During the 70’s the Lençois island became a legend. The isolated village located at the equatorial Brazilian state of Maranhão was pointed as having the highest albinism percentage worldwide. Among 400 inhabitants, at that time, 18 had from a unique kind of the anomaly, 6000 times bigger than the global rate of 0,0005% .

Forty years later, almost everything is the same on this remote island – which takes two days of travelling across open sea to get to. However the individuals number with albinism has rapidly decreased. Despite eleven people born albino, only five remain on the island.

This project documents the situation at this unique island, its last residents with albinism and the reasons that drove most to move to new places outside of Lençois islands.

Published at National Geographic Magazine