Janette Beckman - El Hoyo Maravilla

48 pages
Photos by Janette Beckman
21 x 15 cm
Language: English
Softcover
Publisher: Dashwood Books
First edition of 750 copies
2020
Second edition
2022

In 1983, while in Los Angeles checking out the West Coast punk music scene the British photographer, Janette Beckman, came upon a story in the LA Weekly describing El Hoyo Maravilla (HM), a Mexican-American street gang based in East Los Angeles. There were no photographs to illustrate the story so Beckman called the the reporter and introduced herself. He agreed to drive her out to Maravilla Park and make introductions to members of the local gang. Everyone had their poses down; they reminded me of the punks and New York B-Boys.

One day, I asked a kid, ‘What is that teardrop tattoo under your eye?’ and he told me, ‘That means I’ve been in jail.’ They were badass but I didn’t know. To me, they were just kids. I saw the beauty in them.”

First published by Dashwood in 2011 (see video above), this new re-designed edition features previously unpublished photographs.