9th Annual
Latin American
Foto Festival
On view July 9–26, 2026
Gallery Hours:
Thur-Fri, 3-7 PM
Sat, 1- 5 PM
📍 BDC Main (614 Courtlandt Ave),
BDC Annex (364 E. 151st St),
& outdoor installations.
LAFF Public Programming:
• July 11 • 5 PM: Photobook Talk: Alicia Vera
• July 13 • 6:30 PM: Artist Talk: Matías Delacroix
• July 18 • 6 PM: Ed Alvarez Memorial
• July 24 • 6:30PM: Photobook Talk: Cristian Ochoa (RSVP required)
• July 26 • 12-5 PM: Block Party + LAFF Closing Celebration
Ed Alvarez I Puerto Rico • Archivo de la Memoria Trans I Argentina • Matías Delacroix I Venezuela • Laura García I Guatemala • Marco Garro I Perú • Cristian Ochoa I Chile • Alejandra Orosco I Perú • Chris Perez I Dominican Republic • Santiago Mesa I Colombia • Emilio Espejel I México • Alicia Vera I México • Caio Vilela I Brazil • Rafael Vilela I Brazil • Karla Gachet + Ivan Kashinsky I Latin America
The Latin American Foto Festival is curated by Michael Kamber and Alexa Pacheco.
Organizational partners include National Public Radio and Photoville.
The Latin American Foto Festival is made possible by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor. Special thanks to District 17 Council Members Rafael Salamanca and Justin Sanchez.
Additional support for the Bronx Documentary Center is provided by the Clif Family Foundation, Chris Hondros Fund, Ford Foundation, Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, Lawrence Foundation, Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation, Peck Foundation, Scherman Foundation, and the Van Agtmael Fund; with corporate support by Adobe, BronxCare Health System, and Montefiore Health System.
The Bronx Documentary Center (BDC) presents its 9th Annual Latin American Foto Festival (LAFF), on view July 9–26, featuring photographs by emerging and established award-winning photographers; large-scale banners of their work are exhibited at the BDC and throughout the South Bronx’s Melrose neighborhood.
This year’s Festival brings together long-term photographic projects from Latin America and the Caribbean that explore urgent social, environmental, and political realities while highlighting resilience, memory, and collective life.
The exhibition includes work from Peru, Chile, Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, Colombia, Puerto Rico, and Argentina, addressing themes such as environmental destruction and extractive industries, Indigenous land and spirituality, migration and displacement across the Americas, and community-led forms of care and resistance. Several projects also draw on archives and personal histories to reflect on how memory is preserved and shared across generations. The Festival also includes a special homage to the late Puerto Rican photographer Ed Alvarez, whose work, made between Puerto Rico and the Bronx, is presented in recognition of his contribution to Caribbean and diasporic visual culture.
As part of the Festival, the BDC will hold in-person workshops, tours, panel discussions, and other community events.
El Bronx Documentary Center (BDC) presentará la 9ª edición del Latin American Foto Festival (LAFF), que se llevará a cabo del 9 al 26 de julio y contará con fotografías de gran formato de fotógrafos emergentes y reconocidos internacionalmente. Las obras se exhibirán en el BDC y en distintos espacios del vecindario de Melrose, en el sur del Bronx.
Este año, el Festival reúne proyectos fotográficos de largo aliento provenientes de América Latina y el Caribe que exploran realidades sociales, ambientales y políticas urgentes, al tiempo que ponen de relieve la resiliencia, la memoria y la vida colectiva.
La exposición incluye trabajos de Perú, Chile, Brasil, México, Guatemala, Venezuela, Colombia, Puerto Rico y Argentina, que abordan temas como la destrucción ambiental y las industrias extractivas, los territorios y la espiritualidad de los pueblos indígenas, la migración y el desplazamiento a lo largo de las Américas, así como las formas de cuidado y resistencia impulsadas por las propias comunidades. Varios de los proyectos también recurren a archivos e historias personales para reflexionar sobre cómo la memoria se preserva y se transmite de generación en generación. El Festival incluye además un homenaje especial al fallecido fotógrafo puertorriqueño Ed Alvarez, cuya obra, realizada entre Puerto Rico y el Bronx, se presenta en reconocimiento a su valiosa contribución a la cultura visual caribeña y de la diáspora.
Como parte del Festival, el BDC ofrecerá talleres presenciales, visitas guiadas, paneles de discusión y otras actividades comunitarias.
Participating Photographers
Puerto Rico
Community Garden, 360 151st St. (Next to BDC Annex)
The late first-generation Nuyorican photographer Ed Alvarez documented the people, culture, and spirit of the South Bronx and beyond.
Argentina
BDC Annex, 364 E. 151st St.
A community archive dedicated to compiling, preserving, and recovering the history and cultural heritage of transgender, transsexual, and travesti people in Argentina.
Venezuela
BDC Annex, 364 E. 151st St.
Venezuela en Flux (Venezuela in Flux) documents the social, political, and migratory upheavals that have transformed Venezuela over the past decade.
Guatemala
BDC Main, 614 Courtlandt Ave.
Guardianas del Lago (Guardians of the Lake) follows a collective of Tz’utujil Maya women working to protect Guatemala’s sacred Lake Atitlán from pollution and unchecked development.
Perú
BDC Main, 614 Courtlandt Ave
Quiulacocha documents the environmental and human consequences of centuries of mining in Cerro de Pasco, Peru.
Chile
BDC Annex, 364 E. 151st St.
Lo oscuro del río (The Darkness of the River) investigates the environmental destruction of Chile’s Loa River, a vital water source in the Atacama Desert.
Perú
E. 150th St. x Melrose Ave.
Un sueño en Azul (A Dream in Blue) explores the disappearance of indigo from Peru due to climate change and the efforts of Indigenous artisans to restore this historic dye plant.
Dominican Republic
Parking Lot, 616 Courtlandt Ave (Next to BDC Main)
DOMINICAN is an ongoing project exploring identity, migration, and belonging through the rural communities of the Dominican Republic where Perez’s family originates.
Colombia
BDC Main, 614 Courtlandt Ave
Jaidë examines the suicide crisis affecting Colombia’s Emberá Indigenous communities, where displacement, violence, and institutional neglect have left lasting emotional scars.
México
BDC Annex, 364 E. 151st St.
Limones, Balas y Graffitis (Lemons, Bullets and Graffiti) examines the lingering traces of cartel violence in Mexico’s Tierra Caliente region.
México
BDC Annex, 364 E. 151st St.
Va a Llover Toda La Noche
(It’s Going to Rain All Night) explores the experience of caring for Vera’s mother after an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
Brazil
School, 378 E. 151st St. (Front)
Futebol Sem Fronteiras (Fútbol sin Fronteras / Football Without Borders) is a lifelong project documenting the universal passion for soccer across cultures and continents.
Brazil
BDC Annex, 364 E. 151st St.
Forest Ruins explores the climate crisis through the perspective of the Guarani Mbyá people living on one of the last remaining fragments of Atlantic Rainforest in São Paulo, Brazil.
Latin America
Melrose Playground, 705 Courtlandt Ave.
Cumbia documents one of the most listened-to musical traditions in the Americas across Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, and the United States.
Latin America
Melrose Playground, 705 Courtlandt Ave.
Cumbia documents one of the most listened-to musical traditions in the Americas across Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, and the United States.
LAFF Locations:
• Bronx Documentary Center, 614 Courtlandt Ave, Bronx
• Bronx Documentary Center (Back patio fence), 614 Courtlandt Ave, Bronx
• BDC Annex, 364 E. 151st St, Bronx, NY 10455
• 151st St Community Garden, 360 E. 151st St, Bronx
• Church Fence, E. 150th x Melrose Ave, Bronx
• Parking lot (next to BDC) 616 Courtlandt Ave, Bronx
• Melrose Playground, 705 Courtlandt Ave, Bronx
Frequently Asked Questions
Preguntas Frecuentes
What is the BDC’s Latin American Foto Festival (LAFF)?
The Latin American Foto Festival is an annual exhibition hosted by the Bronx Documentary Center (BDC) that showcases the work of award-winning and emerging photographers from across Latin America.
¿Qué es el Latin American Foto Festival (LAFF) del BDC?
El Latin American Foto Festival es una exposición anual organizada por el Bronx Documentary Center (BDC) que presenta el trabajo de fotógrafos reconocidos y emergentes de toda América Latina.
Where does the Festival take place?
Exhibits will be on view indoors at the BDC and outdoors throughout the Melrose neighborhood (July 9–26), with large-scale prints on buildings and fences.
¿Dónde se lleva a cabo el Festival?
Las exhibiciones estarán disponibles dentro del BDC y al aire libre en todo el vecindario de Melrose (del 9 al 26 de julio), con impresiones a gran escala en edificios y cercas.
Are there public events during the Festival?
Yes, the Latin American Foto Festival (LAFF) offers a variety of public events, including artist talks, workshops, panel discussions, film screenings, and community activities. Many of these events are bilingual (Spanish/English) and open to all ages.
¿Hay eventos públicos durante el Festival?
Sí, el Latin American Foto Festival (LAFF) ofrece una variedad de eventos públicos, incluyendo charlas con artistas, talleres, paneles de discusión, proyecciones de películas y actividades comunitarias. Muchos de estos eventos son bilingües (español/inglés) y están abiertos a todas las edades.
Does it cost anything to attend the Festival?
Admission is free and open to the public.
¿Cuesta algo asistir al Festival?
La entrada es gratuita y abierta al público.