Back in August, America’s Voice highlighted the story of Ricardo Aca – a young DREAMer from New York City who works at a Trump hotel in order to save money for school and help his family.
Ricardo was the subject of a video by New Left Media, where he opened up about his story, criticized Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric, and shared his passion for photography.
Ricardo uses his passion for photography as a storytelling tool
While Ricardo recognizes that he is unable to vote due to his immigration status, that has not stopped him from sharing the stories of people who are caught within our broken immigration system.
This past weekend, when I was in NYC for #RacismIsnFunny protests against Trump hosting SNL, I had the pleasure of meeting Ricardo for the first time. I was taken aback due to his unwavering commitment to immigrant rights, his dedication to make time to give back to his community, and his willingness to go out of his way in order to take photos at various occasions.
Here is a photo of us this past Saturday – and you can see, Ricardo has his camera in hand:
Con @RicardoAcaNYC, @therealmeminski, and @antonioalarconc – thanks for supporting the #RacismIsntFunny campaign pic.twitter.com/d4eFWDE5dA
— Juan Escalante (@JuanSaaa) November 8, 2015
Having received his Associate’s Degree in commercial photography, Ricardo uses his talents as a photographer to capture the lives of undocumented immigrants across the country – most notably, by taking photographs that combat the grotesque categorizations that Donald Trump has placed on immigrants.
To showcase his most recent work, Ricardo has organized a photo exhibit at La Guardia Community College in New York – and wanted to make sure that the invite reached his fellow new Yorkers, as well as everyone who has supported him throughout the past couple of months.
If you’re in the New York City area, you can attend the show. Click here to RSVP for Ricardo Aca’s photo exhibit, titled “Not A…” Details of the exhibit are also available below:
Be sure to check out Ricardo’s work and portfolio by visiting his website.
