Mystery Chica

She was at Azul, the restaurant above Hong Kong, one evening before her shift at HK and wanted me to snap her photo.

Hong Kong Summer 2022

This corner was home to a small restaurant but Hong Kong bought it to continue expanding.

The Three Amigos

Grace, Omar, and Christy (plus Rocky in arms) In the spring of 2021, Omar was murdered in Tijuana. Grace left soon after and is now living in California.

Realizing a Dream

This is the same fellow who I shot many years ago with his arms outstretched and two girls dancing right behind him. He was involved in drugs heavily back then but told me he dreamed of returning to his career of being a baker. Turns out, he did! (and yes, the pastries are delicious!)

Gilberto

In front of Adelita Bar where he worked for many years. He now works at Hong Kong.

Entrance to El Burro

One of the last old school bars left in the alley. Recently I noticed the sign on the front of the building had been blacked out with paint. The bar is still operating as it has been for decades but I fear the end is near.

Erica and Carmen

I've been photographing Carmen since before she could walk. This was in about 2019 or so.

Don and the Chicas

La Linea

The line to get into the US from Tijuana on a weekday afternoon. This border crossing (San Ysidro) processes more than a million passenger cars and 600,000 pedestrians each month. It can take anywhere from 45 minutes to 4+ hours to cross back into the US.

Upstairs at Playboy

Outside of Chicago Club

Inside Chicago Club

DJ Manny

DJ Manny in the booth at Gold Palace, ca 2016.

Chicago Club in the afternoon

Once in a while, a chica will pull a customer onstage.

Gregg & me, Sept 2021

On Calle Coahulia, the night of El Grito, 2021. Each year for El Grito, Adelita hires one of the zonkeys from Revolution to come stand in front of the bar for photos all night.

Dancer at La Carreta

Tessa Getting Ready

Improvisation

Johnny used a lightbulb to smoke meth on the street. When he saw me a few months later, I gave him a copy of the photo. He looked it for a long time. "Man, this is the first photo of me in so long. Too bad I can't send this to my family." I told I would take another photo for him to send to his family. He promised to return that night but I have not seen him since.