Monday March 11, 2002, New York, New York, USA

Bethany Mc Lean at her Manhattan home. Mc Lean, a senior writer and business editor at Fortune magazine, is widely known as the first journalist to expose the corruption of Enron officials. She is the co-author of Enron: The Smartest Guys the Room

Credit: Regina Monfort / Polaris

Sunday October 22, 2000, New York, New York, USA

Writer- director Zoe Cassavetes. Her first feature film "Broken English" premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2006.

Credit: Regina Monfort / Polaris

Brooklyn, New York, USA

Two cousins

Credit: Regina Monfort / Polaris

Monday March 25, 2002, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Juanda and her son Joshua after church on Easter Monday

Credit: Regina Monfort / Polaris

Sunday September 2, 2007, Bronx, New York, USA

The Bronx Riviera

Aspiring model on boardwalk

Credit: Regina Monfort / Polaris

Sunday September 2, 2007, Bronx, New York, USA

The Bronx Riviera

On the boardwalk, Enrique, who is partially paralized, and Miguel dance to Reggaeton and Salsa tunes blazing from Miguel's home made boom box.

Credit: Regina Monfort / Polaris

1998, Brooklyn, New York, USA

B-Boys

Credit: Regina Monfort / Polaris

1996, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A

Summerjamz dance party

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Sunday February 27, 2000, Bronx, New York, U.S.A

Wayne, ex Bloods gang member and "Step" dancer, with his girlfriend Taya.

Credit: Regina Monfort / Polaris

1999, Brooklyn, New York, USA

Beyond Grand Street

Much like the Parisian Maghrebins, Williamsburg Latinos have seen the Promised Land turn into a cycle of unfulfilled dreams, hardships, losses and violence. Deeply rooted in passionate, vibrant cultures injected with faith, second and third generation Puerto Ricans and Dominicans have learned to survive side by side in one of New York's most poverty stricken neighborhoods. Here, beyond Grand Street, kids grow up fast, competing for love-respect, and status, often relying on drugs and alcohol to escape daily challenges.

Sweety and Sonya

Credit: Regina Monfort / Polaris

2003, Brooklyn, New York, USA

Beyond Grand Street

Much like the Parisian Maghrebins, Williamsburg Latinos have seen the Promised Land turn into a cycle of unfulfilled dreams, hardships, losses and violence. Deeply rooted in passionate, vibrant cultures injected with faith, second and third generation Puerto Ricans and Dominicans have learned to survive side by side in one of New York's most poverty stricken neighborhoods. Here, beyond Grand Street, kids grow up fast, competing for love-respect, and status, often relying on drugs and alcohol to escape daily challenges.

Goya and Los in Goya's room

Credit: Regina Monfort / Polaris

2001, Brooklyn, New York, USA

Beyond Grand Street

Much like the Parisian Maghrebins, Williamsburg Latinos have seen the Promised Land turn into a cycle of unfulfilled dreams, hardships, losses and violence. Deeply rooted in passionate, vibrant cultures injected with faith, second and third generation Puerto Ricans and Dominicans have learned to survive side by side in one of New York's most poverty stricken neighborhoods. Here, beyond Grand Street, kids grow up fast, competing for love-respect, and status, often relying on drugs and alcohol to escape daily challenges.

Louie

Credit: Regina Monfort / Polaris

2003, Brooklyn, New York, USA

Beyond Grand Street

Much like the Parisian Maghrebins, Williamsburg Latinos have seen the Promised Land turn into a cycle of unfulfilled dreams, hardships, losses and violence. Deeply rooted in passionate, vibrant cultures injected with faith, second and third generation Puerto Ricans and Dominicans have learned to survive side by side in one of New York's most poverty stricken neighborhoods. Here, beyond Grand Street, kids grow up fast, competing for love-respect, and status, often relying on drugs and alcohol to escape daily challenges.

Chrystal and Nadia at Nadia's home

Credit: Regina Monfort / Polaris

2003, Brooklyn, New York, USA

Beyond Grand Street

Much like the Parisian Maghrebins, Williamsburg Latinos have seen the Promised Land turn into a cycle of unfulfilled dreams, hardships, losses and violence. Deeply rooted in passionate, vibrant cultures injected with faith, second and third generation Puerto Ricans and Dominicans have learned to survive side by side in one of New York's most poverty stricken neighborhoods. Here, beyond Grand Street, kids grow up fast, competing for love-respect, and status, often relying on drugs and alcohol to escape daily challenges.

"Stretch" and "Wax" getting high

Credit: Regina Monfort / Polaris

2003, Queens, New York, USA

Beyond Grand Street

Much like the Parisian Maghrebins, Williamsburg Latinos have seen the Promised Land turn into a cycle of unfulfilled dreams, hardships, losses and violence. Deeply rooted in passionate, vibrant cultures injected with faith, second and third generation Puerto Ricans and Dominicans have learned to survive side by side in one of New York's most poverty stricken neighborhoods. Here, beyond Grand Street, kids grow up fast, competing for love-respect, and status, often relying on drugs and alcohol to escape daily challenges.

Girl at the end of a party

Credit: Regina Monfort / Polaris

Monday September 13, 1999, Brooklyn, New York, USA

Beyond Grand Street

Much like the Parisian Maghrebins, Williamsburg Latinos have seen the Promised Land turn into a cycle of unfulfilled dreams, hardships, losses and violence. Deeply rooted in passionate, vibrant cultures injected with faith, second and third generation Puerto Ricans and Dominicans have learned to survive side by side in one of New York's most poverty stricken neighborhoods. Here, beyond Grand Street, kids grow up fast, competing for love-respect, and status, often relying on drugs and alcohol to escape daily challenges.

Jackie and Sophia at Coney Island Beach on Sophia's twentieth birthday.

Credit: Regina Monfort / Polaris

Sunday April 25, 2004, Topeka, Kansas, USA

Meth monster ravages America

Methamphetamine, also known as Crystal Meth in its purest form, has been sweeping through the American heartland, creating devastation in its wake. Destroying individuals and families alike, the potent drug continues to challenge cherished American values at their very core. Facing the "meth monster", as addicts themselves call it, it is despair that seems to unite those under its spell.

Maria, 83 years old, showing a picture of herself feeding her youngest daughter Dorothy, who became a meth addict 42 years later.

Credit: Regina Monfort / Polaris

Friday April 16, 2004, Topeka, Kansas, USA

Meth monster ravages America

Methamphetamine, also known as Crystal Meth in its purest form, has been sweeping through the American heartland, creating devastation in its wake. Destroying individuals and families alike, the potent drug continues to challenge cherished American values at their very core. Facing the "meth monster", as addicts themselves call it, it is despair that seems to unite those under its spell. Born and raised by a devout catholic mother, Dorothy was 42 when she first snorted meth. She was living a working-class life while employed at the Good Year tire plant in town, until a co-worker suggested she dealt meth on the side. "My job at the plant required heavy lifting, it was a man's job, but with this newly found energy, I thought I could handle it. I snorted the stuff over a mirror, about a half-gram per day; I would crash on the fifth day," Dorothy said.

Dorothy, a crystal meth user, sitting on her bed

Credit: Regina Monfort / Polaris

Tuesday April 20, 2004, Topeka, Kansas, USA

Meth monster ravages America

Methamphetamine, also known as Crystal Meth in its purest form, has been sweeping through the American heartland, creating devastation in its wake. Destroying individuals and families alike, the potent drug continues to challenge cherished American values at their very core. Facing the "meth monster", as addicts themselves call it, it is despair that seems to unite those under its spell.

Dorothy and Bobby, both meth users, have been trying to stay clean, afraid to lose the custody of their 15 year-old son Matthew. "The first time I tried meth, Bobby and I had had an argument; he got pretty verbal and screamed a lot... I ran out of the house to my daughter who lived ten, fifteen blocks away, and she was there smoking meth on foil, and I didn't know what it was, and she said: "Come on Mom, try some!' I did try a little bit, and I remember sitting on the front porch, watching the sun come up, and thinking that my life wasn't so bad after all and that I needed to go on."

Credit: Regina Monfort / Polaris

Tuesday April 20, 2004, Topeka, Kansas, USA

Meth monster ravages America

Methamphetamine, also known as Crystal Meth in its purest form, has been sweeping through the American heartland, creating devastation in its wake. Destroying individuals and families alike, the potent drug continues to challenge cherished American values at their very core. Facing the "meth monster", as addicts themselves call it, it is despair that seems to unite those under its spell.

Lacy who had ran away from home stayed in the room of her boyfriend Matthew at the time detained for testing positive to marijuana and meth while on probation for another offense.

Credit: Regina Monfort / Polaris

Tuesday January 18, 2005, Topeka, Kansas, USA

Meth monster ravages America

Methamphetamine, also known as Crystal Meth in its purest form, has been sweeping through the American heartland, creating devastation in its wake. Destroying individuals and families alike, the potent drug continues to challenge cherished American values at their very core. Facing the "meth monster", as addicts themselves call it, it is despair that seems to unite those under its spell.

Matthew at his parents trailer home. In 2003, then 14 years old, Matthew destroyed a computer lab at a local school and was placed under juvenile intensive supervision. A year later he was incarcerated for violating his probation when testing positive for marijuana and meth.

Credit: Regina Monfort / Polaris

Thursday January 27, 2005, Topeka, Kansas, USA

Meth monster ravages America

Methamphetamine, also known as Crystal Meth in its purest form, has been sweeping through the American heartland, creating devastation in its wake. Destroying individuals and families alike, the potent drug continues to challenge cherished American values at their very core. Facing the "meth monster", as addicts themselves call it, it is despair that seems to unite those under its spell.

In court, Jeffery, 37 years old, a meth user for 20 years speaks of his habit as a disease and implores the judge to keep him in jail and to recommend mandatory treatment on his behalf.

Credit: Regina Monfort / Polaris

Wednesday April 14, 2004, Topeka, Kansas, USA

Meth monster ravages America

Methamphetamine, also known as Crystal Meth in its purest form, has been sweeping through the American heartland, creating devastation in its wake. Destroying individuals and families alike, the potent drug continues to challenge cherished American values at their very core. Facing the "meth monster", as addicts themselves call it, it is despair that seems to unite those under its spell.

Lynn gets ready to visit her children at the time in the custody of her parents. A long-time meth user and homeless, she was staying with Elaine and Shawn when the FBI raided their house.

Credit: Regina Monfort / Polaris

Tuesday April 13, 2004, Topeka, Kansas, USA

Meth monster ravages America

Methamphetamine, also known as Crystal Meth in its purest form, has been sweeping through the American heartland, creating devastation in its wake. Destroying individuals and families alike, the potent drug continues to challenge cherished American values at their very core. Facing the "meth monster", as addicts themselves call it, it is despair that seems to unite those under its spell.

Kayla and David, a meth addict, playing with the family snake.

Credit: Regina Monfort / Polaris

Friday April 9, 2004, Topeka, Kansas, USA

Meth monster ravages America

Methamphetamine, also known as Crystal Meth in its purest form, has been sweeping through the American heartland, creating devastation in its wake. Destroying individuals and families alike, the potent drug continues to challenge cherished American values at their very core. Facing the "meth monster", as addicts themselves call it, it is despair that seems to unite those under its spell.

Lori's youngest children, Tanner, 11, and Taylor, 8, survived their mother's 6 years addiction to meth.

Credit: Regina Monfort / Polaris

Saturday April 24, 2004, Topeka, Kansas, USA

Meth monster ravages America

Methamphetamine, also known as Crystal Meth in its purest form, has been sweeping through the American Heartland, creating devastation in its wake. Destroying individuals and families alike, the potent drug continues to challenge cherished american values at their very core. Facing the "meth monster", as addicts themselves call it, it is despair that seems to unite those under its spell.

Brandon, 23, was weaning himself from methamphetamines. He first sampled meth at 17, and for a time, sold prescriptions drugs to support his habit. He said, I kept shoving my pills to these high school students and using the money to get my meth. I kept them happy, and they kept me happy. That's the way the drug world works."

Credit: Regina Monfort / Polaris

Wednesday November 10, 1999, Des Moines, Iowa, USA

In search of the American Dream

Omar and Raoul, who are cousins, in the four-room house which they share with seven other relatives. Escaping political repression in 80's Guatemala, Omar's father left for California. A few years later he returned to Guatemala, this time to protect his young sons from a prevailing juvenile delinquence. Unable to survive in their homeland, the family joined relatives who had settled in Des Moines.

Credit: Regina Monfort / Polaris

Wednesday November 17, 1999, Des Moines, Iowa, USA

In search of the American Dream

27-year-old Joate Tuang, a refugee from Southern Sudan, with her son Fela in their new home. In 1996, following her husband and their two children, Joate Tuang ran away from her small village of Bougne to escape death. After spending three years in a refugee camp in Ethiopia, the family was given asylum in the US and was one of four Sudanese families to be brought to Des Moines.

Credit: Regina Monfort / Polaris

Brooklyn, New York, USA

Gospel Hip Hop

Church Goers outside the Love Fellowship Tabernacle headed by renowned pastor Hezekia Walker.

Credit: Regina Monfort / Polaris

Regina Monfort

French-born and based in Brooklyn, New York, Regina Monfort began working in the documentary tradition in 1994. She first showed her work as audiovisual presentations in Brooklyn parks.

Monfort’s personal essays focus on issues pertaining to youth, identity, and social stigmas. Her images—both assigned and self–assigned—have appeared in Cosmopolitan, CultureFront, DoubleTake, French Elle, Life Special Eisie Issue, the Children’s Beat of the Casey Journalism Center, Latin Girls, Mixte, Photo District News and the Village Voice.

Monfort’s photographs have been exhibited at the Brooklyn Public Library, the Columbia University School of Social Work, Fotoseptiembre, Kansas State University, Lianzhou International Photo Festival, the Museum of the City of New York, PhotoEspana, Soros Open Society Institute and in the New York City Subway. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum, the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library and the Yale Art Gallery.