For this series, I wanted to show pieces from the areas in which I grew up in LA as well as the Latino communities that I have built on the East Coast. Each person I have shot is from a community that was very influential to me. Being Biracial (Black and Mexican) and from LA I wasn't exposed to Afro-Latino culture in its complexities. When I got to NY I found myself and redirected my work to reflect a voice on Afro-Latino, Black, and Chicano culture. I named the show "LA Conexion" because I wanted to show the connection between Black and Brown culture from the east coast to the west coast as well as all the complexities that are associated with it. There are conflicts in Latino and Afro-Latino culture centering around the topic of Anti-Blackness which separates the two identities as a whole. It oftentimes is not discussed and I wanted to discuss it on a domestic scale with my art in the LA culture that I grew up in. Ultimately, we have a greater connection than we think. This show is alluding to another photo project I just finished and is coming out next year which centers around the Afro-Mexicanos in Guerro, Mexico.
Capturing the Beauty of Latino & Afro-Latino folks from coast to coast