Nov 2009
Happy Birthday
November 23, 2009
Alberto Barrera 1923 -
2008
El Nuevo Porvenir Market - circa 1946
November 21, 2009
Thanks to Los Angeles photographer Gil Ortiz for this vintage photo of his father Willie Ortiz (right) and Gil's grandfather Gilberto Trevino. The photo was taken at El Nuevo Porvenir Market on Figueroa and Alpine in Los Angeles around 1946.
Rick Corrales 1957 - 2005
November 07, 2009
This picture was taken around May, 1988 after I left the L.A. Times and went to live in my little house in Tucson, Arizona.
One day, Rick called out of the blue to say he'd be in town for some assignment that I can't remember. I invited him to crash at my place, which he did. And, of course, as usual, we laughed most of the time.
I didn't know exactly when he'd be in, but on the day he was due, he called for directions and as I gave them to him, he'd say, "Uh, huh, uh, huh, uh huh."
Rick was among the first to have a car phone, and what I didn't know was that he was just a few blocks away.
A couple of minutes later, he was in my driveway still talking on the phone, telling me to look out the door, laughing at me when I did and he saw my eyes bulge with surprise.
When I told him to bring his things in and showed him the bedroom he'd be using, he looked around, grinned, and said, "It's just like home!"
I felt like an old, super tidy woman, but was glad because that told me he felt comfortable.
We got to talking about what he'd been doing and he said that he'd invented a camera that turned 360 degrees and took panoramic shots.
We went out into the yard where he demonstrated how the gizmo worked.
As that camera started whirring, clicking, and turning, I was amazed, to say the least. And, I just know that he laughed at me again when he printed this photo and saw me standing there with my mouth open.
(Years ago, he took a picture of me when the wind was blowing my hair straight up and away from my face. Once in a while, he'd dig it up, point at it, and laugh at me some more.)
Before he left, Rick told me that he'd send me a print, but I forgot about it. Some time later, true to his word, a long piece of cardboard that had been folded in half and taped around the edges arrived. I couldn't imagine what it could be until I opened it and found two pictures inside--this one and another that he took at a basketball game, but that I cannot find. I know it's here somewhere.
Apart from the memories it preserves, I love this picture of Rick because it shows the way he looked when he got a kick out of things--and the pride he took when his projects or photos worked out the way he wanted them to.
This was the last time I saw Rick, and I still mourn his passing.
Virginia
Photo by Rick Corrales taken with the CORRALES 360 was provided by Virginia Escalante
In 1984, Rick was on a team of reporters, editors and photographers that won a Pulitzer Prize for meritorious public service for the Los Angeles Times series "Southern California's Latino Community."
Juan Posada's Loncheros
November 06, 2009
Early this year after attending an Acociacion de Loncheros community meeting, Juan Posada started photographing food trucks in Los Angeles. CaliforniaTacoTrucks.com has a good interview with Posada.