María Ximena Borrazás Cataldo
Ximena Borrazás is a Uruguayan photographer and documentary filmmaker born in Montevideo on 20 October 1992. Based in Barcelona since 2019, she focuses on armed conflicts, migration, and humanitarian crises. Her work combines visual sensitivity with a strong commitment to social justice, often addressing the experiences of women and displaced populations.
She has published with major international outlets, including National Geographic, The Guardian, BBC, CNN, DW, France 24, Al Jazeera, and the Associated Press, and has worked with institutions such as UNHCR, UNESCO, and IOM.
Ximena’s project in northern Ethiopia documents the devastating aftermath of the Tigray conflict, one of the deadliest wars of the 21st century. Her images portray survivors of sexual violence, displaced families, and the enduring effects of famine and trauma. This work earned her the 2024 Tom Stoddart Award for Excellence, the Gentex Corp Personal Safety Award from the Ian Parry Photojournalism Grant, and the Africa Mundi Award for best photographic publication in Planeta Futuro of El País.
Her wider portfolio includes the war in Ukraine, the 2023 Morocco earthquake, Syrian refugee camps in Lebanon, and the Mediterranean migration crisis. She approaches each subject with sensitivity, striving to give visibility to those living at the margins of global attention.
Her photography has been exhibited by institutions such as UNESCO and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). In 2024, she presented “No Me Olvides” (Don’t Forget Me) at Casa América in Madrid in collaboration with the Embassy of Uruguay and UNIR University.
In projects like Adrift in a Sea of Red Tape, she documents the bureaucratic and humanitarian obstacles facing refugees along Europe’s borders. Her work consistently centres on the human voice: bearing witness to survival, loss, and dignity amid crisis. Through visual storytelling, Ximena Borrazás seeks not only to document but to advocate for lasting awareness and protection.
BOOKS
No Me Olvides, Casa América, Madrid, 2024
Adrift in a Sea of Red Tape, zReportage, 2023
