Laura Aguilar

Laura Aguilar (1959- 2018) was a pioneer of Chicana photography. She challenged traditional definitions of beauty and focused her camera on people of color, as well as people with disabilities and those in the LGBTQ community.
Aguilar was born with auditory dyslexia, a condition that made reading and speaking difficult. One day in middle school her brother brought home a new camera. Making her promise to take a photography class, he lent her the camera and taught her how to develop film. “The best thing in my life is my brother,” she said later. “He saved me.”