MiamiPhotoFest Presents
Kilombo
Maria Daniel Balcazar
MiamiPhotoFest is pleased to team up with Burn Books to present Maria Daniel Balcazar’s “Kilombo”, an intimate and powerful documentary project that captures the Afro-Brazilian culture.
Despite the daily face of violence, prejudice and historical economic inequalities in Brazil, the Afro-Brazilian culture resists and transcends. It was gratifying to meet these incredible people who work to balance the brutality with educational activities. - Maria Daniel Balcazar
© MARIA DANIEL BALCAZAR
Quilombo refers in Brazil to an autonomous community established by runaway slaves. The title of this photo essay, Kilombo, was chosen to honor its Bantu origin, meaning “camp”, while at the same time highlighting its meaning as a haven from injustice and violence, as a symbol of dignity and freedom.
The vitality of the African legacy, within the richness of Brazilian syncretism, and its resilient presence in everyday life, drew Maria’s heart to the Afro-Brazilian culture.
During the Atlantic slave trade, around 4.8 million African slaves from various regions of Africa were forcefully brought to Brazil, bringing only their customs and religious practices, and nurturing them despite the imposition of new beliefs. Such demographic impact is still visible; approximately 54% of Brazilians define themselves as Afro-descendants. Their legacy of resistance and transcendence led to the unique Afro-Brazilian intertwining of Christian-European, Indigenous, and African traditions.
Kilombo - will be on display at MiamiPhotoFest 2019 - Feb 27th - Mar 3rd.
Opening night RSVP, Limited Availability
All Prints are signed and available for sale during this event.
Maria Daniel Balcazar is a Bolivian-American documentary and fine art photographer. Her projects focus on the universality of traditions and symbols, the vitality of syncretism, and the beauty and the extraordinary in daily life. She has studied painting, communication, languages, and photography. Her work has been exhibited in Galleries, Museums, andin Universities in Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, and the United States.
Burn is an evolving journal for emerging photographers, an online magazine/journal curated by Magnum photographer David Alan Harvey.