Reconociendo A Martin Y La Mora, 2019

Being Chicano, I am deeply connected to my roots and culture. I have been fascinated by my family photo albums - the fashion, poses, and emotions embedded in the photographs of my grandfather and family convey to me the legacy that he left for us. My grandfather brought his family to this “new place” filled with the unknown, fear, and hope. Moving to the States in the late 60s, my family experienced a tremendous language barrier, as well as cultural challenges while trying to assimilate. It took years for them to feel comfortable in this new place – what was once unreachable in their lives soon became their home. 

Martin Barbosa was from a small ranch in the municipality of Tamazula, in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. His desire of migrating to the United States came true in 1969, where he lived in Gardena, El Segundo, and Norwalk, California. In Reconociendo A Martín Y La Mora, I am exploring the relationship between myself and my grandfather, Martin Barbosa, who has passed. I utilize the image of my grandfather as a departure point to investigate ideas of labor, politics, agriculture, my heritage, and his battle with Alzheimers.

During the process of creating this new body of work, I worked closely with my family, especially my mother and cousin in the making of the photographs. I visited my grandfather's house where he was born, which is now used as an agricultural tool storage. In the same ranch, he moved into another house made out of adobe bricks, where they all lived before moving to the States – this house is now falling apart. When they moved to the States, they lived in Gardena near train tracks; they photographed themselves here – where later I stand as him, being photographed by my mother. The house was torn down due to safety hazards, and they later moved to El Segundo – I visited those same train tracks and stood as Martin Barbosa. Both images of Martin and I sit next to each other in my book. 

Reconociendo A Martín Y La Mora has allowed me to dive deeper into my roots, connecting to my grandfather as I embody his positionality, in his land – bringing forth ancestral ideas and belonging – battling between what I have lost and what has become mine. Embodying him standing in the same poses and places, I feel a deeper connection and dialog with him and my roots. As a kind of photographic essay, I was able to reconnect with my family in a meaningful way and sort of bring Martin back to life, even for just one shutter.