The South Bronx history documented

"It was one of the worst times, but it was the best time," said Franscisco Molina Reyes II in the "Voices of Seis del Sur" documentary. This 10 minute interview brings to life, in words and moving image, the exhibition subtitled, "Dispatches from home by six Boricua photographers."

Ricky Flores, Edwin Pagán, Joe Conzo, Jr, Angel Franco, David Gonzalez, Francisco Molina Reyes II (credit: Adi Talwar)

The opening last month, at the Bronx Documentary Center, brought together many cultural ambassadors of the South Bronx. Of particular interest to this blog was the "Steel Canvases" panel discussion featuring graffiti legends, Crash, Nicer and Bio from Tats Cru and Henry Chalfont, co-author of Subway Art. See the video below.

"I grew up in the South Bronx during the '60s, '70s and '80s, probably during one of the most turbulent time in the city. There was rapid transformation from a community heavy populated by blacks and Latinos, to being aggressively depopulated over a short period of time in the '60s and '70s...Building after building, block after block started disappearing. I didn't understand what was going on at the time..." Ricky Flores, photographer

"The Bronx was burning, or as I like to say, the Bronx was burnt. Drugs were rampant, gangs were rampant, but the family community aspect was very, very tight..." Joe Conzo, photographer and author

Crash painting (credit: David Gonzalez/New York Times)

"If it wasn't for him [Henry Chalfont] and Marty [Martha Cooper] what's happened globally wouldn't have happened because there was no Internet, no nothing. It was just us...Their thing had nothing to with money...it was the love for what we were doing and it's very evident in the photographs... 

The first time I went to Europe they were bombing all over Amsterdam and it was because of the fact they had these books out. If it wasn't for the books...we wouldn't be sitting here today. We built it and the books underlined it. They put the stamp on it." John "Crash" Matos, artist

Seis del Sur: Dispatches From Home by Six Nuyorican Photographers
Photographs by Joe Conzo, Jr, Ricky Flores, Angel Franco, David Gonzalez, Edwin Pagán, Francisco Molina Reyes II

614 Courtlandt Avenue (@ 151st St.) Bronx, New York 10451
Directions

Opening Reception January 19th, 4PM
Runs January 19- March 8, 2013
Gallery hours:
Thur.-Fri. 4-7pm
Sat-Sun 1-5pm