This month Cobá will open its headquarters to expose Art Walk attendees to a photography collection from students involved in Las Fotos Project, a non-profit, community-based program that seeks to empower Latina youth through photography. The collection of photographs is from “Nuestra Placita Olvera,” a project in which the young women captured the culture and life of the city’s historic landmark, Olvera Street, by documenting its annual celebrations.
Headquartered in the heart of the arts district in downtown Los Angeles, Cobá wanted to respect the culture of the neighborhood and thus transformed their office into a gallery featuring the work of various accomplished, local artists. Last month, Cobá featured the work of Yolanda Gonzalez, whose bold use of color and texture reflects her family’s long heritage of artists. In April, José Ramirez’s sociopolitical paintings, rich with images of Chicano culture, were a hit.
The Las Fotos Project encourages young women to express their individuality and creativity and hone their artistic talents with photography training, mentoring and field projects. On display will be the work of Valerie Beltran, age 16, Julie Cabral, age 18, Civil Hernandez, age 16, Jessenia Pineda, age 14, and Yoali Sayago, age 17. According to Las Fotos Project founder Eric V. Ibarra, “The students took a photojournalistic approach to this project by documenting historical celebrations that may be forever changed in the future. Their ability to create this beautiful installation full of color, culture, and life was very inspirational to the Las Fotos Project community and we are all very proud that their hard work and amazing accomplishments will be shared with such a large audience.”
Cobá CEO, Arnulfo Ventura stated, “Art Walk is a great venue and opportunity for these students to display their best work and I know how much this means to them.” Later adding, “Orozco’s murals in Guadalajara made an impact on me as a child and today, I see Yolanda (Gonzalez) and José (Ramirez) as some of the greats of our time. Arts have a rich history in the Latino culture and I’m just glad we’re able to provide a forum to keep celebrating these fabulous artists.”
The event takes place the evening of Thursday, June 9 during the general hours of Art Walk. Cobá, the first ready-to-drink all-natural aguas frescas company, will be providing samples of their authentic aguas frescas sweetened with organic agave.To learn more about Cobá and its work with local artists, please go to www.drinkcoba.com. For more information about Las Fotos Project, visit lasfotosproject.org.
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