LENS & LEGACY is a free, 8-day immersive photo exhibition and fashion pop-up curated by Shoe Palace x On to illuminate Chicano culture and community in celebration of Cinco de Mayo, complete with exclusive releases and sneaker customizations.
Featuring the works of eight Los Angeles-based, Mexican American visual artists, LENS & LEGACY transports attendees with its bold, black-and-white, human centered portraits that depict time-cherished Chicano experiences, bring Angelenos closer through Cinco de Mayo. From the intimate portraits of Art Meza’s “American As Apple Pie” to the playful perspective of Erwin Recinos’ “Vato Loco from Birth,” contemporary depictions of lowrider living in Carlos Ponce’s “Love Street,” and Pulitzer Prize-recognized Photographer Roberto Reyes’ haunting “Out On Bail.”
The public is invited to experience LENS & LEGACY at the Shoe Palace x On Pop-Up on 700 N. Fairfax Ave open daily from 12-6 p.m., May 1st-8th. To learn more, visit @ShoePalace on Instagram.
LENS & LEGACY ARTIST PROFILES
Arturo Meza, aka “Chicano Soul” is a visual storyteller rooted in Chicano Soul, where memory, culture and resistance live in every frame. Meza’s photography captures more than images, it holds echoes of ancestry, lowrider rhythm, street corners and sacred everyday moments.
Works On Display: American As Apple Pie, Pachucha Princess, Rolas y Ranflas
Armando DeLA Torre Jr. – Born and raised in Los Angeles, Armando is a restaurateur, entrepreneur, and visual artist known for his creation and development of the restaurants Guisados, Georges Burger Stand, Playita Mariscos, as well as the lead direction of automotive lifestyle brand, G’s on Sunday.
Works On Display: Low & Slow, One Last Ride for Spanto
Carlos Ponce is an LA-based photographer focused on automotive lifestyle using dramatic lighting and detail to create cinematic imagery. Ponce is also the creator of LIL’ LOWS, a cartoon-style illustration brand that brings a stylized perspective to car culture.
Works On Display: Bomb the Bridge, Love Street, Lights Out, Xicano Style Bikers
Emilio Sanchez is a Los Angeles–based artist and director of photography whose visual style was forged inside boxing gyms where Sanchez first began documenting fighters and their stories, before photographing the likes of Kobe Bryant. Known for his cinematic, high-contrast imagery, Emilio brings the raw intensity, discipline, and movement of combat sports into polished portrait, fashion and lifestyle work.
Works On Display: Unavailable at time of publication.
Erwin Recinos is a professional photographer from Los Angeles whose body of work is centered around documenting city and urban landscapes, Latino culture and communities through food and events.
Works On Display: Vato Loco from Birth, downtown Los Angeles, March 2021; Cruising thru Whittier Blvd, East Los Angeles June 2024; Jason and Lola, Whittier, California January, 2025
Jacob Martinez – Jacob Martinez is known for capturing moments that feel as timeless as the culture behind them. Rooted in nostalgia, yet focused on the present, his work exists at the intersection of movement, sound, and legacy—documenting the details others might overlook and the energy that can’t be recreated. In Jacob’s own words, “It is our responsibility, as the kids of today, to preserve, continue, and document the traditions of the generations before us.”
Works On Display: Chevys on Colorado, Sunday Stroll, The One, Tippin’
Memo Ortega is an LA-influenced photographer, visual artist, and creative producer whose work sits at the intersection of Chicano culture, street life and contemporary media. Known for producing bold, human-centered imagery rooted in tattoo culture, lowriders, and the everyday rebel spirit of the streets, Ortega’s photography has become widely recognized across subcultures in Los Angeles and beyond.
Works On Display: dia de muertos, los angeles, low rider, nike
Roberto C. Reyes pka RET ONE, is a Grammy Award-winning, Pulitzer Prize-recognized, and Oscar-nominated music executive with more than two decades of experience shaping the sound, infrastructure, and cultural legacy of modern hip hop and R&B. Reyes’ passion for photography informs how he sees and captures the world, finding compelling frames in everyday moments.
Works On Display: OUT ON BAIL, THIS IS HOW WE CHILL, I FOUND LOVE, BIRDS FLYING HIGH
MEDIA INQUIRIES
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PHOTO BANNER CAPTION: “Pachucha Princess” by Chicano Soul Arturo Meza
