Photographer Carlos Alvarado, who grew up in Malibu after his family fled El Salvador, finds inspiration from Cuban ballerinas. An exhibition of his work will be shown at Tutto Bene restaurant through Sept. 8.
By Kim Zanti/Special to The Malibu Times
The dancer stands en pointe in the open doorway of a Cuban rehearsal studio. A shaft of sunlight illuminates her taut body, her extended arms. She faces away from the camera, looking beyond a marbled balcony to a clump of forlorn buildings. The walls of the buildings are stained and ghostly. They seem to exude resignation. In contrast, the dancer is a vision of promise.
This moment, and 15 more, are caught on black and white film by local photographer Carlos Alvarado. His exhibition, entitled “Contraste,” is on display at Tutto Bene restaurant through Sept. 8. The show is aptly named, eluding to the world of a Cuban ballet dancer and to the life of the emerging photographer.
The show is the culmination of two years work and travel. Alvarado, 30, visited Cuba four times and shot 600 rolls of film before selecting, from thousands of images, the 30 that comprised his first photographic exhibition earlier this year at the Spontos Gallery in Venice.
Tutto Bene co-owner Mauro Zanella attended that show’s opening and invited Alvarado to display his images in the restaurant.
“It is a tradition in Italy for centuries that a restaurant is also for the arts,” Zanella said. “It is nice to sit down, talk and look at a picture that tells a story. Carlos’s pictures make a feeling, are beautiful and are also about the life in Cuba.”
Many photographers have visited Cuba and captured images of cars, cigars, crumbling buildings, beautiful women, musicians-subjects Alvarado describes as “the Cuba that Americans will buy.” He photographed these subjects too, but wanted to show a side of Cuba that hasn’t been seen before in quite the same way. He chose to focus on the ballerina.
“Ballet is huge in Cuba,” he says. “Some of the dancers thought I was crazy, that I wanted to take them out of the studio and go shoot in the middle of the street … and put them on a 300-year-old stone wall. When I went back and took the pictures they couldn’t believe it.”
Born in El Salvador, he was 6 years old when, along with his two brothers, he fled the country in 1980. Revolution had reached his village, La Esperanza, and he witnessed the slaughter of fellow villagers. He joined his mother, a housekeeper, in Malibu, where the boys settled into a radically different life.
“I have cousins who went to L.A. and were dead at age 19 from drugs or gangs. Malibu saved my life,” he says. Here, he was exposed to art in the homes of friends and neighbors and to the calming presence of nature. People were friendly and supportive of him as he grappled to learn English. The warmth of the people impressed him, as did simple things, like fruit. “Apples, peaches, grapes. We didn’t have those in El Salvador. Or I just never saw them. They were expensive.”
Adjusting to a new home was easier than adjusting to school, but enrollment in a theatre arts class changed his perspective. “In high school I registered late every year because school was my last priority. I had a job since I was 14, so I was making a little money. In 11th grade they asked me if I wanted to be in theatre arts, I said sure.”
He pursued acting for seven years on stage and now finds work mainly in television. “That’s where I’ve gotten my money to put myself through photography school and to go to Cuba four times and do this show,” he said.
Like acting, “Photography connects to everything,” he said. “Everybody takes pictures. Everybody stops moments.”
Alvarado studied photography at Santa Monica College. During “Cuba Week” at the school he met Ventura College professor Bill Hendricks, who was photographing Cuba and sharing his work with students. Their meeting strongly influenced Alvarado, who considers Hendricks to be his photographic mentor. His first trip to Cuba was with a student group led by Hendricks.
“I was always anti-Cuba. I know distant family members who went to Cuba to listen to Fidel and Che talk in the ’50s about revolution and how to take over a country. It spread to El Salvador and Nicaragua. So I was always a little angry at Cuba. But as soon as I saw the first picture I said I want to go there. And once I got there, it completely changed my life because it’s not what people think. It’s one of the most peaceful places in the world. Everyone is so friendly and close to their families and they practice art like religion.”
At the same time, Alvarado recognizes the price that Cubans pay for peace. “In reality [the arts] are all they have. They cannot get angry or it would make their situation worse. It has made me appreciate my life. To have your freedom is the best thing in the world.”
The use of a variety of cameras adds another layer of contrast to this show. Alvarado’s main camera, a Mamiya RX medium format, with equipment and lenses costs about $12,000. He also shot with a plastic camera that costs about $16.
“I wanted to show that it’s not the camera,” he explained. “It’s your subject and you.”
Alvarado is planning another trip to Cuba to shoot more photos. He has promised to donate half of what he makes to the ballerinas in the picture, which would be around $250 per print.
Alvarado’s deep friendships, love for Malibu and passion for creative life are the three things that connect, instead of contrast, with his Cuban experience.
“Contraste” remains at Tutto Bene through Monday. A closing reception, open to the public, will take place on Sept. 4 at 9 p.m. Tutto Bene is located at 22235 Pacific Coast Hwy.