Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Reynaldo Rivera took personal photos  of the Los Angeles that he lived in and knew: a world of cheap rent,  house parties, subversive fashion, underground bands, and a handful of  Latino gay and transvestite bars: Mugi's, The Silverlake Lounge, and La  Plaza. Most of these bars are long closed and many of the performers  have died. But in Rivera's photographs, these men and women live on in a  silvery landscape of makeshift old-style cinematic glamour, a fabulous  flight from unacceptable reality. 

As a teenager, Rivera took  refuge in used bookstores and thrift stores, where he discovered old  photo books of Mexican film stars and the work of Lisette Model,  Brassai, and Bresson. Inspired, he bought a camera and began  photographing people at his hotel. In 1981 he moved to Echo Park and  began taking photos for the LA Weekly. 

This book is an  ensemble of almost 200 images selected by Hedi El Kholti and Lauren  Mackler spanning more than two decades in Los Angeles and Mexico. The  book also includes Luis Bauz's story, “Tatiana,” about one of the  subjects of these photographs; a critical essay on Rivera's work by  Chris Kraus; and a novella-length conversation between Rivera and his  friend and contemporary Vaginal Davis about their lives, work,  fantasies, and collective histories.

Edited by Hedi El Kholti and Lauren Mackler
With Luis Bauz, Vaginal Davis and Chris Kraus