From exile to the dance floor, Venezuelan breakers turned migration into movement—finding survival, belonging, and recognition through breaking.
Survival. Safety. Opportunity. These are the most common reasons why approximately 8 million Venezuelans have left their country since 2015. Yet for a group of migrant breakers, the drive to leave went beyond basic needs—they sought recognition and creative opportunities that eluded them back home.
“I emigrated for art,” said Alexander Roque, a B-Boy from Valencia, whom I met in December 2021 while walking through the streets of Cali, Colombia. Drawn to a group of young dancers showcasing their skills, I stopped to watch—but it was Roque’s words that truly caught my attention. I knew then this was a story worth telling. That moment marked the beginning of my journey documenting the artistic and personal lives of these dancers.
Many of them began by performing at traffic lights, earning just enough to survive. Today, some of those same B-Boys and B-Girls compete in prestigious international events like the Red Bull BC One World Final 2024 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and lead cultural initiatives that uplift their communities—such as Risk Boys School, a breaking academy for children and teenagers in Cali.
For these migrants, breaking has been more than just an art form—it’s been a lifeline, a way to carve out opportunities that didn’t exist in Venezuela. “We had no chance to grow as breakers back home, so we left with breaking as our companion. Thanks to it, I even found a family—I’m married to another dancer, a Brazilian B-Girl, and we have a beautiful 2-year-old child,” says Luis Alfredo Mercano, also known as B-Boy Humble, who now lives in Manaus, Brazil.
Born in the streets of the Bronx in the late 1960s, breaking evolved from an act of resistance into a global movement—one that creates opportunities for those on the margins. For the Venezuelan artists in this project, it’s more than dance—it’s a concrete path to social inclusion, cultural visibility, and economic stability in their new communities.
That’s why I call this project B-Migrant: a fusion of identity and movement. The name plays on how breakers refer to each other as B-Boy or B-Girl, while echoing the broader reality of migration. It speaks to a journey not just across borders, but through dance itself—where each step is both a statement of belonging and a fight to build a new home.
B-Boy Heber López, 29, makes a ‘head spin’ at a traffic light in the south of Cali during a presentation to gain money, on February 24, 2022.Yoandri Bacho, B-Boy ‘Kimera’, maded a play/stop tattoo in his chest to symbolize his connection with music, especially Hip Hop. Photo taken on February 23, 2022, in Cali, Colombia.B-Boys from Venezuela show the palms of their hands after more than 30 presentations at a traffic light in Cali, Colombia, where they collect their day’s earnings, on February 23, 2022.Venezuelan B-Boys count the money collected after a night of performances in front of restaurants in western Cali, on January 7, 2022. Although there are dates when each member can earn $40.000 colombian pesos (COP), which they describe as a good profit, on the worst nights they barely collect just the half of that amount per person.B-Boy Heber Lopez, 29, poses for a portrait in one of the hallways of Cali’s Bus Terminal, Colombia, on June 30, 2022. His trip was bound for Bogotá to participate in the 2022 ‘Hip Hop al Parque’, where he was a finalist with his crew, RBN.Dorsylene Nadine Sánchez, B-Girl ‘Pela’, prapares to start a bus riding from Rio de Janeiro to São Paulo with his boyfriend, Marcos Antonio Pereira, B-Boy ‘Markin’, on December 8, 2024. ‘Pela’ holds a 1st place breaking diploma she won in Uberlândia.B-Girl Nanvid Abreu, member of ‘Power of Life’, stretches before a dance presentation in the Comuna 13 of Medellín, on October 16, 2023.Freiber José Rocillo, B-Boy ‘Rociflex’, poses for a portrait in the bleachers of a field of the Comuna 13 of Medellín, on October 18, 2023. ‘Rociflex’ is member of ‘Power of Life’ crew.Alfonso Berti Ibañe, B-Boy ‘Murdeking’, kisses her wife Daniela Mariceth Corcho at a street in Cali, Colomnia, on May 3, 2022. They met each other in 2016 in Barranquilla, one the first cities ‘Murdeking’ arrived after leaving Naguanagua, Venezuela.A breakdance performance by members of the Risk Boys Foundation, a training school for children and adolescents created by Venezuelan migrants in the Montebello district of Cali, Colombia, on February 25, 2023.Dorsylene Nadine Sánchez (left), B-Girl ‘Pela’, trains breaking poses while his boyfriend, Marcos Antonio Pereira, B-Boy ‘Markin’, watch her from the other side of the door in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on December 7, 2024.Ana Sossa, ‘Marshel’, is a bgirl from Valencia, Venezuela. In 2022, she arrived in Medellin, a city that Sossa believes is the best place to learn how to break in Colombia. Photo taken on June 25, 2022, at Parques del Rio in Medellin, Colombia.Kelvins Pinto, B-Boy ‘Mormonz’, poses for a portrait inside Red Bull BC ONE Camp ‘Fundição Progresso’ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on December 6, 2024. His tattoo ‘Familia’ (Family) is a homage to relatives killed during the protest againts Venezuelan goverment back in 2017.Paula Hernández, an 8-year-old Venezuelan B-Girl, makes a stunt with dancers of Riskboys Crew during a perfomance in the ‘Bulevar del Río’ in Cali, Colombia, on December 1, 2024.José Leonardo Catarí, B-Boy ‘Laiyon’, crosses a street while carrying a loudspeaker in Cali, on December 1, 2023.From left to right: B-Boy Alexander Roque, 23, José Leonard Catarí, B-Boy ‘Laiyon’, 29, and María José Villafañe, 22, cheer on a rap battle during a Hip Hop event at Museo La Tertulia in Cali, on October 23, 2022.B-Boys from Venezuela practice a choreography in front of La Tertulia Museum, in Cali, on January 7, 2022. Usually, before embarking on the tours in search of money, the artists meet at this point to fine-tune their performance.Edwin Chaparro, B-Boy ‘Chicle’, and his daugther Edwangely, 8, pose for a portrait in the Comuna 13 of Medellín, on October 19, 2023. ‘Chicle’ distinguishes himself by being an elastic dancer.A baby sees how B-Boy ‘Rela’ (left) trains in a community hall in the north of Bogotá, Colombia, on October 10, 2023.B-Girl Nicol Bolívar, 26, teaches choreography to girls during a breakdance class at the Risk Boys School in Montebello, Cali, Colombia, on November 29, 2023.Dubraska Monterrey hugs his boyfriend Ibsen Jiménez, while B-Boy ‘Alf’ (left) looks out onto the street from the window of an apartment located in the Santa Lucía neighborhood, south of Bogotá, Colombia, on July 3, 2022. That night they -the Flava and Spice crew- slept under a check for $11 million pesos after winning the 2022 ‘Hip Hop al Parque’ competition.Members of the school of breaking Risk Boys Brandon Bermúdez (center) helps Jesús Gabriel Villasmil to perfom a headstand freeze pose at the Airport of Cali, Colombia, on August 8, 2024. The crew, founded by Venezuelan B-Boys, participated at the national youth competition ‘The Battle of Boyacá’ in Bogotá.Jesús Gabriel Villasmil, B-Boy ‘Pirela,’ a member of the school of breaking Riksboys, watches the sky from an airplane that took off from Cali to Bogotá, on August 8, 2024. Villasmil, son of Venezuelan migrants, participated at the national youth competition ‘The Battle of Boyacá’ in Bogotá.B-Girl Laura Mámbel, 30, strikes a headstand freeze for a portrait in a terrace of El Rincón neighborhood, in southwest Medellín, Colombia, on June 25, 2022. Her main goal is having an economically sustainable life through dance.
Exhibitions / Grants
Photoville Festival 2025: For the second time, I had the honor of presenting my work at Photoville, one of the most important visual storytelling festivals in the United States. My project “B-Migrant” was selected as part of the 80 exhibitions installed across New York City from June 7–22, transforming public spaces into an open-air museum of photography.
Throughout the festival, I had the opportunity to engage directly with diverse audiences. I gave several talks both to general visitors and to high school students at Brooklyn Bridge Park, where we reflected on the themes of migration, identity, and belonging through photography.
Beyond the exhibitions and talks, Photoville was also a space of encounter and collaboration. I connected with inspiring colleagues, curators, and professionals from the visual arts industry
Everyday Projects Grant 2023: In 2024, I was fortunate to be selected as one of the grantees, alongside photographer Mihaela Aroyo, to receive support for developing a long-term project within my own community.
As part of the grant, I was awarded $6,000 and, just as importantly, I had the privilege of receiving mentorship throughout the process from photographer Kiana Hayeri and photo editor Jennifer Pritheeva Samuel.
This opportunity not only provided crucial resources for advancing my project, but also offered invaluable guidance, dialogue, and perspective from two leading voices in the field. It was an experience that deeply shaped my practice and reaffirmed my commitment to storytelling rooted in community.
