Moretón moves between two landscapes: the gym and the wider Coachella Valley. Inside, images move from Espinoza’s lined face to young boxers mid-strike, their movements leaving blurred trails across the frame. Outside, Vargas photographs smashed car windows in suburban streets and the vast emptiness of the desert. “This project is not only a personal reflection on what legacy means and how that translates to my own experience with my grandfather,” he says. “But is a documentative view on what it is to be an immigrant and build something.”
There was an uncomfortable tension Vargas was willing to accept. “It’s selfish of me, in my mind, to be like, ‘Oh wow, you remind me of this individual in my life that I was so close to,” he adds. It’s why early on he was careful not to let the resemblance take over the story. His grandfather gradually became the subject, but he wasn’t the one he started out looking for. “Initially, I didn’t understand how big of an impact he had on that space in that community. The more I got to know him, the more I started to see those connections.”
For Vargas, these are clear. “My grandfather was like my father. He instilled in me what it means to be a provider, but also a hard worker and commitment to your beliefs, and how that transcends everything,” he continues. “I think a lot of that is echoed in Lee and how he approaches the gym – you see him at the gym at his age, still training and still being this figure, this leading individual in these people’s lives.”
Moretón by Darren Vargas is published by Friend Editions.
Jack Dennison-Thompson is a freelance journalist. Follow him on Instagram.
Buy your copy of Huck 83 here.
Enjoyed this article? Follow Huck on Instagram and join Club Huck’s mailing list for more from the cutting edge of sport, music and counterculture.
Support our journalism by becoming a member of Club Huck+.
