Mario Cruz : "Living among what’s left behind"
Once the main economic artery of Manila, the Pasig River has become the reflection of a very unequal society, where more than one fifth of the population lives below the poverty line. Many Filipinos hoped to find employment there. Their dreams shattered, many of them have become stranded on the banks of this river, considered to be biologically dead since 1990. Families try to survive in run-down wooden shacks, overlooking extremely polluted waters. The photographic work of Mário Cruz denounces the vicious circle these inhabitants are stuck in, between consumption and contamination, in places where nobody should have to live.
Born in Lisbon in 1987, Mário Cruz is an independent photojournalist focused on social justice and human rights. He has received many international awards including the World Press Photo award in 2019 for one of the photos from the exhibition Living Among What’s Left Behind.