Lifestyle
They’re fronting, they’re flexing, they’re bonding. Celebrating an immigrant family photo tradition
Artist and founder of Tlaloc Studios Ozzie Juarez, and film director-model-multidisciplinary artist Pablo Simental.
The photos are warm and grainy, some of them taken at an angle. They show four young men smiling — no, beaming. It’s 1991: The jackets are puffy, the shoes are high-top, and the hair is specific. In the photo, the men are somewhere in Beverly Hills, where, whether they realized it or not, they were manifesting a new future. Standing in front of the large glass windows of a luxury car showroom at night, butterfly doors opening up like angel wings in the background, the men in the photos feel like they’re on the precipice of something special. They’re fronting, they’re flexing, they’re bonding.
The people in the images are the elders of Image’s fashion director at large, Keyla Marquez, captured at time when they’d recently immigrated to L.A. from El Salvador. This was their ritual: After endless days working at restaurants, Marquez’s uncles, father and family friend would book it to Beverly Hills, where they’d post up in front of fancy car dealerships that sold Ferraris, Porsches and Rolls-Royces, and have photo shoots. In the moment, it was something to do, a reason to get out of the two-bedroom apartment they shared with three families, a way to take up space in this new city. It’s a photographic tradition that was familiar to photographer Thalía Gochez, whose own father came to the U.S. from El Salvador as a young teenager and also used to take pictures of himself in front of classic cars around L.A., inscribed with love notes to her mother on the back. For both sets of families, these photos were hard proof: that they were here, that they had made it.
Keyla Marquez’s uncles, father and family friend in 1991.
(Courtesy of Keyla Marquez)
This editorial is Marquez and Gochez’s re-creation of these relics left behind by the men in their family. It was brought to life with two of Marquez’s closest friends as models, whom she describes as her “babies”: artist and founder of Tlaloc Studios Ozzie Juarez, and film director-model-multidisciplinary artist Pablo Simental. The energy at the photo shoot was nothing short of familial, with Marquez, Gochez, Juarez and Simental all understanding the vision through a sort of shorthand. With the project, Marquez and Gochez honor this ritual as an art form, and cement it as a Latino immigrant tradition.
Keyla Marquez: My mom has photos laying everywhere. I opened a shoebox and on the top was [a] photo of my uncle. I was like, “¿Mami, qué es esto?” She was like, “Your dad and your uncles — because they used to all work at restaurants — after they would get done with work, on the weekends, they would go and cruise Beverly Hills and take photos in front of cars.” They would send those photos back to El Salvador and be like, “Look, this is what life in America is.” I [thought] it would be cool to do something inspired by this.
For this story, I really wanted to work with Thalía. … So much of her work is Latino, brown stories. I reached out to her and gave her the whole spiel via DM. I sent her a photo of my uncle. And then [Thalía] responded, and [was] like, “Yo, my dad used to do the exact same thing.” And then she shared a photo of her dad and was like, “My dad used to take photos in front of cars, and none of them were his and he would write things in the back of the photos, too.” Our families are so cute. Here we are, just fronting. It was meant to be.
Pablo (left) wears Louis Vuitton top, jacket, pants, Jacques Marie Mage sunglasses, Toga shoes. Ozzie (right) wears Louis Vuitton, personal jewelry, Locs sunglasses.
Thalía Gochez: I’ve always been a fan of Keyla’s work. And we both followed each other for a minute. When she DMd me, I was like, “Let me open this right away.” I was super excited when I heard the actual concept. A big part of my artistic practice is honoring lineage and honoring story through style. It’s always been important for me to go beyond fashion to create a story and highlight identity. This [project] is so aligned with what I always want to do and what I already do. Also a big inspiration for me not only is my culture and heritage, but my childhood and my upbringing. I’m constantly looking through archives, through family photographs.
My dad passed away when I was 15. He was a huge car guy. That’s how he put food on the table. He would sell really rare Porsche parts — we always had classic cars in the driveway. He was a one-man show. But before I was born, he would take a lot of photographs in front of cool cars, and it’s exactly what Keyla said, he would write things to my family back in El Salvador. It wouldn’t just be in front of cars, it would be in front of restaurants, fountains, this idea of luxury. This is such a rare shared experience. It’s a true sense of community — that word is hyperpopularized, but this right here, what we’re doing, is community-building. That’s what’s so important about art and what photography can actually do.
Thalía Gochez’s father in Los Angeles. (Courtesy of Thalía Gochez)
KM: I think it’s a ritual that a lot of immigrant families partake in. Even when we were shooting [this editorial], a lot of tourists were literally posing to take photos in front of the Louis Vuitton store. It’s still happening, it’s just a little more polished now. For my family, [it was] putting on their Sunday’s best and just going and taking photos in front of places selling the American dream. It’s their definition of luxury. Especially Beverly Hills — in El Salvador, you think it’s so elegant and so unattainable, that’s where all the rich people live. Then you go, and it’s not what you think it is, but you still want to sell this image and this idea, and it’s like, “What are the places that we can go and take photos of?” The stores and the car dealerships. I think it’s letting people know that “look, we crossed the border, and it was all worth it, because here’s this photo.”
TG: For my father, when I look at those photographs, there’s a spiritual aspect to it. He was kind of manifesting this life. He was like, “Oh, hey, look at this car. I don’t have it yet, but stay tuned.” And a lot of the cars he did [end up having]. It’s a very hard thing to leave your home country, come into a new space, and have this access to luxury. A lot of it, too, is empowering. Like, “Look, I came all the way over here. I’m in front of this amazing building, in front of this car, and I feel empowered, I feel this is mine in some way.” Even growing up, I remember going on car rides with my dad and my family through nice neighborhoods and looking at all the houses, even in Beverly Hills. Maybe he didn’t have that access to do that in his home country. But here, it’s within reach. It feels like a part of his story.
KM: I wonder what conversations they had hanging out there taking photos. Like, who brought the camera?! Who was just like, “Nos vamos ir a tomar fotos”? You see a softness in those photos that you usually don’t see in Latino men.
TG: It’s incredibly vulnerable too because, yeah, they’re manifesting, but it’s technically not theirs.
KM: My family worked a lot when they first moved here, day and night at Chinese food restaurants. They lived in a two-bedroom apartment — it was three families. At night, it was like, “Let’s go out and drive around and have a moment outside from our apartment where we don’t even have space.” They had to go out to have a moment to bond with the other men in the family. It was mostly just not having resources and using the sidewalk as a resource to hang out.
Pablo wears Balmain top, jacket, pants, Jacques Marie Mage sunglasses, Toga shoes.
Ozzie wears Gucci, personal jewelry, Tecova boots.
TG: There was definitely a lack of space to explore your imagination, so they created their own little spaces. Backtrack to when [my dad] was in his 20s, he was a huge storyteller. When he was trying to pick up my mom, he would take pictures of himself and write novels about it and send it to her. When I look back at his life, and how he moved, he was very much an artist. He would take the most beautiful portraits of my mother. I also wanted to ask who took these photos of him. Would he do a timer? He was a very solo man, so I need to know more. Maybe one day I’ll have that privilege of learning that.
KM: I come from a very religious family, where people just pray for you nonstop. [Seeing these photos], it was like our prayers had been answered. Crossing a border was really hard back then, and everyone in my family did it. [It was like] all those extreme, super dangerous things were not in vain. Every time [family members from El Salvador] come here, they’re like, “Take us to all the places that you sent us photos of.” [We take] the family to the Hollywood sign, [to] Rodeo. When I first started making good money, I took my mom to the Gucci store to buy some shoes. That’s a big deal for immigrant families. Never in a million years did my mom think she would be buying something from a store on Rodeo.
TG: I feel like we’re not normally allotted that opportunity. I think [my family’s perspective] was that they thought he was just rich.
KM: They all think we’re rich. Like, “They’re millionaires in America.”
TG: Obviously, [my dad] wasn’t [rich] in our perspective, but he was earning and had access to even just clothes, food, resources that they didn’t have access to. So in their eyes, he was this success.
KM: It’s important to let the world know how much value there is in these stories. When you bring in some of these brands that are not accessible to the world — some of the looks that I got are probably not even going to get made to be sold in stores, there’s so much exclusivity in that world — for me, it’s like bridging that gap. I can bring in that world because of the agency that I have in this world. And I can bring in my community and my friends, and bring in this memory from my family. Bringing all these things together and retelling this story, that’s such a superpower. I can’t wait to see how many people are going to be like, “My family used to do that, too.” I was in the car coming home [from the shoot] and I was just crying because I’m so grateful and blessed that I get to do this. An immense feeling of gratitude and love that I get to tell these stories.
TG: For me, it was important to honor my father. Honor what he used to do. A lot of the blessings I have today in my life are because of him, because he did dream, because he did create those spaces for himself. I am reaping the benefits from his labor, from his resilience, from his tenacity, from his ambition. He came to America at 14 years old with $10 in his pocket. And now, I’m able to support myself fully financially from my art and that’s such a privilege. I wouldn’t have been able to do that if he didn’t didn’t lay down the foundation. So a big part of this project for me was just to honor him and the rituals he used to do.
KM: That’s the goal with everything that I do: the ripple effect it causes. What is it going to inspire a younger me to do? I wish I had seen someone like me growing up.
Production Mere Studios
Models Ozzie Juarez, Pablo Simental
Grooming Carla Perez
Styling Assistant Deirdre Marcial
Pinstripe Art Diana Ramirez
Mara is a single mother of two in Minnesota. She and her family have depended on SNAP benefits to make ends meet.
Caroline Yang for NPR
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Caroline Yang for NPR
Although Mara is unemployed, she is busier than ever.
When she is not taking care of her two children, Mara is at her desk applying for jobs. She is surveying her belongings to see what she can pawn off to buy toiletries. Or she is sifting through bills, calculating which ones can wait and which need to be paid right away.
Soon, Mara, a single mom in Minnesota, may have another task on her busy schedule: figuring out how to afford food for her and her family.
That’s because of new work requirements for people receiving aid from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP or food stamps.
“It would be so beyond hard” to lose SNAP benefits, Mara said. “Without SNAP, there’s no funds for food.” Mara asked for her last name to be withheld given the stigma tied to receiving government assistance. She is also worried that speaking publicly will affect her chances of getting a job.
Previously, SNAP recipients with children under 18 were exempt from work requirements mandating that recipients work, volunteer or participate in job training at least 80 hours a month. But now, under President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, that exemption only applies to those with children under 14 — which is how old Mara’s youngest child turned in December.
“It would be so beyond hard” to lose SNAP benefits, Mara said.
Caroline Yang for NPR
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Caroline Yang for NPR
The Trump administration has argued that the mission of the nation’s largest anti-hunger program has failed.
“SNAP was intended to be temporary help for those who encounter tough times. Now, it’s become so bloated that it is leaving fewer resources for those who truly need help,” the White House said in a statement in June.
But policy experts say the SNAP changes do not fully take into account the unique challenges faced by single parents like Mara or the sluggish job market in many parts of the country. They argue that losing food assistance will only create more barriers for recipients struggling to find work.
The timeline for implementing the new SNAP policy varies based on state and county. In Mara’s home state of Minnesota, recipients who don’t qualify for an exemption or meet work requirements will be at risk of losing assistance as early as April 1. Others may have more months depending on when they next need to certify they are eligible for benefits.
Over 100 job applications
Mara imagined she would have a job by now.
It was August when she was let go from her part-time administrative assistant role due to her workplace restructuring. Since then, Mara estimates that she has applied for over 100 positions. She has also attended job fairs and taken free workshops on resume writing.
She has been working since high school, she said, but “ I’ve never been out of work for more than one month, so it’s very difficult.”
Mara spends time working at the computer at CareerForce, a resource for job seekers in Minnesota, on March 4.
Caroline Yang for NPR
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Caroline Yang for NPR
Although she misses her old job, Mara said it didn’t pay enough to support her and her kids, so she relied on SNAP benefits.
Many recipients are part of the low-wage labor market, where job security is often unpredictable and turnover tends to be high, according to Lauren Bauer, a researcher at the Brookings Institution who has studied SNAP extensively.
“SNAP is supposed to be there to help people smooth that and not let the bottom fall out when they experience job loss,” she said. “And this policy doesn’t account for that at all.”
Mara’s lowest point came in November when the government shutdown led to disruptions in SNAP benefits. Not only was she searching for a new job, but she was constantly figuring out where to get her family’s next meal.
“I might be looking for food stuff during the day when I should have been looking for a job,” she said. “Then, I’m trying to make up that time in the evening after my kids go to bed.”
During the pause, Mara turned to food banks, which revealed other challenges. First, food pantries do not always provide enough for an adult and two growing teenagers, she said. Second, they often lack gluten-free foods, which is essential for her daughter who has celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that causes digestive problems if gluten is consumed. Gluten-free products tend to be more expensive.
If Mara loses access to SNAP again because of the new work requirements, she fears another stretch of long days spent looking for the right food and enough to feed her family.
“I would be so reliant on looking for food shelves or food banks,” she said. “There would not be time to even live.”
“We’re going to see increases in poverty. We’re going to see increases in food insecurity”
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that roughly 2.4 million people will lose food benefits in a typical month over the next decade as a result of the new SNAP requirements — including 300,000 parents like Mara with children 14 or older.
Gina Plata-Nino, the SNAP director at the nonprofit Food Research & Action Center, says many of the affected recipients will be single mothers who make up a majority of single parent households in the U.S. She added that the changes target a group that often lacks or struggles to afford a support system to help care for their children.
“How can they have a full-time job when they need to pick up their children [for] various activities?” she said. “And they are working — just not enough hours because they need to be there present for their children.”
Mara shops for groceries at a local discount grocery store.
Caroline Yang for NPR
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Caroline Yang for NPR
The new law also imposes work requirements on veterans, homeless people, young adults aging out of foster care, and able-bodied adults without dependents from ages 55 to 64.
It also toughened the criteria for waiving work requirements for recipients in areas with high unemployment. Previously, there were multiple ways to determine a weak labor market and secure a waiver. Now, it only applies to places with an unemployment rate above 10%. (Alaska and Hawaii have a different measure.)
For those who fail to meet the work requirement, SNAP provides assistance for up to three months within a three-year span. But Bauer from the Brookings Institution argues that it is not enough and the impact of SNAP changes will be widespread.
“We’re going to see increases in poverty. We’re going to see increases in food insecurity. We’re going to see increasing strain on the charitable food sector,” she said.
Mara holds her favorite anchor ring, which carries the inscription, “God for me provide thee.”
Caroline Yang for NPR
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Caroline Yang for NPR
As anxiety hangs over her head, Mara tries to put on a brave face for her children. She does not want them to worry, explaining that her recent struggles have reminded her how tough life can get as an adult.
“I remind them it’s not their responsibility and they’re not accountable for me or for what’s happening,” she said. “I say, just know you get to be a kid.”
Dylan Dreyer
Savannah Will Likely Come Back … Just Not Sure When
Published
TMZ.com
Dylan Dreyer is giving a small update on her embattled “Today” co-host, Savannah Guthrie, as the search continues for Savannah’s mom, Nancy — telling TMZ she does believe she’ll likely return to the show at some point.
We caught Dylan leaving NBC Tuesday afternoon, and she said while she thinks Savannah will come back, the timing is totally unclear — adding everyone at the show is simply giving her the space she needs because they care about her so much.
TMZ.com
Dylan also reflected on Savannah’s emotional visit to the “TODAY” studio last Thursday, saying the hug they shared was something they both really needed in that moment.
Catch the full clip — Dylan says the visit was incredibly emotional, adding Savannah clearly wants to get back to some sense of normal life … she just doesn’t quite know how yet.
Still, Savannah managed a few smiles during the brief stop by the studio, doing her best to keep moving forward during an incredibly tough time.
TMZ.com
As we reported, Nancy was taken from her Tucson home in the middle of the night on February 1. She was last seen entering the house just before 10 PM on January 31 after dinner with her daughter Annie and Annie’s husband, Tommaso Cioni.
Kevin Kline plays actor Richard Bean, and Laura Linney is his sister-in-law Kristen, in American Classic.
David Giesbrecht/MGM+
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David Giesbrecht/MGM+
American Classic is a hidden gem, in more ways than one. It’s hidden because it’s on MGM+, a stand-alone streaming service that, let’s face it, most people don’t have. But MGM+ is available without subscription for a seven-day free trial, on its website or through Prime Video and Roku. And you should find and watch American Classic, because it’s an absolutely charming and wonderful TV jewel.
Charming, in the way it brings small towns and ordinary people to life, as in Northern Exposure. Wonderful, in the way it reflects the joys of local theater productions, as in Slings & Arrows, and the American Playhouse production of Kurt Vonnegut’s Who Am I This Time?
The creators of American Classic are Michael Hoffman and Bob Martin. Martin co-wrote and co-created Slings & Arrows, so that comparison comes easily. And back in the early 1980s, Who Am I This Time? was about people who transformed onstage from ordinary citizens into extraordinary performers. It’s a conceit that works only if you have brilliant actors to bring it to life convincingly. That American Playhouse production had two young actors — Christopher Walken and Susan Sarandon — so yes, it worked. And American Classic, with its mix of veteran and young actors, does, too.
American Classic begins with Kevin Kline, as Shakespearean actor Richard Bean, confronting a New York Times drama critic about his negative opening-night review of Richard’s King Lear. The next day, Richard’s agent, played by Tony Shalhoub, calls Richard in to tell him his tantrum was captured by cellphone and went viral, and that he has to lay low for a while.
Richard returns home to the small town of Millersburg, Pa., where his parents ran a local theater. Almost everyone we meet is a treasure. His father, who has bouts of dementia, is played by Len Cariou, who starred on Broadway in Sweeney Todd. Richard’s brother, Jon, is played by Jon Tenney of The Closer, and his wife, Kristen, is played by the great Laura Linney, from Ozark and John Adams.
Things get even more complicated because the old theater is now a dinner theater, filling its schedule with performances by touring regional companies. Its survival is at risk, so Richard decides to save the theater by mounting a new production of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, casting the local small-town residents to play … local small-town residents.
Miranda, Richard’s college-bound niece, continues the family theatrical tradition — and Nell Verlaque, the young actress who plays her, has a breakout role here. She’s terrific — funny, touching, totally natural. And when she takes the stage as Emily in Our Town, she’s heart-wrenching. Playwright Wilder is served magnificently here — and so is William Shakespeare, whose works and words Kline tackles in more than one inspirational scene in this series.
I don’t want to reveal too much about the conflicts, and surprises, in American Classic, but please trust me: The more episodes you watch, the better it gets. The characters evolve, and go in unexpected directions and pairings. Kline’s Richard starts out thinking about only himself, but ends up just the opposite. And if, as Shakespeare wrote, the play’s the thing, the thing here is, the plays we see, and the soliloquies we hear, are spellbinding.
And there’s plenty of fun to be had outside the classics in American Classic. The table reads are the most delightful since the ones in Only Murders in the Building. The dinner-table arguments are the most explosive since the ones in The Bear. Some scenes are take-your-breath-away dramatic. Others are infectiously silly, as when Richard works with a cast member forced upon him by the angel of this new Our Town production.
Take the effort to find, and watch, American Classic. It’ll remind you why, when it’s this good, it’s easy to love the theater. And television.
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