Realistic Beauty combines photos made over the past two years from three discrete series: wrestling, natural hair, and Comic Con. Tino’s work invokes the implicit bias around representation and performance. Through this exhibition, he gives a platform to people who are underrepresented in mainstream media, allowing these people a space to be themselves and construct their own reality. Several of the wrestlers portrayed have signed Tino’s pictures in the style of fan pin-up posters.

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The hair project refers to Tino’s childhood neighborhood, where “good hair” was perceived as social status. He recalls, “As a kid my hair wasn’t stylish; it was always somewhat in a bowl cut. I remember hearing, ‘Your hair is so beautiful, I wish my hair was like yours, you have good hair.’ I believed their hair was beautiful, too.” These photographs of natural hair celebrate those who go against the conventions of “good hair.”

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The wrestling project shows people of color involved both as wrestlers and as fans. The work exposes the prejudices of wrestling narratives, where the few non-white wrestlers inevitably play the bad guy. A famous example was Eddie Guerrero, who used the motto, “I lie, I cheat, I steal.” His dirty tactics helped him win matches but Eddie’s charisma got him the love of the fans. He would speak in the microphone about his struggles as a drug addict and his pride in his Latina background. Tino’s photographs challenge white mainstream wrestling’s misrepresentation by reflecting on heroic moments where people of color champion themselves.

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In a similar vein, the Comic Con images show people of color dressed as heroes that are typically white characters. To be Mexican on Halloween meant wearing a sombrero and poncho or to dress as a mariachi, never as a superhero. Comic Con is a place where brown people can claim whoever they want to be. Someone might says, “Oh you black superman. You are male Paech.” Once a person of color plays a character, the superhero’s persona extends to encompass the actor’s race.

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These three projects work together to celebrate diversity. The fantastic costuming and natural hair tell stories beyond comic books and wrestling plots. Tino tells the stories about the dignity and beauty of his community through the photographs presented here.

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