Just outside Pop’s bar on 24th, photographer Alexa Treviño raised her camera as a group of four women started dancing in unison to the beat of drums. She wondered how long it would take before someone came outside to ask what was going on.
It wasn’t long. A bartender stepped out, but carrying a tray of tequila: “Shots for the arts!”
Cars honked in support, and the rhythm of Bomba echoed down the street as Treviño reveled in the love she feels for this community.
Treviño was photographing Batey Tambó, a women of color-led cultural group rooted in the Afro-Indigenous Puerto Rican tradition of Bomba, for an upcoming art exhibition.
At the beginning of 2025, Treviño launched a bold project to photograph an individual or group representing each of the 33 countries of Latin America.
It is her gift back to the Mission community: “Each portrait is a love letter to the places and people who hold our stories. A reminder that our culture is alive, rooted, and unshakable.”
A portrait photographer by training, Treviño brings studio-quality lighting and technical precision to streets that have long been home to San Francisco’s Black and Brown communities. She carefully lights different skin tones and highlights traditional regalia — details often overlooked by mainstream photography.
In doing so, Treviño is stepping into a gap, putting her subjects first, and investing both physical and imaginative labor to depict the Mission’s communities with the dignity they deserve in the outdoors spaces that hold memory and make the community home.
“Latinos are not a monolith,” Treviño says. “Our diversity is not a fracture, it is our power.”
Her open call for participants required only a direct cultural tie to one of the 33 Latin American countries, culturally representative regalia and a willingness to share their story. Treviño prioritized inclusive representation: individuals, families and community groups; Latinos of Indigenous, Afro-descendant, queer and mixed heritage; artists, dancers and cultural keepers.
When asked what they would want gallery visitors to understand about Dominican heritage in the Mission, Stephanie Sequeira and Eliana Felipe respond, “That we are here. That we exist.”
“Dance makes me feel a part of my culture,” Felipe added, just eight years old and the youngest participant photographed in the project.
Treviño wanted to do justice to the spectrum of Latin American diversity in the Mission, while also showing that “[just] because we aren’t the same doesn’t mean we can’t support each other.”
The result is a portrayal of both distinctiveness and deep solidarity. While not every participant is from the Mission, each one shares a deep cultural connection to the neighborhood.
Grupo Folkórico Maíz, photographed for the project to represent El Salvador, was one such group. Formed by Gloria Ramirez in 1985, the group originally sought to raise awareness of the Salvadoran Civil War and send support to families back home.
For their portrait, they chose to be photographed in front of the Cypress Street mural painted by Salvadoran artist Josue Rojas. Dressed in traditional blue and white ruffled dresses and carrying handmade baskets with holly to resemble coffee berries, they danced in front of the mural’s colors, which reminded them of home.
Their smiles grew easier and the photoshoot became a ceremony of honor, just as Treviño intended. She reminded the group that these photos were a celebration of who they are, who their ancestors are and the resilience embedded in their identity as culture keepers.
Treviño credits her partner, Josué Contreras, for assisting with lighting setups, and expresses gratitude to every individual and group who participated. “Something magical happens in every session,” Treviño says. Some participants brought Dominican rum to share and others lingered for dinner and storytelling. Salvadoran women taught her the right way to eat a pupusa.
“People were so loving, so willing to share their culture,” she reflected.
Treviño’s upcoming gallery isn’t just about community — it is a practice of community.
“This project isn’t about struggle, it is about our power,” she notes, “I want people to feel their power when they see their people displayed in a dignified way.”
Through this project, Treviño says she has learned about the breadth and nuance of the Latino diaspora.
While she set out to give a gift back to the Mission, Treviño found her own history reflected back through the process. “Whenever I photograph strong mothers, I think about my mom,” she says.
She recalls one shoot where the love between a father and daughter brought memories of her own father, who passed away shortly before she moved to San Francisco.
“I don’t know if I can express how much gratitude I have for this community,” says Treviño, “It is where I have found my chosen family.”
From her current apartment, Treviño can hear the drums of Dance Mission every day. She “can hear when the danzantes are getting ready for the demonstrations.” The sounds of the Mission District are the sounds of home. “From the grocery stores to the flower ladies on the streets, these are people that I know and I love.”
Here, she’s creating an image-based revolution. One that declares the inherent worth of every person, every culture, every tradition that makes up the Mission District. It is one that declares: “Existence is resistance.”
Her gallery, Existir es Resistir, opens on July 25 from 5pm-9pm at Acción Latina’s Juan R. Fuentes Gallery (2958 24th Street), the nonprofit arts and media organization that also publishes El Tecolote.
Treviño plans to continue working on photography full-time and applying for art residencies.
