Vatos [Paperback]

Luis Alberto Urrea (Author), Jose Galvez (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2000

One evening, Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer José Galvez heard Luis Alberto Urrea read "Hymn to Vatos Who Will Never Be in a Poem" with its chant-like repetitions and its evocation of Chicano manhood. As Luis read each line, an image clicked in José's memory, and he knew that he had already taken that photograph. The result of that experience is this remarkable book.

A unique collaboration of two acclaimed artists, Vatos is a tribute to Latino men who are too often forgotten, ignored and misrepresented by the larger culture-children playing in the streets, migrant workers toiling for a better life, homeboys in the barrio, young men with their girlfriends and their mothers, blue collar workers, activists on the streets, sons, uncles, fathers, and grandfathers. Vatos recognizes their joys, their sorrows, their tenderness and their strength. Through Galvez' photographs and Urrea's words, they will not be forgotten.

The word "vato," by the way, is Mexican-American slang, a word that means "dude" or "guy," but here it carries more soul than either of these.

José Galvez was lead photographer of a L.A. Times team that received a Pulitzer Prize for a stunning portrayal about Latinos in Southern California. José and his colleagues were the first Hispanics to receive a Pulitzer. For over 30 years, Galvez has been documenting his Mexican-American culture, through photographs. He has done much freelance photojournalism and has contributed photos to the book Americanos produced by Edward James Olmos.

Bloomsbury Review named Luis Alberto Urrea as one of its "10 Young Writers to Watch." His book Across the Wire, which depicts life at the edges of the dumps in Nogales, is in its 10th printing. A novelist, essayist and poet, he has received the Christopher Award, the Colorado Center for the Book Award, the Western States Book Award for Poetry, and the American Book Award.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

A unique collaboration of two acclaimed artists, VATOS is a tribute to Latino men who are too often forgotten, ignored and misrepresented by the larger culture: children playing in the streets, migrant workers toiling for a better life, homeboys in the barrio, young men with their girlfriends and their mothers, blue collar workers, activists on the streets, sons, uncles, fathers, and grandfathers. VATOS recognizes their joys, their sorrows, their tenderness and their strength. Through Galvez' photographs and Urrea's words, they will not be forgotten.

From the Author

These photographs arise from my sense of responsibility to my family, my community and my culture. Since I began my career as a photographer over 30 years ago, I have seen tremendous change. I have seen the barrios torn down and rebuilt into community centers and condos. I have seen campesinos from Mexico go from wearing huaraches to Nikes and Dallas Cowboy baseball caps. But one thing has been a constant in the Mexican communityrespect for family and for heritage. This is my culture, a culture that I am deeply proud of. Jos Galvez

I'm not entirely sure how the Vatos poem came into being. I was working on this long thing called The Tijuana Book of the Dead, which is a symbolic journey of the Mexican soul from birth to death and beyond. It is largely concerned with the fate of the family, or the mothers and fathers. And I had also been working on my epic novel about Teresita Urrea, the Saint of Cabora. I was absorbing a lot of female history and energy. Historically, I knew, women had been ignored and erased. But I suddenly realized that, outside of the historical record, the men were also ignored and erased. The modern Xicano/Mexicano/Latino man was invisible. And I thought: these poor men, nobody cares, nobody listens to them, nobody remembers them. My dad! My uncles! My brothers! And I was thinking about Mexican churches, how you hear old women praying, that kind of rhythmic litany. And it all spilled out. Every line the exact same number of beats, as if 100 grandmas were praying to Guadalupe. Lu! is Urrea

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Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press (September 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0938317520
• ISBN-13: 978-0938317524
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 10 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,247,055 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ethnic pride, May 2, 2003

By 

Enrique Torres "Rico" (San Diegotitlan, Califas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Vatos (Paperback)

The title "Vatos" and the picture of the homies on the cover are a little deceptive as this book covers many different men in varied situations. There are also farmworkers, mariachis , Aztec dancers, lawyers, men with their mothers and daughters and children in church included but the vast majority are mostly your stereotypical images of hard core dudes or vatos. These are images of strength, of strangers in a strange yet familiar land. The beauty of the strength and yet vulnerability of the young and old men is frozen in time, locked into the moment for future generations. The pride and respect for family tradition, the refusal to assimilate, to stay seperate but within the confines of barrio pride and the cultural pride glow from these beautiful black and white photographs. The words or the poetry accomapanying the images make for a heartfelt experience revealing the deep conviction of Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Jose Galvez and award winning young writer Luis Alberto Urrea. The imagery is touching and gives a glimpse into the ordinary lives of people who have claimed a piece of the American dream through tinted brown glasses, squinting from the shiny veneer of traditonal American life. The vatos portrayed have claimed their own dignity even under undignified conditions. The pictures span decades of time and when you look at them you can't help but speculate about the people in them. When you see a young teenage vato, dressed in typical homie attire, you wonder where he is now and if his chosen path has detoured for the better or worse. Looking at the old men, the lines revealing the years , the paths of experience, the eyes looking at you showing the depth of their experiences , you can't help but feel the time lost. This book is a moving visual experience and a great gift idea. If you look closely into the eyes of the vatos you will see the ghosts of Moctezuma, Morelos, Juarez, Hidalgo and Zapata, shrouded in the flesh of the Huastecs, Olmecs, Maya, Toltecs, Zapotecs and Aztecs, rising from the barrios and fields of Aztlan to live another day.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Transhistorical Portraits of Chicano Men/Masculinity, August 7, 2004

By 

Hector Carbajal (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vatos (Paperback)

Jose Galvez's "Vatos" presents over 60 photographs of Chicano men that appear to have been taken during the late 1970s and early 1980s. However, the images themselves outlast these historical time frames (which include the advent of the Chicano Movement) considering the multiple and diverse images of cholos, obreros, activistas, businessmen, abuelos and veteranos that prove everlasting in shaping the vision of nuestro pueblo.

Luis Alberto Urrea's "Hymn to Vatos Who Will Never Be In a Poem" is a fitting companion to the photographs. However, the photographs are so intense that they don't require any form of poetic explanation or translation. The eyes of homeboys in the barrio, the dark sunglasses on a tattoed vato in the hood, the abuelo cradling a young muchachita, the obrero overlooking the fence dividing the U.S. and Mexico, the brown brother adorned as Aztec, the young gay Chicanos hanging out in the street--all tell stories about our gente and the men shaping the Chicano/a community.

These images tell us so much about how Chicano masculinity is represented and constructed from what we see out in the streets. These images are reality. There are no stereotypes here. In other words, none of the photographs appear to have been "staged." All the photographs are documents--testimonios. Galvez presents these men in their most brave, most vulnerable, most wounded moments. Indeed, Chicano masculinity is much more complex and varied as you may think it is.

I would recommend this book for those interested in Men's Studies, Chicano/a Studies, and Ethnic Studies.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and courageous photographic work; deeply moving poem for the forgotten and unseen, December 26, 2011

By 

C. Scanlon "least helpful reviewer" (among us humans) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vatos (Paperback)

I have thousands of photos posted of Ciudad Juarez "most violent city in the world" and of the border region, including in local newspapers, including one body.

I work under the motto of "Often published, never paid."

Working with a similar culture in Tucson and Los Angeles, including as staff photographer for a major daily there, Galvez inhabits very similar territory, very successfully.

I stand as an intrusive tourist.

Galvez is one of the people, and so enters, respected, and accepted, and loved, but this is not the only secret to his success in these beautiful, touching, intimate photos made with people who felt safe and happy and proud to have his camera nearby peering at them.

I would love to hang out with him one day, to watch him work, to see how he enters the space of these very and rightfully cautious people, safely, inspiring confidence, even of gang members and bikers, and the tattooed . . .

I would love to see his latest work from Tucson, with all that is going on there, persecuting the people so much so the sheriff is now in court for racial discrimination.

I wish I could see much more of Galvez's work.

Truly he is all that I am not, including a professional photographer.

Any photographer of people has much to learn from this book. Any student of our oppressed culture gains much from a careful study of this book, of this culture which it is so profitable and popular to disparage and disperse and deport.

Please see this book carefully. It is truly a jewel, a rare and precious jewel and an inspiration and lesson for all photographers, including this timid and intrusive tourist.

oh, yeah, and then there is the great poem, by award winning novelist Luis Alberto Urrea, author of several novels, including By the Lake of Sleeping Children and recipient of many prizes for literature. Read this poem, and like me, weep. See these photos which unfold for us the heart and soul of this courageous people, this human race among us still.

Great book. Get one while we can.