Robert C Buitron

MARS (Movimiento Artístico de Río Salado, Phoenix, Arizona) artists attended the opening of the Chicano Camera Culture: A Photographic History, 1966 to 2026, at The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture. Annie Lopez and I were included in the exhibition. Images (L-R): 1. Cheech, Elizabeth Ferrer, Annie Lopez, Robert C. Buitrón, Daniel Ramos, Freddy Calderón, Diana Solis, and Ada Trillo 2. Annie Lopez & Robert C. Buitron 3. MARS artists: Martine Stuckey, Robert C. Buitrón, Annie Lopez, & Jeff Falk Fotos 1 & 2 by Jeff Falk Foto 3 by Brian Hmurovich

The constant and multitude streaming of events, small and big, obscure and noteworthy, displacement and replacement, often overwhelm or disorient one’s attention and presence.   Three weeks have elapsed since the opening of “Chicano Camera Culture: A Photographic History, 1966-2026” at the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture, Riverside, California, curated by Elizabeth Ferrer.   I have posted images of some of the artists in the exhibition, who have made their stories visible regardless of the inertia of the art world. I wish I had photographed all the artists who attended the opening reception in front of their art.   Please spread the word about this significant art exhibition; and those who attended the opening, return a few more times to examine the depth of the art and the stories each artist reveals and/or recounts. The exhibition will continue to August 30, 2026.   Images: 1. Exhibition poster 2. Freddy Calderón 3. Miguel Gandert 4. Luis C. Garza 5. Annie Lopez 6. Martina Lopez 7. Yulissa Mendoza 8. Diana Solis 9. Ada Trillo & Harry Gamboa, Jr. 10Amy Zapata   Photos: ©2026, Robert C. Buitrón

The art exhibition, Chicano Camera Culture: A Photographic History, 1966–2026, curated by Elizabeth Ferrer, opens February 7 at the Cheech Marin Center of Chicano Art & Culture of the Riverside Art Museum. This is a milestone photography exhibition, comparable to the CARA exhibition, 1990, that explores “the evolution of Chicana/o/x lens–based practices across six decades. Opening February 7, 2026, the exhibition will span both RAM locations for the first time: the majority of works at the Cheech through September 6, 2026, while a special archival section in the Members Gallery at RAM’s historic Julia Morgan Building through July 5, 2026. Following its Riverside debut, it will embark on a national tour. This project was supported by grant from the Henry Luce Foundation.“ “Featuring 150 works by nearly 50 U. S. Chicana/o/x artists, Chicano Camera Culture traces photography’s role from its activist roots in the 1960s to expansive contemporary expressions today. Traditional and experimental works – including silver gelatin, and digital prints, manipulated imagery, staged scenes, installations, and conceptual approaches – invite audiences to consider how the camera has shaped self-representation, cultural identity, and political expression.” “A fully illustrated catalog will be published by University of Washington Press with essays by Ferrer and scholars Charlene Villaseñor Black, Jennifer A. Gonzalez, Diana Ledezma, Nicole F. Scalissi, and Mary Thomas.” Some images from the series “The Legend of Ixtaccihuatl y Popocatepetl” included in the exhibition: 1. Ixta Ponders Leveraged Buyout, 1989 gelatin silver print 2. Ixta esperando a Popo en un hotel, en Fenix, Arizona, 1989 gelatin silver print 3. Popo In Therapy, 1989 gelatin silver print

Another question for the residents of Geneva, posted by my neighbor.

Yesterday while walking along the Fox River in Geneva where I live, I encountered these declarations of resistance and repulsion written with chalk on the trail. I asked myself, at what time did the individual write these messages? Did anyone witness the person writing? Was the person who wrote the messages afraid of getting caught, of having a confrontation with another person on the trail? I considered this person’s courage to write these statements in a public space. About a week ago, 10 miles north, ICE was active accosting, arresting, and kidnapping people in a heavily populated Latina/o neighborhood. Meanwhile, here in quiet, peaceful, White majority, conservative Geneva, people can be outside, walk the river trail without fear of disappearing. It made me aware that many Geneva residents, including myself, are sheltered and “protected“ by the demographics and character of the city. Will these messages shift the illusion of safety and rights in Geneva residents (and all who use the Fox River trail) to oppose the methods and tactics used by ICE?

Yesterday I attended a presentation by Harry Gamboa, Jr., at the National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, Illinois. He was invited by Chicago artist, Alberto Aguilar, in conjunction with @chihumanities Pilsen Day. Also in attendance were friends I hadn’t seen in a year or so, @delilah.montoya (who has an exhibition of her “Casta“ project on view at the museum) and @chuybenitez . Harry gave a short history of how LA, and the world in general, has become a dystopia and how this developed and affected the LA Chicana/o community specifically. He compressed the range of events and details that shaped and influenced his art from the LA of the 1940s to the present within a 30 to 45 minute talk. Foto 1: Harry Gamboa, Jr Foto 2: Harry Gamboa, Jr , Isabel Salazar, Chuy Benitez

I was invited to attend the talk by Elizabeth Ferrer, guest curator, and opening reception for my dear friend and brilliant and consummate Chicano photographer, Louis Carlos Bernal, at the Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, Arizona. The exhibition is on view through March 15, 2025. I saw and visited with old friends and artists, as well as met new acquaintances and artists. The exhibition is beautiful and flowing, displaying Lou’s images from his early days to his later years. Go see the exhibition if you have the opportunity and are in Tucson and of course buy the catalogue. L-R Foto 1: Armando Cristeto and Robert C. Buitrón Foto 2: Armando Cristeto, Elizabeth Ferrer, Robert C. Buitrón Foto 3: Izzy (Lou’s granddaughter), Cassie (Lou’s granddaughter), Katrina Bernal, and Lisa Brethour (Lou’s daughters Foto 4: Elizabeth Ferrer and Armando Cristeto Foto 5: Armando Cristeto, Cristina Cárdenas Foto 6: Cristina Cárdenas, Alfred Quiroz, Armando Cristeto Foto 7: Katrina Bernal, Lisa Brethour Foto 8: Katrina Bernal, Lisa Brethour Foto 9: Elizabeth Ferrer Foto 10: Elizabeth Ferrer, Deborah Padilla

To my beautiful and wonderful granddaughters and my gifted son who have made fatherhood a challenging and rich experience. Abrazos and love you always! Foto 1: 2003, Phoenix, Arizona Foto 2: 2015, Phoenix, Arizona

In 2015, my dad won the Oscar for Best Dad on Father’s Day. The following year he moved on to receive his spiritual reward for bringing life and laughter to all who knew him. Your presence is always in my heart and memories.

People lined up to buy solar eclipse eyewear last minute 1 hour before start of eclipse in Geneva, Illinois. Food truck doing brisk eclipse business too.

On this day, my mother, Guadalupe, was born in Crystal City, Texas, in 1933. We wanted to celebrate her 90th birthday, but we had to go low-key, under the radar sort of speak, because she and other family members, including me, came down with Covid. She has lived a long and wonderful life sharing her stories of living the life of farmworkers in Texas and Michigan and then urban life in a steel city neighborhood of Block and Pennsy in Indiana Harbor/East Chicago, Indiana. Today she lamented the absence of her best friend, Sulema, who became her sister-in-law and recently moved on to the next life. We will celebrate her birthday a month later, when, hopefully, we will all be healthy and ready to laugh as she continues in her 91st year. The State of Indiana sent her a certificate acknowledging this milestone in her life. I could not find any candles so I improvised with a match and sang her happy birthday and Las Mañanitas Happy birthday, mom with lotsa love y un fuerte abrazo

Blue heron, Fox River, St. Charles, Illinois