#groana

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Today, last chance to see El Nombre Mío, Ajeno. With extended hours, until 8pm. See you there ;). #icpbardmfa #groana (at ICP MFA Studios)

[followurbliss-man-blog]

Groma Eyes

[groana]

hey guys, don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to my mailing list to get updates on upcoming projects and exhibitions!

if you didn’t know.. now you know..

[groana]

@groana | Primas #2 | The 2013 @c4fap Portraits Exhibition, juried by @charlesguice, Feb 15 – Mar 23 thinglink.com/scene/35258886…

— CHARLES GUICE (@CharlesGuice) January 31, 2013

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Anyone who knows my mother always comments on my early photographs of her. There's always a sense of confusion.

After taking an intro to photo class in high school, an art teacher said, "You don't seem to like your mother very much by the way you photograph her."  It really hit a nerve. She didn't know me, let alone my mother so where did she come off saying I didn't like her? Plus they weren't even images I took seriously, and I didn't ask her opinion.

Yet every image I ever took of mami after that always echoed that sentiment. Every image of her portrayed 'this is a stern and serious woman.'

In reality this was not true.  According to her, she was always getting in trouble at school for talking and laughing too much. Her teachers were constantly annoyed at her for her infectious laugh. "Era demasiada jugetona."

Either she has become happier and sillier throughout the years, or my view of her has changed. There's no denying there's something different in my recent images of her.

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The words “Dominican men” always makes me cringe. They’re infamous for their mujeriego/womanizing ways yet most Dominicans turn a blind eye to it.

Growing up in the States, this dichotomy baffled me. Yes, I loved Papi and yes, he was very dedicated to me, but I couldn’t understand how Mami could put up with him. Mami was always fighting about some secretary or “friend” or whatever. In elementary school, mami even found out that he had another apartment, and he actually moved out for a few months. Mami asked me what I thought about him not living with us, and I said I thought we were better for it. The next day Papi moved back in.

A few years later I did the math, and mami told me of how her first daughter and Papi’s second daughter with this ex-wife were born on the same month, a few days apart. 

I think mami feared me growing up in “a broken home,” like she did. I think part of her doesn’t forgive mama for kicking papa out of the house.

I probably spent my whole life thinking of mami as naive and papi as just... selfish? and not a good person... but now I know that they are both amazing people and just... human. And that mami is just an incredibly hard worker and papi is just a sucker for those less fortunate than him, trying to save the world even if it means him living with less.

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Mami's a home health aide and her company now has a union. With my little understanding of unions, I would think this is a good thing, but she speaks about it with sarcasm. Now this means she works one day less a week, but the bright side is she'll no longer feel obligated to do "favors" for her company... going to four hour cases after her 12 hour overnight case.

All this equals less money to pay her bills.

On Friday, her supervisor calls her saying she has good news. Mami has won the Employee of the Year Award. Sure she thought she was calling her to give her her shift back, but this is still exciting! She gets her picture in the papers, a whole ceremony, and recognition!

"Is this good?"

"It is good."

"I get my picture in the paper, they're having a party with food and everything."

"I'm the only one she doesn't complain about. I have psychology with her. When she's angry I sing to her."

"See if I had studied and become a doctor, I'd be the best doctor. But, oh well. I'll just be satisfied with this."

There's no time for regrets. Her life is as it is and it's perfect.

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Where ever you find one... you'll find the other. Jose is Tia Milady's only son. Since she had him so young, Mami, Mama, and Tia Chea all had a hand in raising him. 

Tia Milady is fabulous she took me on my only moto-concho ride (which almost gave Mami a heart attack), and bought the oranges we ate, of which later I used to plant my first tree.

Jose is like her silly younger brother. He's pretty much like MY brother, especially in the way he used to tease me! With lived together with our grandmother when I went to school in DR. Those were awkward/self-conscious years for me, I remember getting home from school one afternoon and he told me "wowww.. you're so pretty," *insert me getting gassed*, "yea you're real pretty........... PRETTY UGLY." It took me years to get this joke, but I was certainly not amused.

His drug problem, was conceptual to me. The closest thing I got to understanding was when he came over to mami's house one morning when I was sleeping, and mama was staying with us. I remember waking up to plant myself in front of the TV and freaking out at not finding the cable box. "THE CABLE BOX IS GONE!!!!" I was fuuuurrriiiiooouusssss. How could Mama not notice that he walked out with our cable box. Why in the world would he take our cable box!!! There was never a correlation to me between that action and his addiction. 

I went a few years without seeing him, maybe it was him being in and out of jail? or rehab? or that's just the rumor I don't know, but I'm so happy to be back in touch with him and my aunt. I saw them in 2009 after a long period of absence and it was like no time had passed by. I usually run the other way when Papi invites me to church, but since they were there, I was more than happy to accept the invite.

I'll always have their back.