"When the City Speaks" (book release)
A love letter to the city of Los Angeles
A few years ago my good friend and multi-media artist, Walter Martinez reached out and asked if we could meet up. He was excited to talk and said he had an idea to share. Walter is someone whose work has always been inspiring to me, so even without hearing the idea, I was excited too. A few days later we got together at one of Walter’s favorite coffee shops in Mid City L.A. and had a conversation that started a long journey together—a six plus year collaboration which culminated last Saturday, 10/19, with the release of our new book, “When the City Speaks: Celebrating the heart of Los Angeles in a time of displacement.”
I think back to that conversation in the coffee shop often because for me it holds a really clear and direct connection to the essence of this project. I remember Walter telling me he wanted to create a book that was like a love letter to the city of L.A. He described the beauty of the people he encountered daily, and how he felt these people should be honored and celebrated—the people who make L.A. what it is.
As we talked, Walter started composing this love letter on the spot. He shared about a fruit vendor who he regularly saw on the same street corner, and whose presence continually made him feel at home, whether he bought fruit or not. He told me about the security guard at his local bank who he knew by name and who always welcomed him smiling. He talked about all the people who bring warmth and connection to our lives, who greet, host, inspire, support, and take care of each of us—people from all walks of life and all different parts of the city: the barber, the mechanic, the dentist, the accountant, the artist; folks on the street, at the market or gas station—the people and relationships, lives and stories, that weave together to create the unique and beautiful tapestry of this city and of our lives in it.
I was moved as I listened to Walter talk. I was born and raised here, and I share his love for L.A., for our local culture, for the beauty of people, and the idea of honoring that was inspiring.
Walter went on to share another aspect of this love letter—his concern that this beauty and the local spirit of L.A. were in danger—threatened by the displacement of people and culture. This resonated with me as well. Throughout our lives we had both witnessed how a continually inflating housing market, and profit driven approaches to property development were creating conditions that all too often forced people to leave the areas they loved and called home, forced independently owned businesses to close their doors, and disrupted the continuity of local traditions and culture. This was the other side of Walter’s vision: to highlight the ways local people and culture are threatened by these issues, and to create a platform where their stories, inspirations, struggles, and contributions could be seen and appreciated.
Walter’s idea was to create a book that brought together portrait photographs and stories of people from all over the L.A. area, and to juxtapose these stories with images of property development, construction and demolition, which are overwhelmingly prevalent across the city. The idea felt powerful and hit home for me in many ways, and within a couple hours we started talking about how we might carry the vision forward.
We started to think about photographers who might also connect with this inspiration, and who we could invite into the collaboration. I immediately thought of another artist who continually inspires me—my friend Kaid Ashton, an accomplished photographer with a deep love for people, a gift for capturing their beauty and vitality in his photographs, and a profound connection to L.A., where he had spent a lot of time and taken a lot of photos over the years.
I shared this inspiration with Walter and soon after our coffee shop conversation I introduced him to Kaid. The two of them decided to meet for a shoot in L.A., and the powerful experiences they had meeting and photographing local people set the creative process in motion. The three of us started meeting regularly and compiling photographs, as well as audio interviews that were recorded with each person they met.
As the process continued, these photographs and interviews started finding their way into the form of a book. We invited another long time friend and accomplished artist, Joshua Temkin, to join us in the collaboration, crafting a beautiful design and layout, and weaving together over 250 pages of photographs and stories. I was invited to take the lead with writing and compiling the text for the book, and in collaboration with Walter and the rest of the team, was honored to help put these stories into a form that can be shared.
Over these past few years, the four of us have been on a journey together, continually inspired by the people in this book who allowed us to photograph them, and by the stories they shared with us so openly and generously. More about this journey and how it unfolded is shared in the introduction of the book, included below.
“When the City Speaks” was released on October 19th, and is now available on our website at www.whenthecityspeaks.com. We’re deeply grateful to everyone featured in the book, and to this process which has been life-changing. We look forward to sharing this love letter with you all.
Introduction
(Excerpt from “When the City Speaks: Celebrating the heart of Los Angeles in a time of displacement”)
“We started this project with the question of how we could support change in L.A., and soon realized that the process was changing us. Inspired by our love for this city, we wanted to hear the stories of the people who make it what it is, and to create a platform where others could also hear them. For several months we traveled all over the L.A. area – from East L.A. to the Westside, the Valley to South Central, Inglewood to Pasadena – to meet folks, sit with them, and invite them to share about their lives. We connected with people from many different areas and all walks of life – at their homes and workplaces, in parks, on the street, at bus stops – and everywhere we went we began to realize we were being given a gift.
The stories of the people we met transformed the spaces we were in. Time after time our conversations opened with formal handshakes and the kind of distance that you expect when folks first meet, and time after time we found ourselves laughing, or in tears, and giving hugs by the time the conversation ended.
Afterwards, at the end of the day, we would sit in amazement. What just happened?
We spoke with a business owner in Hollywood one day and a homeless woman in Downtown the next. We sat with a community organizer in Watts and a long-time local in Topanga Canyon. Through their willingness to share their inspirations and their struggles, they helped us to see how walls drop when we share deeply, and how our stories create common ground. They showed us how the spirit of this city lives through these stories, and that this spirit is present in every single neighborhood, and in every person.
The intention of this book is both to celebrate this spirit, and to draw attention to the fact that it is in danger. In these pages the beauty of the people and places of L.A. are set against a backdrop of extensive, continuous property development, and an ever-inflating housing market, because that’s the reality in which we, the people of Los Angeles, find ourselves. The hope is that seeing the beauty of the city and its people juxtaposed with this challenge will help us see what’s at stake when we can no longer live, work and flourish in the places we love. What happens to a city if those who are deeply rooted there, those who know it, care for it and nurture it, disappear?
The journey of this book showed us more clearly than ever that what keeps this city going has no price tag, that every person’s contributions are equally valuable, and that true progress will be defined by how well we honor the lives and needs of all people in our city. Our hope is that through these pages we can introduce you to those we met. They blew us away.”
Love Bravely is a cross-genre music project and creative community founded by rapper/singer-songwriter, Matre, in collaboration with a wide network of musicians, artists and creatives. For more information visit us on Substack.
Our work is made possible by a community of supporters. To join this community and help this work flourish, you can become a monthly contributor on Patreon or make a one time donation here. Thank you for your support!
Deep thanks to all of the people in this book who truly made it possible, to Seth Jordan who edited the book, and to the many people who supported us, gave us feedback, and encouragement along the way.
Thanks so much, Matt! We are so excited to read and see this book. Many, many congratulations to you and all your friends and collaborators!!!! Much love!!!
Me encantó, Mateo! Gracias por compartir tu visión y pasión con todos.
Felicitaciones por el estreno de este libro! Nos sentimos muy orgullosos de todos los cuatro! Ojalá alcance a mucha gente!