The concept was simple. In the summer of 2010, Brandon Stanton began documenting the lives of everyday New Yorkers through his blog, Humans of New York. At first, his goal was to simply tie these people to a location, but as the project grew and he gained a loyal audience, he started to actually tell the story of New Yorkers through their anecdotes. As a result of his popular project, he has a few books under his name, a place on Time’s 2013 30 Under 30 list, and he can call himself the godfather of copycat sites, including the satirical Millennials of New York. He’s also gone global, traveling all over the world – including, recently, Iran – where one of his photos elicited a heartfelt response from President Obama.
It’s not surprising that Humans of New York has inspired others to start their own versions. Blogs have made celebrities out of many street photographers in recent years, and being able to look at a group of people in one city has turned out to have wide appeal. In Latin America, HONY has also had an impact, with many countries or cities starting their own versions. The most interesting part is perhaps that for Latin America, it’s a chance for the people to tell their own stories in a way that’s more accessible than the news.
Check out a small collection of projects inspired by HONY’s work below:
1
Humans of Buenos Aires
“Vine a vivir a Buenos Aires para estudiar medicina, estoy muy contenta pero extraño a mi hermanita de 3 años. Por más…
Posted by Humans Of Buenos Aires on Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Jimena Mizrahi, 25, is the photographer behind this site. She started in 2012, and has taken more than 700 images, according to Clarin. For Mizrahi, the project continues to be inspiring to her. Though, she has been doing it for three years, she still gets excited to explore Buenos Aires.
2
Humans of Rio de Janeiro
“O que importa é estar no mar seja fotografando ou se divertindo no “Jacaré” . ( Rico Sombra)”What matters is being at…
Posted by Humans of Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, June 21, 2015
Humans of Rio de Janeiro began in May 2012. The Facebook description said the page intends to look at “the real life and all kinds of people at the wonderful city.” Photographs are taken by Fabio Minduim, Dominique Valansi and Eiran Kreimer. Every few photos, you’ll find a dog catching a chancleta.
3
Humans of Medellín
Nos estaba contando del año más duro de su vida cuando surgió lo siguiente:¿Cómo así? ¿Cuántos carros te han pisado?…
Posted by Humans Of Medellín on Monday, August 17, 2015
The Humans of Medellín page doesn’t offer too much information, other than the photographer saying that these pictures are taking in his or her hometown. Much like the other Humans Of pages, the Medellín page says it was inspired by Stanton.
4
Humans of Honduras
A veces es el sujeto que escoge la foto y no el camarógrafo. Llevándome de la mano hasta su amigo, se abrazaron y dijo…
Posted by Humans of Honduras on Friday, December 13, 2013
Honduras’ reputation is hardly ever positive, and that’s something Humans of Honduras is trying to fight. “Misconceptions about small country located in the heart of Central America exist,” the page details. “We invite you to get to know Honduras through its people.” The Facebook page is managed by two women who simply go by Claudia and Daniela.
5
Humans of El Salvador
Hacer hamacas es mi hobby. Tengo 40 años practicándolo, he convertido mi casa en un taller de hamacas. Me toma alrededor…
Posted by Humans of El Salvador on Monday, August 24, 2015
The visually stunning images found on Humans of El Salvador tell a story that’s far away from what the media reports. Like many other Humans Of projects, the stories are written in English and Spanish. Here, you’ll also find a third language: Korean.
Kim Cheoljoong moved to El Salvador three years ago and wanted to show what the country actually represented. “I decided start this page for the purpose of introducing the bright side of this country to [Koreans] and now to all the people in the world,” Cheoljoong said to Remezcla. “This project is very important for me because so many people consider that this country is very dangerous and [that] Salvadorians are unhappy and dangerous people. But I don’t think so, and I see that Salvadorians are happy and good people. I wanted to take away this prejudice.”