jose perez and family

thank you so much for the overwhelmingly positive response i got from my first post of old family portraits. i didn’t think a whole lot about it at first, but after posting them i felt very good about contributing my teeny tiny bit of history to the public archive. i don’t know if i’ve ever really seen such old photographs representing mexicans in america from that long ago besides the ones i’ve found in boxes in my grandmother’s closet, so i’m very glad to share them, and i do have more!

i especially appreciated hearing from threadbared and fashion for writers, who were both very happy to see representation of people of color in vintage photographs and are both going to be posting some of their own vintage family photos on their blogs soon. very cool!

anyway, for my next installation i’ve decided to post some more casual shots. the portraits i posted in my last post were very old, from as early as the 1910’s, so i imagine it was a much more eventful thing to get your picture taken. they got dressed up in their best clothes and patiently stood in front of the camera with an expressionless gaze. as time moved on, cameras became more commonplace so we start to see more relaxed shots. i particularly like these because those are just the types of dresses i love to find at estate sales!

lorenza elizondo roque (my great-grandmother) and family

mary elizondo espino

lorenza elizondo roque

lorenza elizondo roque