Mayela Sánchez, GPJ Mexico
Raymundo Dominguez, 33, sells balloons in Mexico City on Jan. 5, 2016, the day before Three Kings Day, which is considered the end of the Christmas season. The day commemorates the Christian belief that three wise men from distant lands traveled to worship and present gifts to the infant Jesus. To celebrate, children tie letters with their gift wishes to the balloons and send them up in the sky for the kings to read.
For 12 years, Global Press has transformed the narrative from some of the world’s least-covered places. In honor of a dozen years and nearly 10,000 stories told, editors selected some of their favorite photographs to show how powerful images taken by local journalists can change the global perception of their communities.
Shilu Manandhar, GPJ Nepal
On the outskirts of Lo Manthang, a village in Upper Mustang, Yanzen Gurung hangs a khada, a ceremonial scarf, as an offering to the gods that protect her maternal homeland. She was about to return to Kathmandu, where she lives with her husband. People in the Upper Mustang region believe that the gods protect the lands and the hills, and they offer prayers and khadas to them and hang Buddhist prayer flags.
Lucila Pellettieri, GPJ Argentina
Walter Alancay harvests salt using a pickax in the Salinas Grandes, a massive salt flat in Argentina's Jujuy province. Alancay saw activity by a mining company in 2012 that galvanized local communities to sign an agreement forcing outside mining officials to consult with the local communities before extracting lithium and other natural resources.
Gabriela Reyes Sánchez, GPJ Mexico
Susana Esquinca dances, as guitarist Wilbert González and saxophonist Anuska Moracho play flamenco music at Los Gauchos in Puerto Morelos, a town in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. The group has been together for five years and performs at this restaurant every Monday night.
Lucila Pellettieri, GPJ Argentina
Valentina Brishantina, the stage name of the founder of the artists' group Brigada Brillantina, dances at a march to the national congress building on Nov. 18, 2017, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, as part of the 26th Marcha del Orgullo LGBTIQ annual pride parade. "We believe glitter is a small material that bothers our enemies, and our friends enjoy it," Brishantina says.
Shilu Manandhar, GPJ Nepal
People from the Newar ethnic group's Maharjan caste begin building a chariot days before the chariot is paraded through Kathmandu at the start of the Seto Machhendranath festival. About 40 people work for a week to construct the vehicle, says Tirtha Majarjan.
Esther Nsapu, GPJ DRC
Chicken vendors at the Alanine Market in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, try to lure passers-by into buying their chickens for $15. This price has risen since a ban on imports from Uganda and Rwanda reduced the influx of poultry.
Pascaline Kavugho Mwasi Saambili, GPJ DRC
In a region once called the "bloodiest corner of Congo" by Human Rights Watch because of violent clashes between the Hema and Lendu ethnic groups, a cooperative of cacao farmers from the two groups has invested in shared land and is planting cacao to demonstrate that prosperity comes from unity.
Esther Nsapu, GPJ DRC
Fishermen repair their nets on the island of Gihaya in western Rwanda. The island was once a residence of Juvénal Habyarimana, who was Rwanda's president from the 1970s until the early 1990s. Now, children play football, and fishermen work on their nets on the grassland. At nightfall, the fishermen cast their nets into Lake Kivu for small fish known locally as sambaza.
Prudence Phiri, GPJ Zambia
John Banda, 11, a scavenger at a dump site in the Chunga neighborhood of Lusaka, Zambia's capital city, helps his sick mother search for sacks that are sold and repackaged for farmers and charcoal burners. John says he's been coming to the dump site with his mother since he was a baby. He has found personal items as well, including toys and clothes - and the bag he now wears on his back.
Raihana Maqbool, GPJ Indian-administered Kashmir
Women pray at the Makhdoom Sahib Shrine in Srinagar.
Raihana Maqbool, GPJ Indian-administered Kashmir
Rohingya refugees from Myanmar stand in a refugee camp in Jammu, a city in northern India's contested area. The refugees hoped to find peace in Jammu, but political parties there are pushing for their deportation.