Local Photographer Set to Showcase Santa Ana’s Diversity and Culture

The largest single exhibition of photography portraying Santa Ana's diversity and culture will be on display at Bowers Museum in Federico Medina's social documentation, on May 4 and 5.
A man performs a very emotional display of his commitment to the Christian church in front of a full house of followers at a Martin Luther King Jr. celebration. / Courtesy of Federico Medina

The largest single exhibition of photography portraying Santa Ana’s diversity and culture is on display in Federico Medina’s social documentation at Bowers Museum May 4 and 5.

“Life and Culture in the Golden City” is a collection of 115 black and white photographs, taken in the last year and a half, which capture Santa Ana’s people, cultural events and architecture. The images portray the uniqueness of the Orange County city.

“I’ve been living and breathing the city for the last year. I’ve been completely immersed in Santa Ana. It gave me a whole new love for the city,” Medina said.

Through his exhibition, Medina would like its citizens to have a new appreciation for Santa Ana.

The photographs fall under 10 subject areas including youth, religion, architecture and community. They range in size from 11 inches by 12 inches to 10 feet high.

Photographer Federico Medina in his studio. / R. Nicanor Santana / el Don

Through his images, Medina attempts to show viewers different perspectives, from being in the boxing ring with a teenage girl or a crowded punk show’s mosh pit to being on stage with a protest speaker looking out over hundreds of demonstrators against Donald Trump.

Admission is free and on May 5, there will be a Cinco de Mayo celebration until 9:30 p.m to coincide with the “Frida Kahlo – Her Photos” exhibit. Local collage artist Michael Ziobrowski, traditional oil painter Valerie Inez Rodriguez and pop art painter Fernando Olivares will be guest artists.

Medina emphasized that, through his lens, you will be able to look at Santa Ana from a different point of view. In this way, he hopes to empower the youth and community.

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“At the end, I want to show how special Santa Ana is and how amazing and unique we are,” Medina said.

For more information, click on the link here.

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