Photographer Joe Conzo, Jr. was born in the South Bronx in 1963, and at a very early age acquired a passion for photography through his stepfather, who was an amateur photographer who spent time photographing Conzo, his brothers and sisters, and their surroundings. And he picked up more of the craft at school.
“At that time, I attended a charter school at Columbia University called Agnes Russel which taught photography. I have my report card showing ‘Joey is excelling in photography.’ My family would go on and support my passion in photography, especially my mother.”
By the age of 10, Conzo was carrying his camera with him daily, photographing everything from school walkouts to the infamous fires that ravaged the Bronx, to rap battles between the Cold Crush Brothers and other foundational Hip Hop groups.
The photographer’s family also played a role in his involvement in these worlds he came to photograph. His father was the personal confidant of the famous musician Tito Puente, who promoted some of the biggest salsa shows of the time. His grandmother was Dr. Evelina Antonetty, also known as The Hell Lady of the Bronx, a civil rights activist. She was committed to improving the quality of life for Puerto Rician children in the South Bronx, with her work resulting in bilingual education, food activism and free lunch programs, and empowering people to get involved in their children’s education. And there was his mother, Lorraine Montenegro, who founded United Bronx Parents, a social service agency which provided educational services to children, services for older people, and ran a facility for women and children battling substance abuse.
“Those years were pivotal in The Bronx. It was the height of urban decay,” he tells. “Two presidents would visit The Bronx, Jimmy Carter in 1977 and Reagan in 1980. As a child I was just taking snapshots. As a teenager I had honed my skills as a photographer and started developing my own images. This time period represents The Birth of Hip Hop, the rise of Latin Music, Community Activism and the beauty of The Bronx during turbulent times.”
Growing up in that time was a ‘baptism by fire,’ as Conzo writes on his website. It was an unprecedented age of urban decay, and the South Bronx bore the brunt of it. The nearly bankrupt City of New York did very little, and the crumbling education system let many fall through the cracks. But there was beauty to be found in the culture and people, and he was there at the right time and place with his camera to capture it all.
Joe Conzo himself did succumb to some of the problems of the age, for a time falling into a period of substance abuse and homelessness. But he was able to turn his life around, eventually joining the New York City Fire Department as an EMT, eventually leading him to work at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
His archive of photographs from the Bronx had been preserved by his mother, and members of the Cold Crush Brothers. And in 2008, his entire collection of photographs and ephemera became part of an archive housed at Cornell University. The University has begun the process of digitizing over 10,000 of his photographs. The archive is regarded by experts and academics as an important lens into the roots of Hip Hop culture, the urban landscape of New York in the 1970’s and 80’s, and an integral source for research into the topics.
Putting together the exhibition was also a project in itself. The silver gelatin prints in the exhibition were made at the Bronx Documentary Center from Conzo’s original negative, which were loaned by Cornell University.
“It was an emotional undertaking trying to find a balance of images to convey my sense of pride of documenting my community,” says Joe Conzo. “There are so many different narratives of The Bronx during this period, and I just wanted to share my narrative as a young Puerto Rican kid who grew up in The Bronx.”
But what does Conzo want people to take away from seeing his photographs, now that 4 decades have passed, and the Bronx having changed dramatically in many ways? “What I would hope for when people see my photographs is that they are transported back into time and see the beauty of The Bronx and some of the obstacles we overcame, and some hope!”
“Conzo: A Look Back at the Bronx, 1977-1984” is on view at the Bronx Documentary Center from through April 21, 2024. More information can be found on their website.
Joe Conzo’s archive can be viewed on the Cornell University Library’s website.
