Ricardo Valverde was part of the first wave of Chicanos to be professionally trained in Southern California art schools. Valverde produced photo-based works at a time when exposure and institutional support were not readily available for Chicano photographers. How did he get his start? Valverde was born in Phoenix, Arizona, one of eleven children in a working-class family. His family later moved to Los Angeles, where he would eventually study with "paraphotographer" Robert Heinecken at ucla. Valverde examined the work of the masters of modern art photography he admired—Henri Cartier-Bresson, Brassaï, Edward Weston, and Manuel Álvarez Bravo—and realized that he, too, was interested in documentary photography. He gained recognition, particularly within the LA Chicano art world, for the images he made in local neighborhoods while employed as a meter reader by the gas company. Valverde visited Mexico often and felt a strong connection with its art and traditions. Although he printed man...