- In recent years, thousands of Argentinean teenagers have been flocking to flogger culture, picking up day-glo fashion and an androgynous sensibility. Credit: Emiliano Granado
- Floggers have perfect wardrobes -- tight jeans, colorful shirts, and of course, a cell phone with a camera. Credit: Emiliano Granado
- Meet teenager Agustina Vivero, better known as Cumbio. Her personal fotolog.com page is one of the most visited sites in Argentina (37 million views!). Credit: Emiliano Granado
- Agustina is openly gay, and many of her photos capture her in intimate poses with her girlfriend Marulina. Credit: Emiliano Granado
- It all started when Cumbio invited some of her fotolog friends to her family's house for photo shoots. Credit: Emiliano Granado
- What started as a few friends became dozens, and then thousands of teenagers, as Cumbio's Internet fame grew. Credit: Emiliano Granado
- Nowadays Agustina is a national celebrity, and has a lucrative career making mall and club appearances. Credit: Emiliano Granado
- Although the name Cumbio comes from Augustina's love of cumbia music, nowadays flogger culture has embraced electro, even inventing a shuffling dance style. Credit: Emiliano Granado
- Not all young Argentineans embrace the flogging lifestyle. In 2008, a 16-year old died after being beaten up by teenagers, for wearing flogger clothing. Credit: Emiliano Granado
- Augustina started her fotoblog when she was 16, and most floggers in Argentina are between 10 and 18. Credit: Emiliano Granado
- The movement isn't afraid of money. Agustina's Internet fame landed her a gig with a Nike promotional campaign. Credit: Emiliano Granado
- An irony of flogger culture is that the online relationships formed through fotologs isn't enough, and that they need to be in physical contact. Credit: Emiliano Granado
- Agustina is now 19, and says when the hype dies down, she plans on becoming a TV journalist. Credit: Emiliano Granado
Piercings, tight jeans, and asymmetrical dyed hair. This is the uniform of the floggers — whose Internet exhibitionism has spawned Argentina’s latest cultural movement. A few years ago, teen Agustina Vivero started posting photos of herself, and sometimes her friends, on the Internet. It grew from there. She now has her own book, a TV show on the way, a sponsorship with Nike, and millions of fans. A simple appearance at a nightclub can earn her more money than her parents make in a month. She and her circle of friends dictate the clothing style, hair color, and musical tastes of hundreds of thousands Argentine adolescents.
Brooklyn-based photographer Emiliane Granado took a break from shooting fashion photography for Converse to spend time with Agustina and her crew. He returned with an in-depth look into the life of a queer teen Internet star and the thousands who love her.
Emiliane’s latest project Time for Print, continues to explore the intersections between popular culture, exhibition and spectacle.
All Photos by Emiliane Granado.