Galvez “Shines” at Hispanic heritage event

The Intercultural Roundtable hosted an ICE program in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month on Oct. 7 in the SAC Mezzanine.

The guest speaker was the Pulitzer Prize-winning author, writer, and photographer Jose Galvez.  In his photographic memoir titled "Shine", Galvez chronicled his life from being raised in a close-knitted family to becoming the first Mexican American recipient of the Pulitzer Prize. The memoir contained approximately sixty photographs depicting his experiences from youth to adulthood.

Raised in 1950s Arizona, Galvez grew up in a small and tough community. His father was a working man who did odd jobs in the railroad and lumber industry.  His mother was a housewife. At an early age, Galvez knew that he was born to "shine" in life and get out of poverty.

As a "natural born hustler", he sold newspapers to his friends for ten cents each. In addition to being a newspaper salesman, he worked as a shoe shiner where he made a dollar per day. However, being a street laborer in the upscale downtown community did pose mental challenges for Galvez. While shining a caucasian professional's shoes, the man told Galvez that he was "just a poor old Mexican boy." Although he felt dejected, Galvez was also determined and didn't let prejudice bother him.

His determination and persistence paid off. One day, after he finished polishing a journalist's shoes, he followed the man up the stairs to his office to get paid (the customer didn't have change on him). Once on the 3rd floor of the building, Galvez had "open the door to his destiny." He quit his jobs as a shoe shiner and newspaper salesman and became a copyboy at age 16.

Subsequently, he would graduate from the University of Arizona in 1984, becoming the first college graduate on either side of his family. He worked for the Arizona Daily Star as a photographer, where he captured pictures of celebrities and sports events. However, Galvez wasn't happy in this capacity. He would transfer to the more prestigious publication, the Los Angeles Times.

As the first Mexican American photographer at the L.A. Times, Galvez was focused on his culture and the issues surrounding it. He and his colleagues devised and created a series detailing and describing Hispanic life and culture, specifically those of Chicanos.  The idea was originally rejected by management, but they later relented. The series received many accolades, including the Pulitzer Prize.

Years later, Galvez would leave the L.A. Times and relocate to Durham, N.C. He continues to "capture it all" with his camera. While touring USCA, he took photos of the stairway construction behind the Etherredge Center, showing his immense dedication to the art of photography.