Photographer Adiana Rivera
opens fi rst solo ‘Bronx’ exhibit
BY ALEX MITCHELL
Walking around photographing
the most scenic
parts of the Bronx is a picture
perfect day for Adiana
Rivera.
As one of the borough’s
most talented photographers,
she’s captured the
uptown landscape and
much, much more in ways
that others just simply
have not.
Some of those iconic
shots are being displayed
throughout the month of
April at the Boogie Down
Grind café at 868 Hunts
Point Avenue in what is
the first solo exhibit for the
talented Rivera who hails
from south Riverdale.
It’s hard to believe
that the 24-year-old only
started to seriously pursue
photography just over
a year ago.
That came after she
spent a few years learning
production at SUNY New
Paltz.
It was during this time,
while living in a more rural
environment, that she
affirmed her Bronx roots.
“I just belong in the
Bronx,” Rivera said, noting
how the borough’s culture
is simply embedded in
her in blood.
“My family is here and
my life is here - it’s just
my home,” she continued.
That Bronx homecoming
encouraged Rivera to pursue
a deep interest in not
just photography, but filming
and producing documentaries
as well.
Rivera even shot and
cut a two-minute video for
the night that her exhibit
opened up. Titled ‘I Am
Every Woman,’ it was a series
of testimonials from
different women, mostly
from around the Bronx
that briefly detailed their
experiences growing up in
a feminine culture.
That’s in addition to her
five photographs that continue
to hang on the walls
of Boogie Down Grind;
they vary from her iconic
Bronx landscape shots to
the more sentimental ones
like a father and daughter
walking through Fordham
together.
Speaking of family,
Adiana’s mother was overwhelmed
with joy witnessing
her own daughter’s
success during the premiere.
Rivera wants to continue
producing documentaries
over the next few
years in addition to her
photography. She’s currently
working on another
project called ‘Bronx
Boys.’ That’s an eight-part
series that profiles what
life in the Bronx is like for
four different young men.
The subjects she choose
all stride in very different
walks of life. The film series
focuses on the commonalties
that the Bronx
has given the foursome in
upbringing, family, adolescence
and much more,
while highlighting their
differences as well.
“What I really want to
do in the future is start
an organization for Bronx
creatives so that they
have a place to produce
and work as well,” Rivera
said.
15 BRONX WEEKLY April 7, 2019 www.BXTimes.com
Adiana Rivera proudly displays
a book she created featuring
her exhibited works.
Photo by Kasey Rodriguez
Rivera’s work on display at the Boogie Down Grind. Photo by Kasey Rodriguez
Ethel (c) with Yvette and Giustino. Schneps Media/Alex Mitchell
The crossing guard that’s the
‘joyful soul of Throggs Neck’
everyday, even on rainy and
snowy days.
“Seeing her smile just resets
my day,” he said. “People
go out of their way to stop and
wave back at her,” the health
care practioner continued.
One resident was so
moved by the crossing
guard’s cheerful demeanor
that she surprised Ethel
with a bouquet of fl owers for
bringing a smile to so many
people throughout her day.
“You don’t know what
people are going through and
it’s important to make them
feel loved, and they make me
feel very loved too,” she said.
Ethel lives on East 233rd
Street and White Plains Road
and normally would have
been assigned to an intersection
in the 47th Precinct.
Fortunately for Throggs
Neck, that precinct didn’t
have room for another crossing
guard.
“I’m so glad I am where
I am, I wouldn’t want to be
anywhere else and I love
Throggs Neck and its people,”
she said.
Prior to her days in uniform,
Ethel was employed
at a St. Christopher’s group
home in Westchester, working
with children of course.
Ethel doesn’t have any
children of her own, though.
“They’re all my babies,
the kids, the adults. Anyone
I see and cross,” she happily
mentioned.
As a matter of fact, Ethel
even accompanies the mail
carrier across the street, according
to one parent Yvette
Caldarelli.
Just as school is letting
out in the afternoon, Ethel
is often joined by Yvette and
her eight-year-old son Giustino.
“We come out here to
keep her company,” Caldarelli
said. She explained
that Ethel has inadvertently
introduced her to almost the
entire Throggs Neck community,
since everybody stops
to say hello to their favorite
crossing guard.
“I don’t think I’ve ever
seen her upset,” Caldarelli
said.
That’s almost true, because
there is one exception:
if you are crossing Ethel’s intersection
don’t jaywalk, as
you might be given a talking
to about ‘why she needs her
babies crossing safely.’
“We all have problems
but God gives us a solution,”
Ethel said. “We have to love
each other and sometimes
that starts with a smile and
wave,” the ‘joyful soul of
Throggs Neck’ concluded.
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