Danuska, who has received a lot of artificial implantation with highly toxic industrial silicone, struggles with body image issues and often makes jokes about how she is anorexic. Because of a transperson’s desire to match their body with the way they truly feel within, many transwomen seek to enhance their bodies either through surgery or …
Arien Chang Coalmen/Carboneros [ EPF 2014 SHORTLIST ] Zapata Swamp, in Cuba’s southern coast and less than a hundred miles from Havana, is commonly imagined as a remote wildlife refuge for mangrove, crocodiles and exotic birds. Isolation, hard work and extreme poverty have kept the Swamp’s human inhabitants disconnected from the contemporary reality of the …
Wherever Tamara moves, she always takes her collection of saints with her, often keeping a candle lit.Photo by @davillasana for Burn Diary, Day 5.#burndiary #transgender #documentary #humanrights #tamara #lima #peru #faith
Tamara moves her belongings into a friend’s taxi who will drive her to a new communal home around the block. Having to quickly leave where they live is a common occurrence among transwomen for reasons such as poor living conditions, the inability to pay rent or being caught with drugs or alcohol in their rooms. …
Oriana, a transwoman from my long-term project, heads out for the evening with another woman who lives in the same communal home. Oriana began prostituting at a young age and says she enjoys it because it allows her to be who she wants. The majority of transwomen cannot find work off the streets because of …
From Callao, a port in Lima. Photo by @davillasana for Burn Diary, Day 4. #lima #peru #callao #ships #inrainbows #color #patch #purple #sky
These two young girls walked by while visiting people from the Shipibo-Conibo community to talk about free photography workshops. This particular community was relocated to Lima years ago from the Amazon and still remain in the government houses that were built for them. Photo by @davillasana for Burn Diary, Day 3. #burndiary #lima #peru #shipibo …
Danuska recently moved a few hours away from Lima as she was feeling fed up with the police raids and constant harassment from her boyfriend. This was one of the last pictures I took of her and I’m hoping to visit where she’s living soon. Photo by @davillasana, Day 2 for Burn Diary.#burndiary #transgender #docproject …
Asumi stands in the light of a police car during a nightly raid. Although prostitution is not illegal in Peru, police raids are a common occurrence. Apart from insulting them, officers can often become violent.Photo by @davillasana, Day 2 for Burn Diary. #burndiary #lima #peru #transgender #police #raid #humanrights #portrait
Meet Tamara, one of my most favorite people. Tamara and I met about a year and a half ago through my documentary project on transgender women. Since then we have become extremely close and I spend the majority of my time with her and with the other women from the project.Like many other places around …
