Purikura Adventures with Meligrosa and the Calitexican

yanez

¡Aye Dios Mio! So this past weekend I met up with Meligrosa and the Calitexican (AKA Meli and Melyssa) in Japantown for a day of purikura adventures. I’ve been following their writing and photography for years and we finally all came together like Voltron to kick out the creative jams. Together we are the SMFF Crew (So Much Fuckin’ Fun!).

This round of purikura art making cemented the medium of Japanese photo booths as the means for me to realize my visions as a photographer. As with the last round of Homegirl Purikura, I only decorated a few photos myself. Instead I mostly facilitated Meli and Melyssa taking photos and decorating them. It’s been fascinating to watch how others choose to decorate their purikura images. I’ve learned a lot from each purikura collaborator I have worked with and each experience has helped me to refine my own style.

Even though I only decorated a handful of images this time around I’ve noticed how focused and deliberate my style choices have become. Meli and Melyssa were definitely the most intense and bombastic purikura decorators I’ve ever worked with and their images really inspired me. There’s a great contrast between my decorated images and theirs that illustrate the range of possibilities of purikura as an art medium. Once Meli and Melyssa got the hang of using the tablet pens and the dynamics of the decoration screens they both unleashed visions of cats, skulls, and starbursts the likes of which I have never seen before. Behold!

To see a full gallery of my Purikura works including all of the images created with Meli and Melyssa CLICK HERE.

Peace and Purikura,
Rio

Girl in a Coma – Swoons and Shirts

yanez

It’s been a few days since I saw Girl in a Coma at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco but my head is still spinning from that crazy night. After getting out of my design class I raced to meet up with my homegirls Katynka and Robynn and we headed to Bottom of the Hill. This was my third time seeing Girl in a Coma and I was as starstruck as ever with being able to hang out with them after their show.

Um, *Swoon* Nina was super nice as always.

Jenn Alva continues to grow as an amazing artist. I already have a Girl in a Coma shirt designed by her but this one takes the cake. Jenn’s drawing of herself as a vampire, Phanie lifting off her own head, and Nina as their screaming victim made me smile from ear to ear. Katynka saved me by loaning me the $2.00 I needed to buy the shirt. Everyone in the band signed it for me and now I just have to find a way to frame it.

I was also super excited to run into Meligrosa and the Calitexican. I’ve followed their blogs and flickr pages for years and it was a thrill to experience the concert with them. These two awesome, energetic ladies made my night. We hopped up and down at the show like old friends. We have a purikura date planned for this weekend and I’m looking forward to seeing the results!

I was also a nerd and busted out my flip cam during the show and shot some video of Girl in a Coma doing their thing. Below are some highlights.

That’s it for now. I was so happy to see Girl in a Coma with old friends and new ones. The very first time I saw them was in 2008 at MACLA in San Jose. There were just a handful of people (including Guillermo Gomez-Pena) at that show so it felt good to finally see them play to sweaty throngs of people.

Peace,

Rio

La Pocha Catalana comes to San Francisco

yanez

The rumors are true! Rakel Delgado AKA La Pocha Catalana has landed in San Francisco. Rakel is a Spanish poet and performance artist who identifies as a Chicana and pocha. She creates The idea of a Spaniard adopting a Chicana aesthetic, sensibility, and approach to art is both fascinating and provocative. You can check out Rakel’s brand of poetry this Sunday at the Mission Cultural Center’s Floricanto en la Mision.

I’m really looking forward to meeting Rakel and giving her a tour of the Mission District (and possibly interviewing her for a podcast). Stay tuned for photos and news on Rakel’s adventures in San Francisco and the Mission District.

Peace,

Rio

My Mission Launch Party

yanez

Here’s the scoop on my big book project!

You’re invited to the launch party for Mission Loc@l’s My Mission, an oral history and map project illustrated by Rio Yañez

September 11th 7:00pm-11:00pm
Artillery Apparel & Gallery
2751 Mission St.

There will be Food, Drinks, and Music!

Plus! The event will also launch Mission Loc@l’s fly new t-shirts. After that you can buy shirts at Mission Skateboards on 24th Street, Artillery Apparel and Gallery on Mission Street or Mission Bikes on Valencia. Each shirt comes with a pin to mark your favorite Mission District hot spot. All proceeds will support future reporting projects. $15 each. Mission Loc@ls can order one with free delivery by e-mailing staff@missionlocal.org, subject line T-shirt.

Here’s a detail of the palatero’s cart from my cover to Mission Loc@l’s My Mission. Since the image will be printed relatively small I thought I’d share this detail so my Chola Pops and Hitachi Magic Wand can be appreciated.

Click on image to enlarge

Peace,

Rio

Mission Icons in a Time of Change

yanez

Mission Icons in a Time of Change

August 21st-29th, 2010
Opening Reception: Saturday August 21st, 8:00pm-10:00pm

The Levi’s Workshop
580 Valencia Street (at 17th)
San Francisco, CA 94110

This exhibition opening culminates a furious week of printmaking at
the Workshop by local artists Jesus Barraza, Melanie Cervantes, Art
Hazelwood, Txutxo Perez, Ivan Lopez, Rachel Anne Palacios, Ana Teresa
Fernandez and Jos Sances.  Curators Rene and Rio Yanez have partnered
with Plaza Adelante, the 19th street community center, to ask local
printmakers for their take on the ever-changing nature of the Mission
district.  Come to enjoy great art and our special tequila drinks, but
stay for The Great Tortilla Conspiracy.

To attend the opening reception please RSVP at:
http://workshops.levi.com/calendar/event/plaza-adelante-tortilla-conspiracy

Peace,

Rio

Behind the Scenes and Mischief in the Mission

yanez

This past Sunday I got together with the infamous Mayra Ramirez for another session of Homegirl Purikura. For this special session we were joined by guest artist and chola Evil Rose. Mayra and I met Evil Rose in Japantown and together we ventured into Pikapika to take some photos.

During our first session of Homegirl Purikura Mayra turned all sorts of heads in Japantown while she was decked out in her chola gear and persona. With Evil Rose in the mix we were a walking spectacle. Tourists who were in the area for the Nihonmachi Street Fair didn’t know what to make of us. Our presence was unavoidable.

Evil Rose was a natural Purikura artist, Mayra and I showed her the basics and she just took off with it.  Mayra also continued her unique and intense approach to her Purikura practice. I decorated a couple of images but for the most part I stood back as a facilitator for this session. It was a thrill to see this powerful pair of cholas team up and work as artists together.

Lastly, I finally got to try out The Cube, the newest Purikura booth at Pikapika. I can’t wait to share the images that came from it. It was definitely the most sophisticated and technically advanced Purikura booth I’ve ever been in.

Following our Purikura adventure we all decided to head to the Mission District for a shoot in Balmy Alley. Evil Rose is not only a model/performer but a professional photographer herself. We turned our cameras on Mayra who lived up to her reputation as the ultimate Chola muse. Below are some photos, to see the full gallery of images check out my flickr page.

I also managed to record a little behind the scenes video while we were shooting. Here’s two videos of Mayra playing around. When she focuses on her chola persona she disappears into it but when she breaks character she’s equally charismatic. Check it out!

Peace,

Rio

In Progress

yanez

Having another late night session of editing Homegirl Purikura photos and videos. I’ll try and have some photos up very soon.

Did I mention I’m a student again? I had my first class in graphic design at CCSF’s Mission campus. I was a little nervous about being a student again after 5 years but it feels good to be back in the game.

I’m getting some sleep. Tomorrow morning I have my first day of printing at the Levis Workshop.

Peace,

Rio

New Adventures

yanez

On Friday I ventured to the Metreon to see Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. My love for the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels is well documented and I wouldn’t have missed it for all of the world.

In all 30 years of my life I have never cosplayed before but I have such a strong identification with Scott Pilgrim that I took the plunge and ordered a Plumtree shirt from amazon a few weeks ago. Better late than never, right? I was glad to see that I wasn’t the only one dressed up as a character from the books at the screening:

After the movie I was approached by these two super friendly cosplayers. They asked to have their photo taken with me since I was rocking a Plumtree shirt (that’s Ramona on the left and Knives on the right).

So what did I think of it? I really enjoyed myself. It was a movie aimed straight at my teenage sensibilities. I wish all six volumes weren’t compressed into one single film but as a presentation of the entire story I thought it was amazing. I thought Ellen Wong as Knives Chau stole the show. Knives was the only character that really showed some complexity and subtlety in the film and I really appreciated that they made her such a large part of the ending. The resolution of Knives’ story was something the movie did better than the almost perfect and profound book did.

I’m going to get some sleep. Tomorrow I have another planned session of Homegirl Purikura with Mayra Ramirez.  Pikapika has a new purikura booth and it’s supposed to be really hi-tech. Mayra is bringing another loca to the shoot and I’m exited to see what kind of magic will unfold.

The photoshoot came about because I ran into Mayra the other night at a reception at the Mission Cultural Center. She was sporting a new tattoo that was only about 24 hours old and it was done by the infamous Dr. Lakra. I can’t wait to see how this adds to the visual mix. Stay tuned for the results!

Peace,

Rio

Ps. If you want to see a video of me nerding out over Scott Pilgrim Vol. 6 look no further than this report I did for Mission Loc@l.

Denim Adventures

yanez

Hey everyone,

Things are officially crazy. I am busy and overwhelmed in the best way possible. I have a lot of projects coming to fruition in August and balancing my work for them has become a full time job for me.

Rene and I have been working with the printers and facilitators at the Levis Workshop on 580 Valencia Street. We are curating an exhibit titled Mission Icons in the Time of Change. The show opens Saturday, August 21st and 8pm. It’s a print show where artists present their vision of Mission District icons and all work in the exhibit will be produced and printed on-site at the workshop. Artists include: Rachel-Anne Palacios (above), Ana Teresa Fernandez (below), Jesus Barraza, Melanie Cervantes, Ivan Lopez, Txutxo Perez, and Jos Sances. More info coming soon.

Peace,

Rio