Erika P. Rodriguez

Photographer
   
Costumes & Red Cups
Location: San Juan, Puerto Rico
Nationality: Puerto Rican
Biography: Erika P. Rodríguez is a photographer based in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  My personal work meditates on the fragility of the island’s collective memory and the implicit tension present by the lack of our political identity. Being... MORE
Editors Only Story
Costumes & Red Cups
Copyright Erika P. Rodríguez 2024
Updated May 2020
Topics adulthood, american, california, college, community, halloween, isla vista, Isolation, party, School/College, Sexuality, ucsb, university, youth


COSTUMES & RED CUPS

2012

My generation is changing. As a result of the advancements in technology we perceive ourselves to be more connected and involved as a community than in previous times – yet in reality we are one of the most disconnected generations. Those closest to us are the ones we are often the most distant and disengaged from.

As a student steps into college they are presented with a culture of removed boundaries. The opportunities to explore identity become an endless horizon. Isla Vista’s Halloween celebration, which brings an estimated of 30,000 students from all over California and neighboring states to the small beach town next to the University of California, Santa Barbara, reflects this newly discovered freedom and exemplifies the societal expectations of young adulthood in the United States.

"Where the fuck are you slut?" screams a guy walking on Del Playa Dr.

The moments behind the masks and red cups reveal a disconnection between the subjects and those around them. Within this collection of images are quiet frames that show a longing for purpose, and question the ways we build community.

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