Monica Saldana, “La Mera Mera.” Courtesy of Dock Space Gallery.
In its 32nd year, FotoSeptiembre is part of the Dock Space Gallery exhibitions in San Antonio’s Lone Star District. The opening reception for “Close to Home,” an exhibit of the work of thirteen San Antonio photographers, is Saturday, September 12, from 4- 9 p.m. Curated by Ricardo Romo, the photographers in the exhibit include Lead Artist Monica Sandana, Al Rendon, Joel Salcido, Enrique Navarette, Kathy Vargas, Guillermina Zaballa, Ramon Hernandez, Oscar Castillo, Chris Hernandez, Victoria Martinez, David Ortega, Gloria Cruz, and Ruben Chavez.
Guillermina Zabala. “The Dance.” Courtesy of Dock Space Gallery.
FotoSeptiembre has a long and colorful history. San Antonian Michael Melh, a photography historian, festival entrepreneur, and founder of San Antonio FotoSeptiembre, was living in Coyoacán, Mexico in the 1980s when he met Patricia Mendoza, a recent graduate of Universidad Iberoamericana who had a degree in Art History. Mehl had established a studio/atelier in Coyoacán, showing his work and that of other artists. Patricia served as director of Los Talleres, a private cultural center owned by the dancer Isabel Beteta, which was located just a few blocks from his studio. Mehl and Patricia soon became fast friends and project partners.
Monica Saldana, “Tejana/Chicana.” Courtesy of Dock Space Gallery.
Michael Melh and Patricia Mendoza discussed creating an open, accessible photography festival—something Mehl envisioned like a féria popular (a popular fair)—independent of wealthy patrons or government directives. FotoSeptiembre came to life in 1994, when Patricia Mendoza was named Director/Founder of the Centro de la Imagen in Mexico City. When Mendoza took the Centro helm, she invited Mehl to develop the international component of what would become FotoSeptiembre in Mexico, giving him freedom to set his own formats and guidelines.
When Mehl moved to San Antonio in the mid-1990s, there was only one major annual photography show in the United States. He adapted and independently established the FotoSeptiembre USA celebration in San Antonio as a platform for photographers from across the community. In 1995, Mehl and his wife Ann Kinser officially founded FotoSeptiembre USA as a “unique and eclectic forum for the exhibition and celebration of photography and photographically based art.” He observed on his website that “It’s been a long and daunting thirty-some years of producing a festival every September and maintaining an archive of a very broad range of photographic expressions; all the while keeping FotoSeptiembre private, independent, ongoing, and free.”
Monica Saldana, “Summertime Southside.” Courtesy of Dock Space Gallery.
In its third decade, FotoSeptiembre USA has become one of the major art festivals in San Antonio. It attracts regional, national, and international photographers who are currently showing their work in 30-plus exhibits at venues large and small. The openings start in late August and continue throughout September.
Al Rendon, Joe, and Leticia. Courtesy of Dock Space Gallery.
Photo historians Alicia Ahumada and Yolanda Andrade wrote in Between Worlds: Contemporary Mexican Photography that “Photographers have the opportunity to reflect, to examine their own culture and to find considered visual explanations in a society and culture which nurtures this way of working.” San Antonio photographers are especially proficient at preserving the Mexican and Mexican American history, identity, and spirit of the region. These photographers serve as both witnesses and storytellers of a community that is still heavily influenced by Mexican culture.
Over the years, photography has served as both witness and storyteller of San Antonio’s Latino community. The images of FotoSeptiembre capture everyday life, important events, and cultural traditions—both tangible and intangible—creating a visual archive that complements written records and sustains collective memory. Through scenes of daily routines, celebrations, struggles, and triumphs, photography documents a community’s values, vitality, and evolving identity, revealing how it sees itself and how it wishes to be seen by others. Two artists, Al Rendon and Enrique Navarette, have a fascination with lowrider owners and the culture lowriders represent.
Lowriding is a Mexican American/Chicano tradition that originated in the Southwest after World War II. The Chicano lowrider tradition with its particular social practices and car-club infrastructure can be traced to Southern California (especially East Los Angeles) in the mid‑ to late‑1940s; lowrider clubs spread through Texas, New Mexico, and the Southwest in the 1950s.
Al Rendon, Dan with his ride. Courtesy of Dock Space Gallery.
The Lowrider clubs and organized car-club culture, cruising rituals, and competitive shows emerged among Mexican American youth and veterans who modified affordable prewar cars to ride “low and slow” (bajito y suavecito), in contrast to hot rods built for speed. Texas historian Michael Stone, who wrote “The Cultural Significance of Lowriders in Mexican-American Identity,” notes that “On both sides of the Mexican border and throughout the Southwest, lowriders and their elaborately crafted carritos, carruchas, or ranflas-as the cars are affectionately called- contribute a particular stylistic flair to the multivocalic discourse on Mexican-American identity.”
Al Rendon, “Carlos and family.” Courtesy of Dock Space Gallery.
Enrique Navarette, who has spent much of his life in the throes of lowrider clubs and culture in San Antonio, argues that the lowrider clubs are an affirmation of Mexican American pride and family honor. Most of the club members have some barrio identity, but recognize that they are a part of a society that marginalizes Chicanos. Even though the lowrider practice took shape in the U.S., its visual language and meaning are deeply tied to Mexican and Chicano culture. Mexico’s artistic influence is profound but primarily cultural—supplying the symbols, colors, language, and sense of identity that make lowriders distinctly Chicano.
Monica Saldana, “Sweet Moments.” Courtesy of Dock Space Gallery.
The photographer Monica Saldana documents lowrider culture as well as family relationships. We learn from the FotoSeptiembre exhibit at the Dock Space Gallery that a photograph can serve many purposes—artistic, documentary, commercial, or conceptual. Monica Saldana, the Lead Artist, demonstrates her understanding of major objects of regional photography. In a recent interview, she noted that her work centers on portraiture, documentary moments of everyday life, and a soft, romantic visual sensibility.
Saldana shows through her work that artistic photographs can express emotion or ideas. I first saw some of Saldana’s excellent photography at the Centro de Artes / “Madre Land” installation art exhibit. Saldana participated as a “Madre Land” artist in a panel moderated by curator Bonnie Cisneros. Saldana’s still life photograph of Pan Dulce and coffee reminds us of quiet weekend mornings when a good cup of coffee helps start the day or allows for quiet moments of reflection.
Monica Saldana. “Crusin Chula.” Courtesy of Dock Space Gallery.
Saldana grew up in San Antonio’s Southside and attended Southwest High School. She became familiar with a camera at a young age and developed a storytelling approach to documentary photography in a high school journalism class. While working as a make-up artist, she took mental notes on what the professional photographers required of their models and how they handled placement and spatial movement. She is technically self-taught, but credits the professional photographers she assisted in the modeling environment for teaching her much of what she knows.
Victoria Martinez. Lowrider gathering. Courtesy of Dock Space Gallery.
The Dock Space Gallery photographers show that chronicling events has both aesthetic and historic value. The photographers in the exhibit hope that their images evoke empathy and understanding. Their iconic images make us aware of car cultures, family events and festivals, as well as social movements that have shaped public memory in South Texas and deepened a wider cultural awareness.
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Copyright 2026 by Ricardo Romo. All photo credits as indicated above.