To me, the heart of San Antonio isn’t downtown, but the West Side. Even though my family moved all over the city when I was growing up, the west side soon became my home. We continued to move every year when our lease was up, but my mom realized it was easier to stay on one side of town as opposed to moving to the complete opposite side. Stereotypically, the west side of any city is connected to the images of gangs, minorities, and the poor/lower class. My family fits into the minority, lower-class category, but we never let our status bother us.

West Commerce is not only a street that I grew up on but a street that passes through the West side of San Antonio. Stretching approximately eight miles, West Commerce is home to gas stations, restaurants, thrift stores, libraries, taquerias, clubs/bars, and homes. With my photographs, I want to showcase the part of the west side that I grew up in. The way a neighborhood looks varies by whoever is looking at it. “This Side of West Commerce” is about how I see the west side. I photographed the interior of my mother’s current house, parks I spent my childhood in, gas stations and bus stops I would loiter around after school, grocery stores my mom would yell at us in for running around. These areas can seem trivial to most, but to me they hold memories that I’ll always remember even when I’m old and grey. The west side is sometimes called dirty or ugly but it’s home to families that, like me, cherish and love it and always will.

Buy the zine version!

https://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/1688118?__r=2186535