March 14, 2018. Caracas, Venezuela. The cheerleaders rehearse back stage at a cryptocurrency conference at a luxury hotel. Secocheers is a freelance team of professional Cheerleaders based in Caracas. They perform at sporting events and the occasional private one across the country, and help support their families with their earnings. This project explores the surreal world of being professionally happy, and professionally beautiful, amidst the collapse of the Venezuelan state and its growing humanitarian crisis.
March 20, 2018. Caracas, Venezuela. The sun rises over the barrio of El 23 De Enero and Caracas below as Katherine drops her daughter Hellen off at her grandparent's house in their neighborhood of El Observatorio. Her neighborhood has a reputation for violence, but she says for her and her family its a calm place.
February 26, 2018. Caracas, Venezuela. Greysi Bello leads the team through choreography to a Reggaeton song. Two weeks later she emigrates to the Dominican Republic with her boyfriend in search of a better life.
March 14, 2018. Caracas, Venezuela. The cheerleaders huddle backstage during a performance at a cryptocurrency conference at a luxury hotel. With cash shortages due to hyperinflation and a the official Venezuelan cryptocurrency "The Petro" recently launched there is an increase in interest in cyber coins.
March 9, 2018. Caracas, Venezuela. The team performs at the Chavez memorial event in El 23 De Enero. The location is a sports stadium just blocks from Chavez' tomb, and the famous super block apartment buildings whose residents played key roles in the country's history.
March 14, 2018. Caracas, Venezuela. Diana Rodriguez, a professional cheerleader and student, poses for a photo for her instagram backstage during a performance at a cryptocurrency conference at a luxury hotel in Caracas.
March 5, 2018. Caracas, Venezuela. Caridad gets her daughter ready for school in the room they share in their two room house. SecoCheers, one of Caracas' best and most well known cheerleading teams, struggles to stay afloat. Many of their best dancers have joined the tides of migration, but the girls that remain, led by their trainer Caridad Seco, continue to rehearse 3 times a week in a public gym's cafeteria, and perform at competitions for the top national teams as well as government events and private parties. As the crisis closes in from all sides, the cheerleaders continue to fight to maintain their reputations as Venezuelan women for being some of the most beautiful in the world, despite the prices of tights and fake eyelashes costing well over a monthly minimum wage, all while promoting the scarce commodity of cheer in the darkest of times in their country.
March 8, 2018. Caracas, Venezuela. The cheerleaders practice a formation for performance for a memorial event to Chavez in their rehearsal space in the cafeteria of a public gym. Some were uncomfortable performing at the event for political reasons, while others treated it as one more professional engagement. They danced to a poppy ode to Chavez called "Chavez Corazon del Pueblo" or Chavez the heart of the people.
March 2, 2018. Caracas, Venezuela. Greysi at a Samba performance at a college graduation. She dances in a Samba group for additional income. Greysi has been dancing with SecoCheers since she was 14 and is one of the most senior members of the group. Two days after this she migrated to the Dominican Republic to try a new life working as a dancer and living with her boyfriend there. During the performance she ran into several old classmates- she had studied at this university before dropping out dance full time.
March 20, 2018. Caracas, Venezuela. Katherine poses for a portrait with her daughter at her in law's house in El Observatorio.
February 26, 2018. Caracas, Venezuela. Diana at rehearsals flips her hair.
March 26, 2018. Caracas, Venezuela. Rehearsals are held in the cafeteria of a city sports stadium and park. Anali holds her son Landon as she runs through the choreography with the team.
March 19, 2018. Caracas, Venezuela. Katherine goes to bed next to her daughter after coming home late from practice, cooking dinner, and laying out their clothes for the next day.
March 14, 2018. Caracas, Venezuela. The cheerleaders pose for photos at cryptocurrency conference at a luxury hotel. With cash shortages due to hyperinflation and a new official Venezuelan cryptocurrency "The Petro" just launched there is an increase in interest in cyber coins. Margareth, in the center, runs out between sets to take a college chemistry exam.
March 14, 2018. Caracas, Venezuela. Soon after the launch of Venezuela's cryptocurrency, the Petro, the girls are asked to perform at at a cryptocurrency conference at a luxury hotel in Caracas. They run through their choreography in the bathroom.
March 14, 2018. Caracas, Venezuela. After each performance that uses pom poms the team wraps them in sweat bands to preserve them. Caridad told me each one cost 10 dollars when she bought them years ago, and that kind of money is totally prohibitive now.
March 7 , 2018. Caracas, Venezuela. At rehearsals, Caridad's daughter, Andreli checks her phone, while watching Jeidy rehearse. Jeidy was recovering from a nose job and a procedure to give her a 6 pack. As the crisis closes in from all sides, the cheerleaders continue to fight to maintain their reputations as Venezuelan women for being some of the most beautiful in the world, despite the prices of tights and fake eyelashes costing well over a monthly minimum wage, all while promoting the scarce commodity of cheer in the darkest of times in their country.
March 2, 2018. Caracas, Venezuela. Greysi at a Samba performance at a college graduation. She dances in a Samba group for additional income.
March 14, 2018. Caracas, Venezuela. The cheerleaders go live on instagram backstage during a performance at a cryptocurrency conference at a luxury hotel.
March 9, 2018. Caracas, Venezuela. The team prepares to go on the field to perform at a sports themed Chavez memorial.
March 23, 2018. Caracas, Venezuela. The crowd at the Cuba Vs Venezuela boxing match goes wild as a Venezuelan fighter makes a come back against a Cuban. The Venezuelans that night appeared notably thinner than their Cuban competition, and many had lost their fights. When a Venezuelan finally began landing blows, the crowd jumped to their feet.
March 23, 2018. Caracas, Venezuela. The cheerleaders perform at the Cuba Vs Venezuela boxing match. The show is "chief" themed because the boxing team is called the Caciques.
March 14, 2018. Caracas, Venezuela. The cheerleaders backstage during a performance at a cryptocurrency conference at a luxury hotel.
