Today we’d like to introduce you to Angie Castro
Hi Angie , thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I have always been involved in grassroots organizing in my community since the early 2000s. In 2012 I worked out of a Studio in Atwater called Guilty Studios promoting space to local artists that wanted to host their own pop-up arts shows. We began offering a photo booth and 3in button making as part of the rental of the space and it took off from there. When I separated from the studio, I was going to stop doing the photo booth. It was the artists that I worked with insisted the I had to continue documenting the movement that we were part of, and I never stopped. I don’t consider myself a professional photographer, I am self-taught, I’ve just considered myself as a person who documents the highlights of my community and the people in it. My set-up was a camera on a tripod connected to my computer and home printer. I have since grown the business and now have official photo booth gear and document at larger annual community events and corporate events.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It wasn’t always easy in the beginning because I went from being part of a team that provided me the space, gear and support to completely flying alone. Once I began to really dive into the photo booth industry and started taking online courses on photography, I felt more confident in my role and did art show after art show with the help of my community until I was able to find myself permanent help. Now my cousin Juan is part of my team and we’re able to run the business successfully together.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Apart from running my photo booth business I am a non-profit bookkeeper and community organizer. I work full time for an amazing organization called Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural and bookstore in Sylmar, Ca. I am also a co-founder to the San Fernando Cultural Arts Collective, we co-host the annual Dia De Los Muertos event in the city of San Fernando for the last 15 years. I am also the valley contact for the Women’s Healing Resource Clinic, we provide support to women of domestic violence. We host multiple events throughout the year, we help with self care practices, community resources and bring awareness to the ongoing MMIR epidemic. I am most proud of the position I have gained in my community as person that people look to help mobilize events and be there for folks in their time of need. I do my best to be impeccable with my words and respectful to the ideas and feeling of others which I believe leaves folks with a lasting impression of the kind of person I am in all aspects of my life.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
On Friday nights my mom would take me to the local Bob’s Big Boy restaurant. We would sit at the bar and order burgers and talk. Being a little girl, the best part then was her letting me order a piece of fudge cake.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/photobooth.angie/
Image Credits
VC Next level Photobooth
Mini Photo Booth
