The winning project of the VII Beca Joana Biarnés is Bagong Bayani by Axel Miranda, about the Filipino diaspora in Spain, which hides “the dependence on a policy of exporting labor and on remittances as an essential source of income.”
It has been chosen by the jury of the 7th edition of the Beca Joana Biarnés Grant, our scholarship for young photojournalists, among the three finalist projects.
“Bagong Bayani”, the scholarship project
This is a study of the Philippine diaspora in Spain and the unequal relationship established between our country and its former colony.
In presenting his project, Axel Miranda explains that “the official discourse of the Philippine government refers to migrant workers abroad as Bagong Bayani, which means ‘new national heroes.’ Their image is exalted as a symbol of sacrifice and an economic engine for the country. However, behind this narrative lies ‘a dependence on a policy of exporting labor and on remittances as an essential source of income.’”
The project aims to contrast “the imaginaries constructed both by the Filipino society of origin and by a large part of Spanish society, while also proposing an exercise in exploration about the second generation, forged in the shadow of the Bagong Bayani“, the women who work abroad, “whose figure is exalted as a symbol of sacrifice and economic engine” in the Philippines.
The author and his motivation
Axel Miranda is a documentary photographer and resident of Barcelona, with a background in Arts and nearly 10 years of experience in various areas of journalism. He is passionate about communication and audiovisual production.
The author reveals that his motivation for undertaking this project stems from his personal, family, and community history. His project seeks to portray the reality of the Filipino community in Spain and, at the same time, proposes “an exercise in identity exploration for the second generation”—to which the author belongs—which is being forged “from the legacy and shadow of the Bagong Bayani.”
Boosting young photojournalists
The Beca Joana Biarnés supports the professional development of young photojournalists, aged 18 to 35, and encourages them to highlight issues of need for social visibility and reflection, focusing on the national geography.
The Photographic Foundation would like to express its sincere gratitude to all those who submitted their projects, as well as to all the entities that collaborated in promoting this call for entries, including photography schools, associations and unions of photographers and journalists, universities, photography festivals, specialized magazines and cultural agendas.
The Joana Biarnés Scholarship for Young Photojournalists is funded by the income generated by the Joana Biarnés Archive and the collaboration of Generalitat de Catalunya, Ajuntament de Terrassa, Foto Ruano Pro, Centre Cívic Pati Llimona, the 5w magazine and La Mirilla de Malasaña.