Filipino Housekeeper Receives Prestigious Magnum Scholarship

Xyza Cruz Bacani, 27, has been a housekeeper for a wealthy Chinese family in Hong Kong for the past 10 years. But on weekends, she takes her camera and goes out into the city to take impressive street photos.

Bakani's life just took a new turn when she was announced as the recipient of the prestigious 2015 Magnum Foundation Human Rights Scholarship, which offers an intensive six-week study at New York University. This practice will help her create “effective visual stories for the advancement of human rights” in her home country.

Bakani shoots with a Nikon D90 SLR camera that she bought after moving to Hong Kong, borrowing money from her employer. The digital camera opened the door to the world of street photography, and it wasn't long before the catchy images caught everyone's attention.

In this issue you will find a selection of street photos of Xiza Cruz Bakani.

(Total 19 photos)

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19. More recently, Bakani took a series of documentary photographs at a shelter for mistreated female housekeepers. Images from this project helped her win a Magnum Scholarship. The photographer hopes to become a professional photojournalist and return to the Philippines to change the country for the better with his photographs.