Before becoming a Documentary Photographer and Photojournalist, Cinthya Santos Briones studied Anthropology and Ethnohistory, which led her to work as a researcher in different institutions in Mexico, focused on the study of indigenous and rural communities.
Her interest in documentary photography emerges through the ethnographic work that she has done as an anthropologist in indigenous communities in Mexico, where she documented ceremonial and healing rituals, immigration and their transnational lives in New York. Since then, her work has been influenced by the struggle for human rights, focusing on issues of migration, gender, and identity. Her images explore the relationship between space, memory, time and culture.
Cinthya is a recent graduate of the Visual Journalism and Documentary Practice Program at the International Center Of Photography in New York City. In the autumn of 2016 she received a fellowship granted by the Magnum Foundation and En Foco fellowship 2017.
Cinthya has published her work in New York Times, Pdn, La Jornada, Vogue, Open Society Foundations, Buzzfeed, The Nation Magazine, among others.
She was twice a fellow of the State Fund for Culture and the Arts of México. She is co-author of the book “The Indigenous Worldview and its Representations in Textiles of the Nahua community of Santa Ana Tzacuala, Hidalgo”.
Cinthya has worked in pro immigrant organizations in New York as a community organizer and lives in Sunset Park Brooklyn at St. Jacobi Lutheran Church wherein she coordinates the cultural center.
Education
2017 - Edit, Sequence, Present And Promote Workshop, City University Of New York Graduate School Of Journalism, New York, USA.
2015 - Visual Journalism And Documentary Practice: International Center Of Photography, New York, NY, USA
2009 - Mayor In Anthropologist and Ethnohistory From The National School Of Anthropology And History, Mexico, D.F
2011 - Workshop Different Approaches To Document The Reality Instructor Maya Goded In The Taller Arte Luz, México, D.F.
2011 - Workshop Different Approaches To Document The Reality Instructor Maya Goded In The Taller Arte Luz, México, D.F. 2011 Workshop “Developing Cultural Projects” Instructor Iatã Cannabrava In Gimnasio Del Arte, México, D.F.
2010 - Participant In Visual Anthropology Workshop "The Politics And Rituals Of The Tlapanecos In Film" Presented By Daniel Dehouve Through The National School Of Anthropology And History, México, D.F.
2009 - Photojournalism Workshop Taught By The Photographer Elsa Media, Hector Garcia Gallery, México, D.F.
2008 - Specialized In Transnational Indigenous Immigration Issues In The City Of New York, From The National School Of Anthropology And History, Mexico, D.F.
2008 - Participant In The Workshop "Siberian Shamanism And Other Contemporary Shamanism" Given By Dr. Roberte Hamoyon, INAH/UNAM/Universidad Iberoamericana, Embassy Of France In Mexico, CEMCA, México, D.F.
2007- Course On Anthropological Photography, National Coordination Of Anthropology, INAH, México, D.F.
Awards/Grants
The Native and Everyday Projects Mentorship Program, USA.
2017 - New York Times Portfolio Review
2017 - En Foco Fellowship
2016 - Magnum Foundation Fellowship
2014 - Second Place In The Competition Festival International Of The Image In The Category Documentary Photographer For Her Series “Comerciantes De Ilusiones”, México.
2012 - Second Place In The Competition Festival International Of The Image In The Category Documentary Photographer For Her Series “Subway”, México.
2011 - Third Place Recognition In "Cultural Diversity" Photo Competition Of The National Movement For Cultural Diversity Of Mexico, CDI, CELCI, UAEH, Universidad La Salle, México.
2010 - Awarded A Grant From The State Fund For Culture And Arts Of The State Of Hidalgo To Complete The Book Series The Indigenous Worldview And Its Representations In The Nahua Acaxochitlán Textiles, Pachuca, Hidalgo, México.
2008 - Third Place In The National Photography Competition "El Sazón Mexicano" By The Photo Series "Food Ritual" By The Magazine Cuartoscuro, México, D.F.
2007 - Second Place In The National Photography Competition Category
Human Rights In Photographic History With A Book Entitled “The Broken
Toy”, Awarded By The Ministry Of Interior, Foreign Secretary, National Commission On Human Rights, Youth Institute, Polytechnic Institutional, United Nations Commission For Human Rights Regional Office For Latin America And The Caribbean, México, D.F.
2009 - Fellow Of The State Fund For Culture And The Arts Of The State Of Hidalgo, In The Category Of Cultural Heritage Outreach Project: Indigenous Textiles And Their Worldview, Hidalgo, México.
2007 - Fellow Of The State Fund For Culture And The Arts Of The State Of Hidalgo, In The Category Of Cultural Heritage Outreach Project: The Codex Huichapan, Hidalgo, México.
2007 - Second Place In The Photographic Competition "Laocoon And His Sons" Awarded By The Museo Soumaya, Mexico, D.F.
2005-2008 Scholarship “Telmex” Per Academic Excellence Awarded By Telmex Foundation, México, D.F.
Publications on Photography
Photos on ‘A Border Control Official Sexually Abused Me’ in the Nation Magazine, New York, USA, April 2.
2018- Photos on ”The Walls of this Church Are the Only Thing Standing Between Amanda Morales and Deportation”, in the Nation Magazine, New York, USA, January 30.
2018- Photos on ”Seeing an Opening to Leave Her Husband, She Took It and Didn’t Look Back” The Neediest Cases Fund, New York Times, Region, New York, USA, January 2.
2017- Photos on “Sticking to the J Train, but Learning to Reroute Dark Thoughts” The Neediest Cases Fund, New York Times, Region, New York, USA, Nov. 1.
2017- Photos on “On Her Own, Raising Twin ‘Princesses’ With Special Needs” The Neediest Cases Fund, New York Times, Region, New York, USA, Nov. 22.
2017- “Abuelas: Portraits of Invisible Grandmothers”, Nueva Luz Magazine, USA.
2017- “Invisible Grandmothers”, Open Society Foundation, Instagram Takeover, USA.
2017 - "Quinceañeras", Buzzfeed, USA.2017 - Abuelas In Lens Blog, New York Times, USA.
2017 - New York Edited Identity By Ostreuzschule Für Fotografie In Berlin, Germany.
2017 - Dummy "USA" #52, Berlin Germany
2016 - Shift Vol 11 International Center Of Photography, New York
2016 - Invisible Matriarchs: Cinthya Santos Briones’ “Abuelas” Series On Pdn Online, USA.
Job Experience
2017 -Teaching At Lyons Community School, New York, USA.
2017 - Teaching Assistant For Adriana Adriana Zehbrauskas, Documentary Seminar, International Center Of Photography, New York, USA.
2017 - Teaching Assistant For Andrew Lichtenstein, Documentary Seminar, International Center Of Photography, New York, USA.
2017 - Teaching Assistant For Frank Franca, "Light And Shadows", International Center Of Photography, New York, USA.
2017 - Inter At PROOF: Media For Social Justice, USA.
2017 - Inter At Magnum Foundation, USA.
2014 - Photo Editor In The Magazine NACLA -North American Congress On Latin America, New York City, Unite States.
2014 - Community Organizer In The Tribunal Permanent Of The People: “Migration” Between Mexico And New York, Unite States.
2013 - Researcher At HBO In The Documentary Series “Heroes Cotidianos” New York City.
2005/2011 - Researcher In A National Project Of Ethnography Of The Indigenous Regions In The New Millennium, National Institute Of Anthropology And History (INAH), In The North Huasteca Regional Team Of México, D.F.
2011 - Researcher On The Project "National Program Of Basic Education For Children Of Migrant Laborer Families (PRONIM) In The State Of Guanajuato, Secretaria De Educación Pública, México.
In February And March Of 2011 Worked As An Assistant Of Museography At The "People's Art Exhibition Hidalgo: Rituals, Customs And Creations" Organized By The State Council For Culture And Arts Of The State Of Hidalgo, México.
2009-2010 Researcher On The Project "A Regional Demographic Diagnosis Of The Migrant Population Of The State Of Guanajuato", SEP, México.
2007 - Research On The Project Of Cultural Processes Derived From Migration In The National Commission For The Development Of Indigenous Peoples (CDI), Mexico, D.F.
Selected Exhibitions
2018- “Abuelas: Portraits of the Invisible Grandmothers” at International Photo Festival in Leiden in Holland, 2018.
2017- “Abuelas: Portraits of the Invisible Grandmothers” at Advent Church, New York, USA.2016 - Mextasis Studio, Brooklyn New York, USA.
2016 - "Haven" For Another Kind Of Paradise, International Center Of Photography, New York, NY
Artists Lectures
“Living Inside Sanctuary” at New School, New York, USA.
“Living Inside Sanctuary” at United Photo Industries, New York, USA.
2018- “Living Inside Sanctuary”at Bronx Documentary Center, New York, USA.
2017- “Abuelas” at Bronx Documentary Center, New York, USA.
2017- “Abuelas: Portraits of the Invisible Grandmothers” at Advent Church, New York, USA.
2017 - Dreaming Up North: Children on the Move Across the Americas, Museo del Barrio, New York, USA.2017 - Fighting Back On Both Sides Of The Mexico-U.S. Border, Left Forum, New York, USA.
2016 - Baxter Camara Club Of New York, USA.
2016 - Mextasis Studio, Brooklyn New York, USA.
Pdn Online, New York Times, La Jornada, NACLA, NGO PROOF: Media For Social Justice, Vision Project, Vogue, Open Society Foundations, Buzzfeed, The Nation Magazine, Delayed Gratification Magazine, etc.
Cinthya is available for assignments worldwide.
Languages: Spanish and English