Gabriela Hasbun is a San Francisco-based portrait photographer whose work focuses on marginalized and overlooked communities. Growing up between Miami and her native El Salvador—during a brutal civil war—she learned early on the importance of documenting people with honesty and care. Her subjects range from Black cowboys and fat activists to queer skateboarders and the rapidly disappearing communities along San Francisco’s Mission Street.
Known for her unembellished, candid style, Hasbun believes in the radical power of storytelling to challenge perceptions and celebrate identity in all its complexity. “I love photographing people as they are, doing what they love, showing who they are through my perspective,” she says.
Driven by curiosity and a passion for truth, Hasbun’s work invites viewers into worlds often unseen—making visible what has been ignored and questioning dominant narratives. Her photographs remind us that powerful stories can be found all around us, if we choose to look.
As long as there have been cowboys, there have been Black cowboys. The New Black West celebrates the modern Black cowboys of the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo and the community that comes together to witness their achievements year after year.
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