Conzo: A Look Back at the Bronx, 1977-84

On View: September 20 – October 27, 2024

Bronx Documentary Center Annex
364 E. 151st St, Bronx, NY 10455

Born in 1963 in the South Bronx, Joe Conzo Jr. acquired a passion for photography as a young boy. By some combination of luck and circumstance, as a teenager Joe found himself at the very center of the cultural and activist movements changing the Bronx. His father was the personal confidant of Tito Puente, promoting some of the biggest salsa shows of the 1970s and 80s; his grandmother, Evelina López Antonetty, was a community activist known as the Hell Lady of the Bronx; and Joe’s classmates at South Bronx High School were quite literally birthing the culture of Hip Hop.

The exhibition was curated by Cynthia Rivera and Michael Kamber.

Spanish translations by Maria de la Paz Galindo.

This exhibition was made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs; and 1XRUN.

We thank the following for their help with this exhibition:The Cornell Hip Hop Collection, TatsCru, CRASH, CES, Grand Wizzard Theodore and The Bronx Public.

The silver gelatin prints in this exhibition were printed in the BDC’s darkroom by Sean Sirota and Pablo Inirio, from Joe Conzo’s original negatives which were generously loaned by the Cornell University Hip Hop Collection.

Starting at the age of 10, Joe began to carry his camera daily, photographing everything from school walkouts, to the infamous fires ravaging the Bronx, to rap battles between the Cold Crush Brothers and other foundational Hip Hop groups. Forty-five years later, Joe’s images provide an unmatched and intimate document of the complex forces that created today’s Bronx.

“[This exhibition] is like coming home for me again,” says Joe. “The BDC is two blocks from where I grew up, two blocks from where a lot of these photographs were taken. To have a solo show here is pretty rewarding.”

Joe hopes that these photos, as well as both his struggles and successes, will be an inspiration to a new generation of Bronxites, and to young photographers.

“People can look back and see reasons to be hopeful, see that all is not bad. Yes, I was homeless at one time. Yes, I was battling drug abuse. Yes. I’m a cancer survivor. Yes. I grew up on some of the toughest streets in The Bronx, but I’m still here. I still followed my dreams.”

Today, Joe’s photos are exhibited throughout the world and recognized as a unique and important cultural archive. The BDC is honored to host an exhibition by this son of the South Bronx.