“I don’t really look ‘Latino’ at all, I guess, mostly because I get pretty pale during the winter. It doesn’t matter to me because whether or not I look ‘Latino’ doesn’t define whether or not I am Latino,” writes Ben Romero ’12 under his portrait in Alianza Latina’s “Caras Latinas” exhibit.
This is just one of the pieces that comprises “Caras Latinas,” or Latino faces, a photo project that challenges the stereotype of the Latino “look.” Alianza Latina, a club representing Latino students and their cultures, hosted an opening reception for the photo project last Friday in the Oliver Wendell Holmes Library (OWHL).
Students wrote written statements accompanied by portraits responding to the project’s main theme of “What does it mean to be Latino?” The pictures featured Hispanic or Latino students, faculty and staff members at Andover.
“We wanted to do something to raise awareness for our group. We have over 80 Latino students on campus, and actually there is not enough of a Latino community compared to other minorities, so we came up with the photo idea. We wanted to celebrate the diversity especially within the Latino community and also see what part of the culture the people really hold onto,” said Alexandra Donovan ’13, Head of Publicity for Alianza Latina.
The Photo Project was largely inspired by the “Hapa Project” by Kip Fulbeck, performance artist, video maker and writer. In his project, Fulbeck explored the different multiracial faces of the Asian community he photographed. Fulbeck visited Andover four years ago.
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