Friday September 10, 2004, La Escobilla Beach, Oaxaca, Mexico

Thousands of Turtles arrive on a Mexico Beach to lay their eggs

Thousands of Golfina (Olive Ridley) Turtles arrive for laying their eggs on La Escobilla Beach, in the state of Oaxaca. As many as 150,000 turtles a day may come during this period, and each one lays around 100 eggs. Amaya, 4. holds an egg. Local children like to plays around the turtles, collecting the eggs that the turtles may uncover and burying them in a new hole.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Thursday March 17, 2005, Curaça, Bahia, Brazil

Brazilian goverment plans to re-route river for thirsty states

In a $3 billion project, the Brazilian government plans to divert the waters of the Sao Francisco River in order to provide irrigation for four Brazilian states. Although the government touts the project as being highly beneficial to states lacking enough water, environmentalists argue that it will do more harm than good.

A child plays in the Sao Francisco River as boats bob in its waters.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Sunday January 2, 2005, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Mexicans at the beach

La Manzanilla, a popular beach just beside the Real del Mar condo in Bahia Banderas. Houses in the Real del Mar cost up to two million US dollars.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Wednesday January 25, 2006, La Union, El Salvador

Salvadoran family split by street gang violence

Mercedes de Jesus' son, Carlos Ventura, a member of the Mara Salvatrucha street gang is serving a prison sentence in California. Upon Ventura's imprisonment in the United States, he left behind not only his mother, but a son and daughter in the small town of La Union as well.

Monica, 3, a neighbor of the Ventura family.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Tuesday July 5, 2005, Acteal, Chiapas, Mexico

Mexican Indians

Zapatista Indian girls in Acteal, Chiapas.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Thursday August 25, 2005, Patihuitz, Chiapas, Mexico

Indigenous Mexican population continues to be mired in poverty

In the mountains of Chiapas, neither the attempts of Zapatista rebels at self-government, nor the Mexican government's anti-poverty programs have succeeded at changing the odds for indigenous children mired in a world of poverty. Zapatista leaders continue to reject government aid, preferring to jump start their own community grass roots efforts, aimed at instituting change in the rugged mountains of Chiapas.

Children play in the small Chiapas town of Patihuitz.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Wednesday August 24, 2005, Patihuitz, Chiapas, Mexico

Indigenous Mexican population continues to be mired in poverty

In the mountains of Chiapas, neither the attempts of Zapatista rebels at self-government, nor the Mexican government's anti-poverty programs have succeeded at changing the odds for indigenous children mired in a world of poverty. Zapatista leaders continue to reject government aid, preferring to jump start their own community grass roots efforts, aimed at instituting change in the rugged mountains of Chiapas.

Indigenous women gather for a meeting in the Chiapas town of Patihuitz.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Wednesday November 17, 2004, Havana, Cuba

Scenes from Havana

Street scene in Havana, Cuba.

Sunset over the Malecón in Havana.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Friday March 18, 2005, Acaua, Piaui, Brazil

Zero Hunger Project in Brazil

Brazil's Zero Hunger Project, spearheaded by President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva in 2003, aims at ensuring that all Brazilians have enough to eat by way of redistributing land and providing monthly relief to the nation's poorest families. The program began in the town of Acaua, located in one of the most impoverished areas in Brazil's Piaui state.

L-R: Joao Batista and wife, Ana, residents of Acaua.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Monday January 10, 2005, Cachoeira, Bahia, Brazil

Brazilian religious customs

The Good Death Sisterhood ( Irmandade da Boa Morte) is formed by 24 black women devoted to Our Lady of the Good Death and the Candomble Orishas. It dates back 200 years and constiitutes one of the most ancient traditions of the sate of Bahia, in Brazil. The catholic belief portrays the desire for freedom brought with dying and the one hoped for in life with the emancipation of slaves. The rising of Our lady is celebrated In August in a public celebration, constituted basically of three processions trough the streets of Cachoeira, 120 km of Salvador,portraying her death, her funeral and finally her rising.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Wednesday February 22, 2006, 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.

Maria, a Tarahumara Indian woman and her baby, Francisca, at the Posada Barranca train station.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Thursday February 23, 2006, Araponpuchi, 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.

Tarahumara Indian children in Araponpuchi.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Wednesday February 22, 2006, Areponpuchi, 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 and her baby girl, Maria.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Thursday August 25, 2005, Patihuitz, Chiapas, Mexico

Mexicans of Indian descent

An indian girl in front of her house in Patihuitz,in the souherbn state of Chiapas.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Thursday January 26, 2006, San Salvador, El Salvador

Imprisoned Mara Salvatrucha gang members in El Salvador

Members of Mara Salvatrucha, behind bars at El Salvador's Quezalteque jailhouse. The Mara street gangs originally born on the streets of Los Angeles, arrived in El Salvador in the early 1990s as many of their ranks were being deported back to their home country by the U.S. government.

Prisoner, Alberto Brito, 24, displays his tattooed body. Brito is serving 26 years for murder.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Tuesday February 21, 2006, El Fuerte, 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 man walks past archways in the colonial town of El Fuerte, in Sinaloa. The town serves as the starting point for many travelers aboard the Chihuahua Pacifico Express.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Thursday December 8, 2005, Mexico City, Mexico

Mexican architects Ricardo and Victor Legorreta design new state office buildings

Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta and his son and partner, Victor Legorreta designed the new Plaza Juarez in Mexico City which will house the Superior Court of Justice headquarters as well as the Foreign Affairs Secretary of the city. The central square of the complex consists of a large "water mirror" with more than a thousand submerged red concrete pyramids adorning its base.

Ricardo Legorreta stands in what will be a water mirror with more than a thousand red concrete pyramids.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Monday July 11, 2005, Valle De Guadalupe, Jalisco, Mexico

Retired Mexicans

Francisco Franco Alvarez ( sitting down) and his son-in-law Felipe are now retired after working in the United States for decades. Mr. Franco returned to live in Mexico in the 1980s for good, tired of the fast pace of the United States. He lives comfortably on his social security check and union pension in Valle de Guadalupe.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Thursday March 17, 2005, Santa Maria da Boa Vista, Pernambuco, Brazil

Brazilian goverment plans to re-route river for thirsty states

In a $3 billion project, the Brazilian government plans to divert the waters of the Sao Francisco River in order to provide irrigation for four Brazilian states. Although the government touts the project as being highly beneficial to states lacking enough water, environmentalists argue that it will do more harm than good.

Francisco Clemente Dias dos Santos guides his boat along the Sao Francisco River.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Tuesday April 12, 2005, Mexico City, DF, Mexico

What to do in Mexico City in 36 hours

Founded on the ruins of Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire, Mexico City has transformed itself into one of the great financial and economic centers of the world over the past two decades. In 1998 the city was permitted to elect its own mayor for the first time. Traditionally, Mexico City's mayors have been selected by the president.

In an act of penitence, Marila walks on her knees while holding her son Sergio, towards the Basilica de Guadalupe. The young mother is praying for her son's health.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

April 2003, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Adriana Zehbrauska Portfolio

A fashion shoot on the roof of the Unique Hotel in Sao Paulo.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Friday February 24, 2006, Cusarare, 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.

An old Spanish mission appears just beyond an old stone wall. A wooden crucifix appears in the foreground.

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 December 1, 2005, Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico

Tijuana, Mexican border town tries to regulate prostitution

Thousands of women in Tijuana work as prostitutes. Unless they are tested every month at a government clinic for venereal disease and HIV, and have the right stamps in their booklet, the police arrest them. The testing is one of the measures to regulate prostitution, which has flourished here for decades. The town's active prostitutes - 5,000 are tested each month - must have medical exams for sexually transmitted diseases and brothel owners must adopt more sanitary practices. The city has also begun issuing new credentials to prostitutes to replace the old pink booklets. The new licenses look like a credit card with a photo. A magnetic strip on the back allows health inspectors with hand-held scanners to check the card-holder's medical status. Sex workers ply their trade in Tijuana's red-light district.

A prostitute in mini skirt on the streets of Tijuana

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Wednesday February 22, 2006, 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.

Tarahumara Indian women approach a train of tourists to sell their wares at a stop in the Copper Canyon.

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

Friday September 10, 2004, La Escobilla Beach, Oaxaca, Mexico

Thousands of Turtles arrive on a Mexico Beach to lay their eggs

Thousands of Golfina (Olive Ridley) Turtles arrive for laying their eggs on La Escobilla Beach, in the state of Oaxaca. As many as 150,000 turtles a day may come during this period, and each one lays around 100 eggs.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Friday January 13, 2006, Liberia, Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Guanacaste Province in Costa Rica, a mecca for tourists and sun worshippers

Ever since Costa Rica began to emerge as a popular vacation destination in the 1990s, the Central American nation has experienced a steady increase in development. Costa Rica's Guanacaste Province now boasts Central America's first real luxury encampment, with a string of hotels - including a Four Seasons - and real estate developments in the area.

Horseback riding along the beach at Hacienda Pinilla, a 4,500 acre Audobon-certified nature preserve.

Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas / Polaris

Wednesday September 14, 2005, Axochiapan, Mexico

Mexican small town

A street scene in Axochiapan where a large part of residents, from here as well from neighbouring communities, have immigrated to Minneapolis, in the United States.

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