Although Brazilian photographer Valdir Cruz has lived in the United States for more than twenty years, much of his work in photography has focused on the people, architecture and landscape of Brazil. In 1994 he started photographing FACES OF THE RAINFOREST, an ongoing project documenting the life of indigenous people in the Brazilian Rainforest, for which he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1996. His publications include CATEDRAL BASILICA DE NOSSA SENHORA DA LUZ DOS PINHAIS (Brave Wolf Publishing, 1996), Patrick Tierney’s acclaimed DARKNESS IN EL DORADO (W.W. Norton, 2000), FACES OF THE RAINFOREST – THE YANOMAMI (powerHouse, 2002), with the support of a publication subvention awarded by Guggenheim Foundation in 2000,  FACES DA FLORESTA – OS YANOMAMI (Cosac & Naify, 2004), and CARNAVAL, SALVADOR – BAHIA –1995-2005 (Throckmorton Fine Art, 2005).  His newest book, O Caminho das Águas, is forthcoming. Cruz is represented in the permanent collections of the Museu de Arte de São Paulo, The Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and the Smithsonian Institution, among others. Cruz lives in New York City.