RIGHT TO Live – Stories Without Borders

On Friday, Apr. 17, Stay Gallery showcased Virginia Yunes’s photography from her travels to third-world countries in order to exhibit a new environment within Downey’s community. Shown above are the different landscapes from the various travels Yunes had including Africa and Brazil.

Sabrina Picou, Editor-In-Chief
April 29, 2015

On Fri, Apr. 17, at 8 p.m., Stay Gallery showcased Virginia Yunes’s photographs of her travels through third world countries such as Brazil and Africa. Her photographs represent her message of looking at the world without borders; the idea that with intolerance in the world, she believes we need to respect one another.

At the beginning of the exhibit, Yunes gave a speech about what her art meant and what she wants people to take from it. Speaking to the people at the beginning allowed the viewers to understand the meaning and importance of each photograph they looked at.

Born in Argentina and raised in Brazil, her condition as an immigrant inspired her to photograph diverse groups of people.

“In every place I visited one thing stood out,” Yunes said, “everywhere there was a right to live with dignity and to be looked at with admiration.”

For the exhibit, her intention is to show a world without ideological boundaries, stigmas among others, and to show the uniqueness of each culture and way of life so that people can admire each other.

The very first place she traveled to was Brazil when she moved from Argentina. She explained what it is like to travel for her photographs.

“Traveling is like a bug that bites you and you can not stop traveling,” Yunes said. “Each year I always go to some different place: much of Latin America, Africa and Asia.”

Valentin Flores, director of Stay Gallery, who also has traveled to over 40 countries, shares how Yunes’s powerful photographs moved him.

“This exhibit was very dear to me because travel photography was what got me involved with the arts from the start,” Flores said. “Virginia’s exhibit took me back to all the places and faces that I met throughout my own adventures; her photography makes me want to drop everything and hit the road again.”

Leonar Gonzalez explains how Yunes’s photographs opened her eyes about the world.

“I’ve always been conscious about world poverty and lifestyle differences,” Gonzalez said, “but these images helped me see the pain and sorrow, the joy and hope in the eyes of the people portrayed.”

Yunes donated all of the proceeds she made that night from her photographs to Stay Young, the gallery’s youth initiative organization. The exhibit will be available for viewing at Stay Gallery until Saturday, Apr. 25.

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About the Contributors

Sabrina Picou, Editor-In-Chief

When Sabrina Picou joined newspaper she was quiet, nervous and knew only one person. She did not know how to format and structure a story and self-taught herself how to write a story. Now she is one of two editors-in-chief for the Downey Legend.

“I wanted the untold stories to be told,” Picou said. “That was my goal for Newspaper.”

People in and out of Newspaper have recognized Picou’s passion.

“In my opinion, Sabrina is a responsible student and has a big future in writing ahead of her,” Jarred Aldaco said, 12.

Since joining Newspaper doors have opened for Picou, which allows her to express herself through her writing for a bigger audience. After writing an article on an exhibit at the Stay Gallery titled This Normal Life, Sabrina was offered an internship at the gallery. She now writes a blog for the Stay Gallery.

“My advice would be that life is always about risk,” Picou said.“If you never leap you’ll never know how far you’ll go.”

With the support of her friends and fellow students Picou hopes to inspire with her stories and tell the untold stories.

Irania Quintero, Staff Writer

As a first year staff writer, senior Irania Quintero joined The Downey Legend in search of new experiences and opportunities. “I joined Newspaper because it gives me a chance to explore and build upon my passion for writing,” Quintero said. “It is indeed a new environment for me but a challenge worth taking on.” She has a passion for writing and hopes that with being a part of the staff she’ll expand her knowledge on different writing styles, improve her own writing, and get a feel for what she plans to do in the future. “Great writing to me is writing that makes the reader feel like he or she is a part of the experience or event described,” Quintero stated. “My ultimate goal is to deliver the same feeling to readers as many writers have done for me.” As a writer for The Downey Legend, Quintero will be in charge of pitching new story ideas and meeting deadlines. The job of a writer may get stressful and tedious at times but with Quintero’s passion for writing and undeniable reliability, she’ll take this job on without the slightest of difficulty.

Aside from being a writer for The Downey Legend, Quintero enjoys writing poetry, reading books by Nicholas Sparks, watching the Angels during their baseball season, and cooking and/or baking in her spare time. She also says that her favorite music varies from John Legend, Kanye West, The XX, to different alternative bands. Quintero also shared that she’s great with puns and that she has a positive vibe about herself at all times. “There’s almost always a smile on my face no matter what my mood is,” Quintero said. After high school she plans to attend a four-year-university, her top choice being San Francisco State University, and eventually become a journalist. Quintero has the right mind set and motivation to help her accomplish her dreams and succeed in her near future as well as in her current position on The Downey Legend.