In our thirst for Hollywood action heroes and caped crusaders, we sometimes overlook the everyday heroes in our midst. U.S.–based Mexican photographer Dulce Pinzón (born 1974) pays homage to Mexican immigrant workers in New York, heroes who sacrifice extraordinary hours in extreme conditions for very low wages, all for the sake of families and communities in Mexico who rely on them to survive. The Mexican economy has quietly become dependent on the money sent from workers in the United States, while the U.S. economy has quietly become dependent on the labor of Mexican immigrants. These color photographs present these immigrants in their work environment, but dressed in the costumes of popular American and Mexican superheroes. Short texts present the worker’s “secret identity,” their hometown and the amount of money they send to their families each week.
