Wonderland, the strange inhabitants from Orinoco Delta
Photographer: Alvaro Laiz
Exhibit Title: Wonderland, the strange inhabitants from Orinoco Delta
Location: Venezuela
The Orinoco Delta was first colonized by the humans back in Medium Neolithic. For the past 8.000 years one of the last native South American people, have taken shelter inside its mangrove labyrinth: the Warao.
Deep in the swamps it is still possible to make out a world ruled by spirits where small and isolated communities struggle to survive. The existance of ancient animistic rites and the acceptance of transgenders among the warao society could be the last remains of those old pre-Columbian traditions, never photographied before.
But there is a fundamental fact that is strongly complicating their survival: a few independent investigations indicate that a range in between 40% and 80% of the Warao tribe are infected with HIV, whereas Venezuelan government does not support official numbers. Having HIV have become a taboo and many people refuses to receive treatment, and eventually face death, to avoid social pressure. Collectives at risk as Tida Wena and homosexuals have been often rejected and being accused of being responsible for this pandemic which is devastating the warao people.
I focus my interest in realities, commonly forgotten, in places such usÁfrica (Planes de Futuro, Cursed Skin), Asia (Transmongolian, Ninja!) o Sudamerica (Wonderland).
My photographs have been published, among other media, in Sunday Times Magazine, Forbes, British Journal of Photography or New York Times.
I conceive documentary photography a tool that lets me approach situations that captivate me, preoccupy me, and make me want to participate with my own point of view. This spirit led me to became one of the founder members of An-Hua, an NGO focused his commitment issues and concerns related to human rights, anthropology, economics and environmentto promote fundamental social change in disadvantaged or minority communities and connect with documentary photography a wider audience.
http://an-hua.org/anhua-ngo-visibility-social-transformation
http://fundaciontierraviva.org
www.alvarolaiz.com
alvarolaiz@gmail.com
+34606058293
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