Dulce Pinzón’s Catwoman is Minerva Valencia from Puebla, who works as a nanny in New York and sends back $400 per week.
Heroism was elevated in the national consciousness to new levels after 9/11, and themes of self-sacrifice were made all the more important in the media, as police, fire fighters, and (after the attack) members of the military gave life and labor over to their service. Dulce Pinzón’s Superheroes gives immigrant workers in New York City the same limelight, for their toils in “less spectacular” settings.
The Mexican immigrant worker in New York is a perfect example of the hero who has gone unnoticed. It is common for a Mexican worker in New York to work extraordinary hours in extreme conditions for very low wages which are saved at great cost and sacrifice and sent to families and communities in Mexico who rely on them to survive. . . The principal objective of this series is to pay homage to these brave and determined men and women that somehow manage, without the help of any supernatural power, to withstand extreme conditions of labor in order to help their families and communities survive and prosper.
Twenty color photographs document the immigrants in their workplaces, dressed in the garb of a popular American or Mexican superhero(ine). Their name, and hometown, are published alongside the number of years they’ve lived in NYC, and how much money they send back to Mexico weekly.
Pinzón’s work is currently on display at the Cervantes Institute. [es]
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i made a similar project called “heroes of survival” a year ago in Holland. check it out.
http://ronen.dvarim.com/2008/09/12/heroes-of-survival/