Written By: Paulina I. Gomez
On Friday, April 28th, community members gathered at Roberto Clemente High School to celebrate the Así Somos | Who We Are: Next Generation Project presented by Mr. Milton Tanco’s class. This project is an extension of Ada Lopez and Mark Joseph’s first phase of Así Somos | Who We Are, a collection of vibrant photos and bilingual text capturing the lives of Puerto Rican communities across the United States and in Puerto Rico. With the help of Lopez and Joseph, Mr. Tanco’s class presented an exhibition of photographs by Clemente students titled “A Day in the Life.”
Ada Lopez and Mark Joseph published Así Somos | Who We Are as a book in 2014, highlighting the importance of capturing photos that reflect the collective story of our communities and upholding our cultural heritage to transcend time and space. Lopez reflected on what inspired the extension of this project with Mr. Tanco’s class:
“As an educator with a background in bilingual-bicultural education, I know how racial discrimination robs students of color of a belief in themselves and in their own community. By facilitating conversations and using photography as a tool, we hope that the students can see themselves and their community in a positive light and become inspired to make a difference.”
As part of this project, Mr. Tanco’s students have been studying the fundamentals of concept, light, perspective, composition, the meaning of the photo’s “definitive moment,” along with shooting techniques. They have engaged in critical thinking and problem-solving exercises by participating in dynamic workshops, classroom instruction, discussions, and neighborhood “photo walks.” These workshops and sessions were facilitated by Ada Lopez, and Mark Joseph provided the photography lessons. Then, as a class, the students selected which photos they wanted to present as part of their exhibition, “A Day in the Life.”
According to Tanco, the class specifically selected these photos looking to weave together the story of the students at Roberto Clemente High School. They wanted the audience to not just look at the photos individually, but look at the collective and see the story of the daily lives they lead. The 21 selected photos were enlarged and placed on display in the lobby of Clemente, where community members gathered to celebrate the students, and reflect on the beautiful exhibition presented. Congratulations to the students of Mr. Tanco’s class for a wonderful opening exhibition, and a thank you to Ada Lopez and Mark Joseph for sharing their skills and minds with the students of Roberto Clemente.
