Reynaldo Rivera

Reynaldo Rivera (born 1964) is a Mexican photographer whose work documents queer, transgender and predominantly Latinx scenes starting in late 20th-century Los Angeles, including clubs, house parties, and everyday life. His photography captured venues such as La Plaza, the Silverlake Lounge, Mugy's, and Little Joy.

Rivera's black-and-white photographs document private moments and the lives of Latinx women, artists and drag performers during this period. His work highlights communities affected by gentrification, violence, and with limited public record-keeping, which contributed to their marginalization. Rivera's photography provides a historical record of these under-represented groups in Los Angeles. While growing up, he moved throughout the United States and Mexico.

Rivera's mother and father were both born in Mexico. After his parents separated, Rivera oscillated between living with his mother and his father. From the age of five, Rivera lived with his abusive grandmother for four consecutive years after being kidnapped by his father. Rivera credits the employee at the film store he frequented for explaining the mechanics of the camera after his initial pictures came out blank. Anna LaCazio and Judy Pokonosky, 1989, Echo Park Elyse Regehr and Javier Orosco, 1989, Downtown LA Miss Alex, 1992, Echo Park Olga, 1992, La Plaza Wes Cuttler, 1992, Echo Park Angela, 1993, La Plaza Gaby, Reynaldo and Angela, 1993, La Plaza Laura, La Plaza, 1993 Melissa and Gaby, 1993, La Plaza Montenegro, 1995, Silverlake Lounge Patron, 1995, Silverlake Lounge Performer, 1995, Silverlake Lounge Tina, 1995, Mugy's Vanessa, 1995, Silverlake Lounge Richard Villegas Jr., friend, and Enrique, 1996 Girls, 1997, El Conquistador La Plaza, 1997, La Plaza

Exhibitions, projects and collections Fistful of Love/También la belleza, MoMA PS1, 2024, New York Kiss Me Deadly, Reena Spaulings Fine Art, 2021, New York Made in LA 2020: A Version, Hammer Museum / The Huntington Library, 2021, Los Angeles Comedy of Errors, The Gallery At, 2020, Hollywood Avengers - Someone Left a Cake Out in the Rain, Gaga & Reena Spaulings Fine Art, 2019, Los Angeles Museum of Modern Art, New York The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles The Getty, Los Angeles