Washington DC ,    
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During a period of three years, I photographed the social contrasts and complexities of life in Washinbgton D.C.  For weeks at a time, I ventured south from my home in New York to explore the inscrutable capital city.  As the stage for the workings of the globe's dominant government, Washington shares the spotlight with many great cities of the world, but it is poorly known - even though photographic treatments documenting its powerful figures and symbols abound. Some sobering statistics suggest mental images not normally associated with the seat of American democracy: the most cases of AIDS per capita; the highest infant mortality and the worst child poverty nationwide.  Yet most people, even most residents of Washington, hardly notice the harsh reality that underlies these statistics. Tourists enjoy the stately architecture, many museums and stunning monuments and the professional class circulates largely between upscale or newly gentrified neighbourhoods and their workplaces.  Elements indicative of failure or hardship and those of apparent success seldom interact in Washington.  The images in this booklet reflect my own ongoing explorations of the city, and my attempt to depict all of Washington in purposeful swings across its social and cultural landscape. In the Shadow of Power by Kike Arnal Homeless in New York Avenue. Football team, Georgetown University. Homeless entering a shelter. 81 years Walter Lee Cline in poor health conditions at dropping area of CCNV shelter (Center for Creative Non Violence), the largest shelter in the US. Mr. Cline was found sick with diabetes while a volunteering social worker was showing the facility to the photographer. A ambulance took Mr. Cline to a hospital. In a cold winter night, two homeless share the sidewalk in front of the National Gallery of Art, in Pennsylvania Avenue. The heating system of the buildings in this important city avenue keeps the surface of the sidewalk warm throughout the night. A homeless man looks into a coffee shop in downtown Washington DC. There are more than 15,000 homeless in the capital. Of those, about 10 percent live on the streets. DC policemen detains an underage who was driving. Teens partying at a disco. A girl cries during the funeral of a few weeks old baby in the predominantly Latino neighborhood of Mount Pleasant. Washington DC has the highest infant mortality rate, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of infant deaths per 1,000 births in the United States is 6.8 - but in Washington, but in the capital is 12.2. White House subway entrance. Woman in handcuffs. A Mexican illegal immigrant man from the state of Chiapas sells flowers in East Capitol Avenue.  A common sight in Washington DC. Many of the illegal street vendors live a demy-slavery life.  With almost no knowledge of English, people like him are illegally brought by semi-slavery rings to work for very low pay under inhuman conditions in the city. Shooting up the jugular. An overdosed drug user (paramedics suggested heroin) is picked up on 14th Street, NW Washington. Angry and shocked schoolmates look at Lavelle Kendall Jones' body during his funeral. (Lavelle was a well-liked student who was shot in the head whilst driving home from a nightclub.) The event was attended by hundreds of people and well covered by the local media. Martin Canales, an ex Mara Salvatrucha member under probation. Martin (18) is forced by the police to live outside the city. He has a 17 year-old girlfriend and a one-year old son. Oak Hill Detention Centre.
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