The Getty Museum opened a new exhibition on October 1 showcasing the work of five Latino photographers who have documented the diverse experiences of Los Angeles communities over the past several decades. Titled “Every Minute Is History: Five Views of Los Angeles,” the exhibit runs through January 3, 2027, before the Getty Center temporarily closes for renovations.

The exhibition features the work of George Rodriguez, Laura Aguilar, Reynaldo Rivera, Patssi Valdez, and Ricardo Valverde, artists who have contributed to expanding the representation of Chicano and Latino life in Los Angeles through their distinctive photographic styles and subject matter.

George Rodriguez, now 89, is a photojournalist known for chronicling key political and social movements of the 1960s and 1970s, including the 1966 Sunset Strip riots, the 1970 Chicano Moratorium, and the United Farm Workers movement. Raised in downtown Los Angeles and later South L.A., Rodriguez also captured portraits of cultural icons such as Marilyn Monroe and Michael Jackson. His images, however, often emphasize everyday moments within Latino neighborhoods, including children playing in City Terrace, a shoeshine boy leaving a Mexican bakery, and elderly women outside Our Lady Queen of Angels Church.

Ricardo Valverde, a Phoenix-born artist who died in 1998, documented Latino life primarily in East Los Angeles between the late 1970s and mid-1990s. While working as a meter reader for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Valverde carried his camera through neighborhoods like Boyle Heights, capturing portraits of residents in public housing projects such as Aliso Village. His posthumously recognized work often involved experimental techniques including scratching photographs and adding vibrant paint accents.

Laura Aguilar, a pioneering Chicana photographer who passed away in 2018, brought visibility to queer communities of color through her intimate portraiture. Notably, her series “Latina Lesbians” explored the identities and experiences of women within Los Angeles. Later in her career, Aguilar turned her camera on herself in a series set against New Mexico’s natural landscapes, aiming to express a connection between the body and environment.

Patssi Valdez, the only Chicana member of the influential 1970s East Los Angeles art collective Asco, is represented in the exhibit with solo works showcasing her expressive fashion photography and cultural critique. Valdez’s photographs include images from her 1982 paper fashion show, where friends modeled bold geometric outfits crafted entirely from paper, challenging stereotypical portrayals of Mexican American culture. She reflected on past invisibility in mainstream media and expressed pride in seeing her work displayed prominently at the Getty.

Reynaldo Rivera, born in Mexicali and a self-taught photographer, presents a collection highlighting Latino queer life, especially vibrant scenes at historic L.A. venues like La Plaza and Silverlake Lounge. He documented drag and cabaret performers, many transgender Latinas, who were pivotal figures in the city’s artistic and LGBTQ communities during the 1980s and 1990s. Rivera’s photographs explore themes of identity without limiting his work to labels, underscoring the inseparable connection between Latino and queer histories in Los Angeles.

Together, these five artists offer layered perspectives on Los Angeles’s evolving cultural landscape, portraying both public activism and intimate daily moments. The exhibition emphasizes that Latino communities have been essential to the city’s history and cultural fabric across decades of social change.