon

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Saturday February 2, 2008, Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico

Glamour returns to Acapulco

The resort city of Acapulco, Mexico. The walls of the old Fuerte de San Diego. The famous resort city that went from being a popular haunt for Hollywood glitterati in the 1950s to a vacation spot more suited for retired vacationers and boisterous Spring-breakers is experiencing a new comeback, with construction of luxury condominiums, posh restaurants and chic nightclubs bringing Acapulco back from its faded glory.

Tourists visit the old colonial-era fort, Fuerte de San Diego.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Sunday January 17, 2010, Port-Au-Prince, Haiti

Children of Haiti

Riguaire Betinart lies on the floor with her baby in a tent she shares with another family in a displaced camp in Port-au-Prince.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Tuesday July 5, 2005, Acteal, Chiapas, Mexico

Mexican Indians

Zapatista Indian girls in Acteal, Chiapas.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Tuesday March 30, 2010, Mexico City, Mexico

Banks making big profits from tiny loans

In recent years, the idea of giving small loans to poor people became the darling of the development world, hailed as the long elusive formula to propel even the most destitute into better lives. The phenomenon has grown so popular that some of its biggest proponents are now upset over the direction it has taken. Drawn by the prospect of hefty profits from even the smallest of loans, banks and financial institutions now dominate the field, with some charging interest rates of 100 percent or more. Underlying the issue is a fierce debate over whether microloans actually lift people out of poverty, as their promoters so often claim. The recent conclusion of some researchers is that not every poor person is an entrepreneur waiting to be discovered, but that the loans do help cushion some of the worst blows of poverty.

Microfinance bank Compartamos clients in Mexico City - Laura Alicia Pillado Cardenas, who runs her family blacksmith business in Iztapalapa, Mexico City. She started her loans in 96, when her father died and they almost lost the business.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

January 2005, Salvador, Brazil

Brazilian religious customs

Iemanja' s ( the Godess of the seas in the afro-brazilian Candomble religion) day, Rio Vermelho Beach.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Adriana Zehbrauskas

Adriana Zehbrauskas was born in São Paulo, Brazil, on May 1968. After receiving her degree in Journalism she moved to Paris, France where she continued her studies in Linguistics and Phonetics at the Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle.

She studied with Mary Ellen Mark in Mexico and Susan Meiselas in Colombia and worked as a staff photographer at Folha de S. Paulo, in Brazil, during 11 years. Also worked as James Nachtwey's assistant in SP and NYC.

Her Faith project received an award in the Art and Worship World Prize and recently had her images included in the book 24 Hours in the Life of the Catholic Church, published in Germany by Bertelsmann / Random House.



Personal web site of Adriana Zehbrauskas