Green Grease Guzzlers... the trailer

President Obama Opens Tribal Nations Conference

Frank Espada: Inside ‘The Puerto Rican Diaspora’

November 5, 2009, 12:01 AM
Showcase: Inside ‘The Puerto Rican Diaspora’
By DAVID GONZALEZ
NYT

A photograph in Frank Espada’s book “The Puerto Rican Diaspora” shows a faintly smiling man sporting a button that declares, “We Try Harder.” That detail easily applies to the subjects in the impressive portfolio Mr. Espada amassed over decades photographing Puerto Ricans throughout the United States.

Traveling from Puerto Rico to New York and from Hartford to Hawaii, he documented in loving portraits his countrymen and women engaged in ballet and theater, drug rehab and field work. Their faces are open, direct and trusting, presenting a nuanced take on complicated lives that are often led out of the spotlight.

Mr. Espada could relate, because he had to try harder himself. For much of his life, he put his artistic dreams on hold while working in a series of day jobs to pay the bills and raise three children. Thirty years ago, at 49, he was finally able to dedicate himself totally to photography after winning a federal grant that allowed him to travel and shoot the images that form the core of his Diaspora series.

For complete article and slide show of fotos click