For the past five decades, magicians, acrobats, jugglers, musicians, dancers and puppeteers have migrated from all over India to the small illegal settlement. Nearly all of the 1,500-3,000 (depending on who you ask) families in the colony are professional performing artists. Many have found success operating at 5-star hotels in India and at Cultural Festivals abroad, but they continue to return to their homes in the cramped, dirty streets of Kathputli. But these are also the streets where friends entertain each other by turning a burning piece of paper into a crisp 100 rupee note. Where the sounds of tablas and singing can always be heard in the distance. And where a daughter and father can be seen on a rooftop practicing magic…

Zackary Canepari

Zackary Canepari is a American photojournalist who has worked extensively in India.

Albinism comes from the Latin word albus, meaning “white”. It is a hypopigmentary congenital disorder, characterized by a partial lack of melanin pigment in the eyes, skin and hair, and very rarely, in the eyes alone. The eyes, however, appear pink or red because the blood vessels in the iris and retina reflect light, whereas in normally coloured individuals they are hidden by pigment. Albino people have very defective vision and their eyes are extremely sensitive to light. The skin is very white and never tans, so that sunburn is much more serious than in ordinary blondes.

Albinism is hereditary; it is not an infectious disease and cannot be transmitted through, blood transfusions and contact for instance. The principal gene, which results in albinism, prevents the body from making the usual amounts of the pigment melanin. Most forms of albinism are the result of the biological inheritance of genetically recessive alleles (genes) passed from both parents of an individual, though some uncommon forms are inherited from only one parent.

However, because organisms can be carriers of genes for albinism without exhibiting any traits, two non-albinistic parents can produce albinistic offspring. Albinism generally occurs with the same frequency in both genders. An exception to this is optical albinism, because it is passed on to offspring through X-linked inheritance. Thus, males more frequently have ocular albinism as they do not have a second X chromosome.

There are two main categories of albinism in humans:

• In oculocutaneous albinism (despite its Latin-derived name meaning “eye-and-skin” albinism), pigment is lacking in the eyes, skin and hair. People with oculocutaneous albinism can have anywhere from no pigment at all to almost-normal levels.

• In ocular albinism, only the eyes lack pigment. People who have ocular albinism have generally normal skin and hair colour, and many even have a normal eye appearance.

As mentioned before, in physical terms, albinos usually have vision problems and need sun protection. Nevertheless, they also have to face, very often, social and cultural challenges because of their ‘special’ human condition that frequently cause them a source of ridicule, discrimination, or even fear and violence. Cultures around the world have developed many beliefs concerning people with albinism. This folklore ranges from harmless myth to dangerous superstitions that cost human lives. Furthermore, brutal discrimination almost always happens in less developed countries where the general scientific knowledge of such occurrences are not widespread and superstition takes hold. It is also more frequent in countries where the skin colour varies from people with albinism the most likely because they are more easily differentiated from the general population. Portrayals of people with albinism in literature and films have historically rarely been positive. This fact is sometimes referred to as the “evil albino” stereotype, or albino bias from other people, although one must recognize them as normal human being with physical problems as other have differently perhaps.
These pictures have been taken mainly in Argentina, Spain, United Kingdom.

Paola de Grenet

After finishing her studies in Graphic Design (London, Camberwell College of Arts) Paola de Grenet started working as a photographer in 1999. Currently she lives and works in Barcelona. Her works has been published in England (The Guardian, The Sunday Times, publishers Hodder & Stoughton, Penguin, MacMillan), Spain (Ojo de Pez, El Magazine-La Vanguardia, Woman, Elle) and U.S.A. (Virginia Quarterly Review). She won the prestigious grant FotoPres (La Caixa, Barcelona) and the competition LICC (London) amongst others. Her works focuses mainly on portraiture and reportage. Since 2008 Paola has been a member of Posse.

No where can the intense diversification of American faith be better seen and understood than in Flushing, Queens in New York City.

According to R. Scott Hanson, author of the book, “City of Gods: Religious Freedom, Immigration, and Pluralism in Flushing, Queens—New York City, 1945-2001,” there are over 200 places of worship in the borough. Religion is literally on display on the streets of this chaotic urban community. Economically devasted in the 1970s, Flushing was reborn by Asian businesses and residents leaving the
overflowing Chinatown of Manhattan; new immigrants found friendly faces and cheap housing on the outskirts of the city. Unqiue zoning laws allowed for the proliferation of houses of worship and as immigration grew and became more diverse, a perfect set of circumstances gave way to the most religiously diverse spot on the planet.

I’ve spent time documenting a selection of religious communities from the oldest, Quakers, to the newest at the China Buddhist Association whose temples serves mostly new Chinese immigrants to the active and flourishing Hindu Temple Society of North America (the first Hindu Temple in the U.S.). As new groups settle into the fabric of the community, established churches have evolved to incorporate new languages and traditions such as St. George’s Episcopal church and Bowne Street Community Church which both incorporate Taiwanese and Latin American traditions along with their more commonplace English language and American traditions. While the Eastern faiths and faces are flourishing, some of the older established communities struggle to maintain their place in the evolving landscape. Most of the Jewish synagogues’ memberships are in rapid decline as Jews move farther out in the suburbs. Temple Gates of Prayer is the most active and vibrant synagogues in this part of Flushing due in large part to the leadership of charismatic Rabbi Albert Thaler.

I have documented rituals and everyday moments that bind followers of various faith traditions. A deep connection to a faith’s spiritual roots as well as the strong bonds of fellowship are the core of these communities regardless of faith doctrines. I have tried to steer clear of what I feel is previously known or understood as well as trying to dispell some stereotypes, all the while tapping into the intense beliefs and joyous celebration of believers. A man praying silently during the Lunar New Year blends in perfectly well on the streets of the city, his red fleece vest providing no hint of his Buddhist faith. Faith is so much more than doctrine, didaticism and costume, although seeing Rabbi Thaler dressed as a nun in his annual outlandish Purim actions
was a fantastic moment of levity and life. A reminder that religion does not need to be an uptight,
solemn practice.

The relative peace and calm of such a diverse and densely populated community as Flushing is a testament to a multicultural society. It is noteworthy to see what’s possible when the profound but paralyzing battles between faiths are supplanted by the equal space for mundane everyday practices of life, work and prayer.

was raised in Dallas as a New Yorker in exile. Nothing at all wrong with Texas, I now pine for quality Tex-Mex and that slightly crispy feeling on your skin as the summer sun broils it to a crisp. While lost in Liberal Arts at the University of Texas-Austin, I discovered photography and all the doors that it could open along with the power and impact of creating images. After grad school at the University of Missouri, I began a generally successful 10-year career in newspapers which included some awards – NPPA Region 5 Photographer of the Year, POYi's Community Awareness Award, First Place People in the News in World Press Photo and three Pulitzer Prize nominations. After meeting my New York City born-and-bred wife in North Carolina, I left newspapers and relocated to the Northeast eventually settling in, and loving, Philadelphia where I now live with Caroline and our one-year-old son Ari.