Selected “mini digital exhibitions” produced by student teams from PAH 200 Spring 2023: “The El Pueblo Urban Humanities Studio.” Guided by stories community members shared, and the philosophies of artists they studied, students created images about themes that intrigued and inspired them, from intergenerational celebrations held at the patio to traces of a lifetime of public service at the Congressman’s office, from pride in bilingual culture at the Frank de La Cruz - El Pueblo Library, to the dynamic flows of public transit through the Laos Transit Center.
REVOLUTION
The Re-Activation of the El Pueblo Neighborhood Center Gillian Franks, Justin Miller, Lily Reese, Riley Swindall
This project focuses on the somewhat meta documentation of our work within the El Pueblo Neighborhood Center in working towards the reactivation of the space. Though our time together has been brief, our interactions with community members have been memorable and this project aims to showcase just that. While memories may not last forever, they can certainly persist when used as a jumping-off point for future endeavors. While the El Pueblo Center may never be exactly what it once was in those fond memories, it has the potential to become something far greater if given a proper new life. These images focus on the use of space by the people within it, both physically and emotionally. Utilizing candid, unedited images, our hope is to spread the memories that have already been formed as well as help to create a space where new memories can be made.
Community starts with people. It is also about people having a place to meet and engage with each other. This photograph shows a small celebration in the courtyard. The space is simple: a few trees, cement block walls framing the enclosure, and stone tiles on the ground. These are the bones of the space.
The people and their stories are the lifeblood that creates the energy of El Pueblo. The term “placekeeping” refers to the “active care and maintenance of a place and its social fabric by the people who live and work there” (Manklang, 2018). The key to placekeeping is not just about physical care but the cultivation of cultural memories as well. Keeping cultural memories alive helps people maintain their social roots and their chosen way of life.
These community celebrations create the memories that hold a community together.
This photograph brings out the concept of imageability. According to Lynch, imageability refers to “that quality in a physical object which gives it a high probability of evoking a strong image in any given observer” (Lynch, 1960). Perhaps a green plant growing in an old pot does not evoke a strong image in some people but, for me, this image symbolizes El Pueblo Center.
The clay pot is the physical space of El Pueblo. The living plant represents the activities and life that El Pueblo tries to foster. El Pueblo has several decades worth of history…and the clay planter remains, ready for a new plant, ready to foster new life.
This photograph is about hope. The way the flags caught the light was important in communicating the possibility of hope for the El Pueblo Center. he creation of this photograph was about capturing the light on the flags in the midst of shadows cast by the surrounding buildings. The composition of the pictures is about focusing on the contrasts of light and dark and the emotional content that is contained from that juxtaposition. In terms of content, it is an image of a few small flags hung up to create some color in a drab environment.
The image Solitude refers to the lack of activity that the El Pueblo Neighborhood Center has been experiencing for the past few years. This photograph displays the papel picado around the patio, which illustrates the undying culture that encompasses the space…The content in this photograph adds a more emotional note to the scene because it represents the all of the happiness and joy that occur within the space, even if it is not being physically used. The El Pueblo Neighborhood Center is used for a multitude of events that include quinceañeras, bachelorette parties, bridal showers, baby showers, birthday parties, graduation parties, and even divorce parties. While all of these event usually occur in the El Pueblo Center’s Multipurpose Room, the patio is a reflection of those events in terms of its hospitality and overall atmosphere. The patio is a central hub within the center that invited the community to talk and connect with each other, which created a greater bond within the neighborhood.
In contrast to the image Solitude, the image Company is in reference to the El Pueblo Neighborhood Center’s patio being used by the community. The image depicts the space being used to its full potential and illustrates a sense of fullness within the space. Instead of contributing to the theme of emptiness, the image represents the idea of the importance of the space. The content and context of this image go hand- in-hand because of the way they both correlate with each other. The content of the image refers to the people being seen who are actively using the space, the papel picado that is along the beams surrounding the patio, and the different shadows and lighting that give the image a little bit more of a positive emotion. The context of this image refers to the the reason why everybody is at the El Pueblo Neighborhood Center, which also sparks the idea that no matter what the reason is that people are at the Center, El Pueblo is still being used to its fullest potential, and it is fulfilling the purpose that it was meant to have. This image is very compelling because it only enhances the clear happy and positive emotions that the El Pueblo Neighborhood Center brings to the community, and demonstrates the completeness that is within the Center while it is being used.
The image Flower Blossom depicts and alludes to the aspects of the El Pueblo Neighborhood Center that people may not pay as much attention to or notice. The flower blossom that is the subject of the photograph was only one of many flower blossoms in a tree located in the El Pueblo Neighborhood Center patio. However, when there are so many beautiful components it is easy to not appreciate them or notice them. When in reality, it is these little components that are what give the El Pueblo Center unique and individualistic character. The significance of this image lies within the knowledge of knowing that this particular flower represents all of the other beautiful flowers that give the El Pueblo Center a sense of life even when it is not being used. The overall goal that Congressman Grijalva has for the Center is for it to be revamped and for it to thrive. The flower blossoms (along with many other components) help to keep the El Pueblo Center’s originality and help to maintain the unnoticed original characteristics of the Center.
I specifically titled this image “Two Dimensional” because of not only the two perspectives you get upon examining but the angle or story each person is telling. You receive my view and angle of some of my fellow classmates taking their own angle and view of essentially the next generation of El Pueblo. This photo also represents the activation of the space, from our class, to the community members who were kind enough to participate, to the balloons and chairs all in the frame, creating almost a scene of life. The space radiates liveliness and warmth upon view. This image truly captures the new life that has been brought into the space and how we are reactivating the “heart of neighborhood.” I chose to capture this image because it embodies the past, present, future of El Pueblo. The “lifeline” of the community doing exactly what it was intended to do, bring people together.
In contrast to the image above, “two dimensional”, this image “Forgotten” is a little more eerie and not as lively in comparison. To reflect on the warmth and togetherness of the first image, I thought it would be best to also reflect on the past of El Pueblo. I really wanted people to look at this image and the one before and revel in the fact that it could go from almost abandoned to full of life and love. I thought having this contrast from this image to the first was important to understand the everlasting changes being made to such an important place in the community.
Similar to “Two Dimensional”, this image titled “Community” is another photograph that truly embodies what El Pueblo is made to do. Many of my classmates, myself included, have never been to the center or probably a center like it. And to be able to meet so many amazing members of the community and actually sit down and have real, meaningful conversations with them is new and exciting. This image has so many different aspects to it, from a few classmates chatting with a community member to the banner and conversations going on around them. The filling of the space and abundant usefulness of it was what I was going for in this image. I wanted to again show the liveliness a space like this can produce if you just bring people together. No matter who they are or what their background is, everyone is welcome at El Pueblo to celebrate and converse and just be in a space of so much positivity and warmth.
For this image, I titled it Highs and Lows.” As our group did not have a certain person or area that we specifically wanted to photograph, I have a wide range of people, places and moments. One of my favorites to capture was this one. Here you can see Jesse, essentially the caretaker of the Frank de la Cruz- El Pueblo Library. His job is to mend and replace books, keeping this rather charming library in order for anyone who wishes to pay a visit. A quote he said that really stood out to me was, “replacing and fixing books throughout the library is my way of helping the community.” Even through these small acts, Jesse is paving the way for a better community and center for everyone. Although small, its a key aspect to maintaining the liveliness and character of the library. Though this image you can see Jesse looking for books that are damaged or broken, doing his part for the community. I took this image as a true representation of that.
“When thinking of this center, I get emotional, too, because I remember sitting, in middle school and high school, in this area. My mentor Lorraine Lee, she was a very strong advocate here, especially in these neighborhoods, and she's the one that planted the seed of urban planning in my head. I remember watching her speak at a leadership conference with Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC) It was my first time seeing Aztec Dancers bless the courtyard, and just hearing her speak… when you're a young student, and her just being so confident, you know, speaking to the crowd, codeswitching to English to Spanglish to Spanish… and just seeing her, you know, care so passionately about this community really got me thinking – Well, what am I going to do when I grow up?” - Selina Barajas
Selina Barajas (right) has been coming to the El Pueblo Neighborhood Center since she was a young girl attending school in the Sunnyside School District at Elvira Elementary. Selina took folklorico classes with Parks & Recreation inside the multipurpose room. As an adult with her own young daughter (Mia Sol, pictured alongside her), she now finds herself working to reinvest in the center that she remembers so fondly. During one of the photoshoots on-site, she worked hard to make her daughter feel comfortable around cameras and strangers. Though we may never know what she was telling her daughter, there is a clear bond between the two in this image that is hard to capture with words.
Behind them sits the multipurpose room, one which has held all sorts of parties from weddings to quinceñeras. Alongside the patio in which most of these images were taken, the multipurpose room sits within the older area of the El Pueblo Neighborhood Center that is now, unfortunately, surrounded by gates and fences. Though not as exciting as a quinceañera, the multipurpose room still finds use in meetings and theater rehearsals.
beyond the gates, Lily Reese, 3/23/23, Digital unexpected conversation, Lily Reese, 3/23/23, Digital
“That is one of my favorite things about this center; it’s the people who work here, not just the agencies who pay rent here, but it's the people who help run this place. Alfonso (left in the first image, right in the second image) is one of those staff. They’re all over there, right, in the new part of the center, which is beautiful, too. And there's so much like goodness happening over there. But people like Alfonso are tied to this side of the center, the original, the center, right, so I really appreciate Alfonso and the love that he has for the center.” - Cassandra Becerra
It’s hard to host parties and celebrations if buildings around are not maintained. Much like Selina, Alfonso Romero (right in the second image) is someone that grew up at the El Pueblo Neighborhood Center. It’s one of the primary reasons he finds himself working there and helping to maintain what they can with what they have.
Despite the center’s neglect, Congressman Grijalva moved his office back to the heart of the community, El Pueblo Center. The office moved into the El Pueblo Center in 2017, before the fences had been installed.
Cassandra expressed her hesitations when he first came to her with the idea. Despite this, Congressman Grijalva insisted they move into the center, as this was his first step in bringing the center back to life. His dream is to have the center be a safe and useful space for those who need it once again.
“Just to highlight that this this area, not just the center, but this whole neighborhood, it might be underserved, but it's also underestimated. And the folks that live in this in this community in this in these neighborhoods that are surrounding it, I mean, the Congressman and his wife still live down the street. And she probably walked here this morning. Like it was mentioned a lot of people who work here, we live in this community. And that's why we're so invested. So I hope that we've given you a little bit, a small piece of our hearts, right. So that you can turn around and bring some more resources, help us bring some more resources to the folks that deserve so much more in this in this side of town.” - Cassandra Becerra
For Cassandra (left), the center has been part of her life since she first came here from Mexico. One of her first memories in the center is that of taking English classes with her mother, a service that is still offered for both children and adults.
REVOLUTION: The Re-Activation of the El Pueblo Neighborhood Center
Ⓒ 2023 Gillian Franks, Justin Miller, Lily Reese, Riley Swindall