Students’ photos land at S.A. airport
Exhibit offers travelers a taste of local culture
Big Red and conchas and cracked cascarones. Chilled mangonadas and icy paletas. Hot jalapeños and peppers that zing. Yes, these are a few of San Antonio’s favorite things.
Now travelers from around the world can get an eyeful of that local flavor.
That’s the vision behind “Puro San Antonio,” a colorful new photo exhibit by Cole High School students featuring popart portraits of foods, drinks and other items close to the heart of the city and its residents.
The exhibit runs through the end of the year at at the Galleries @ SAT at San Antonio International Airport, located near the Terminal B ticketing area. Prints of the photos can be purchased at colehs.smugmug.com.
“Puro San Antonio” speaks to the city’s diverse Hispanic and Texan cultures, said Cole photography teacher Brenda Marafioto. And nothing says San Antonio quite like chips and salsa, cowboy boots and a Whataburger cup.
“I think we were able to honor and celebrate our unique cultural heritage, to really capture the spirit of our city,” she said. “And it let our students apply their skills in a real-world context.”
A dozen students from Marafioto’s advanced commercial photography class designed and developed the project, which debuted a week before some of them finished their senior year.
The exhibit’s senior photographers and designers include Raven Carroll, Kaydence Cobb, Payton Cunningham, Emily Giardine and Katarina Gonzalez. Other student photographers include Gabrielle Cunningham, Natalie Dickinson, Brianna Driver, Grey Kaplan, Ruby Mercer, Alexandra Rojas and Lucas Trudell.
“Puro San Antonio” features more than 30 photos that look like oversize paint swatches with
clever names for their colorful subjects and San Antonio ZIP codes instead of color numbers. The photos line the gallery like a giant paint swatch, each color flowing into the next with an ombre effect.
At one end, red chili peppers against a red background sport the name “Pica-chew” with the North Central ZIP code 78232. At the other end, a pink square with a pink Fiesta crown holds court as “La Reina” with Stone Oak’s 78258.
And somewhere in between the two photos, a green image of jalapeño slices bears the apropos title “Caliente” with 78234, the ZIP code of Cole High School at Joint Base San Antonio-fort Sam Houston.
“I think when tourists and visitors come, they don’t realize how much Mexican and Hispanic culture we have in San Antonio,” said Cole senior Payton Cunningham, who shot the jalapeños and the exhibit’s other green images. “I think our gallery gives them a good idea.”
Earlier in the school year, Marafioto reached out to airport arts, culture and social media manager Matt Evans about showcasing her students’ photography. One of the images she presented was Carroll’s pop art picture of a pink concha. Evans fell in love with the picture and asked Marafioto if her students could do a whole gallery based on the design.
“Honestly it feels amazing,” Carroll said about how her image inspired the “Puro San Antonio” exhibit. “I’ve poured four years (into photography classes). It’s something that I’m truly passionate about.”
Carroll and her classmates
photographed the objects in their school studio. They originally used white backgrounds and soft boxes. Then, in postprocessing, they used the Eyedropper tool in Photoshop to pluck the main color from each item and use as its new background.
“Puro San Antonio” may showcase some of the city’s most beloved items, but the subjects are personal to their photographers.
Carroll said her concha photo reflects the food of her culture, while Cunningham’s
green pics include her father’s Army cap.
Similarly, while “Puro San Antonio” is designed to spotlight commercial photography, it’s more than just an assignment.
“We never want to work for the sake of working,” Marafioto said. “We want to work for the sake of creating something meaningful and helping these kids grow personally and professionally through this program.”
For some students, that means pursuing careers away
from the camera. But for others such as Carroll and Cunningham, it means incorporating their photography skills into their future.
Cunningham is headed to the University of North Texas to major in graphic design, while Carroll is going to Prairie View A&M University to major in psychology and minor in graphic design. Each offers her own photography services for solo and group portraits.
On Instagram, Cunningham can be found at @jaid. ephotography and Carroll can
be found at @carroll._. photography.
Marafioto said she hopes those who go through the airport see “Puro San Antonio” as a fun visual guide to the city.
As for the students behind the exhibit, Marafioto said her philosophy as a teacher is to always meet kids where they are and “give them wings” so they have the confidence and the know-how to achieve.
“Their wings are now at the airport,” she said.