Day 75 (Thurs., Aug. 12)

Ok, Y'all been asking to see photos of Liz. Well, here they are! So, quit bugging. Haha, just kidding. That's Liz right there. She's beautiful, huh?

So, what can I say? She's just a great friend. I have been lucky to find such great friendship in Dallas. Everyone has become a good friend around here, actually. I made some good friends with most of the interns. My Al Dia coworkers are awesome, they are all nice. And everyone in the community, including Gilbert (you remember, the guy that called me the "blue light guy"), Maria (you seen her wedding dress photos) and of course Elizabeth (AKA Ariel). There are a lot of other good friends which include Yvette and her newly born daughter Lexie, Gilbert's wife Jasmine and their kid "Tres", as in "three" because he is Gilbert Sanchez III, former lowrider model Dayena, to name a few.

Among those great people I have met around here is Bonnie Dangle. She's pictured below with Salvador. Yeah, I know that photo looks like the kind you see outside of the courtrooms. So, if you thought that was Salvador leaving the county court with his lawyer, well, you were wrong. Anyways, Bonnie Dangle is perhaps the epitome of Dallas friendship. She's a great role model and a great listener. She is the recruiter for Belo, our parent company. When I first found out about the internship, Bonnie was the first person I got to talk to. She instructed me of all the little things I had to do in order to be here. Once I got here, I was exposed to her kind-hearted, always-smiling character that she has. At one point Salvador and I were so overwhelmed with all her kindness that we didn't know how to say thanks. We decided that hard work would be the best answer to her kindness.

Today I was sent out on a cool assignment. I was supposed to shoot kids and community members hanging out at a placed called Casa Guanajuato. I had no idea this was a boxing gym. Now, you probably remember what I think about boxing. But it was my assignment and I had to come back with good photography. The next two photos are what I came back with. Did I do a good job? Hmm, I dunno, but I still have issues with boxing.

Tonight was the best night as far as concert shooting is concerned. After the boxing deal, I went to shoot musical group Ozomatli. This is one of my favorite bands. I love their music, I love their hip-hop/salsa/merengue/cumbia/alternative/rap mix that they bring out to the table. But, most of all, I love their political views. They are very strong in what they believe and they have the courage to speak their mind. This wasn't the best concert ever because it was Ozo, but it was because I became one of them tonight. Usually, when the band enters and leaves their concerts, they do it by dancing and playing their instruments through the crowd on the dance floor. Now, how many bands have the love for their fans and the trust to do something like this without a single security guard? Anyways, I knew the band was going to exit their show that way, so I waited for that moment. Little did I know that waiting for such thing was going to bring me great gratification. As the band jumped over the barricade, that kept fans about five feet from the stage, and joined the concert goers I got in place to shoot their little caravan out the building. However, tonight they did something different. They formed a circle in the middle of the dance floor and played their instruments while they let all the fans surround them. Since I was trying to stay close to the band and get a nice photo, I decided that the best way to capture this moment was to jump in the circle. That was the most risky thing I have ever done. Most big bands would have gotten their security guard and had me thrown off the circle. But, since I got to the concert two hours before it started, the band members knew what I looked like. Also, when I shot their first song from the front of the stage, they noticed that I was all about work. So, anyways, they let me in the middle of their 5-10 minute circle performance -- maybe it was shorter, but it felt like an eternity -- and never told me to get out. That photo is below and you can see how comfortable and trusting the band members are while fans are behind their backs.

Finally, after the show was over I had to make sure I thanked the band for letting me join in their circle and not throwing me out. I approached lead singer Asdru Sierra (below) and told him many thanks for letting me do my job while they did theirs. He assured me that there were no worries as they wanted my photos to capture how much Ozomatli loves its fans. After saying thanks, I asked for a pic and that's us below.

Yesterday-Main-Tomorrow