Latino, Hispanic Culture, Arts and Entertianment at BF Cafe

Pepper Negron is a unique talent. It takes a special eye to find beauty in both glamour and the dark side of life, as the photo above reveals. As Pepper continues his vision in film we are sure his images will be just as captivating and beautiful as his still images.
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(“Run Away”, by Corina Katt Ayala, Directed by Pepper Negron)

BFC: Where did it all begin for you?

I was born in Yauco, Puerto Rico. When I was an infant, we moved to the south Bronx. I grew up in areas near third ave., and when I was 11 years old my grandfather took me shoe shinning with him around the neighborhood, this is my first working gig.

My dad did several different types of jobs, but spent many years as a board of education custodial engineer. My mom was a housewife but was very resourceful and took odd jobs to help make ends meet.

Culture in my home growing up centered around food and music, as was the case with most Puerto Rican families. My mother would spend hours at a time in the kitchen perfecting traditional recipes for pasteles, alcapurrias and arroz con gandules.

BFC: When did your creativity begin to shape your life?

Art was the only thing that captured my interest in school. The classroom structure was always a struggle for me. My comfort was in art, and it was during the early grammar years that a few teachers recognize my talents. I would design stage scenes for theater plays, decorate classrooms for the holidays with drawings, cut outs, and paintings.

I was always interested arts, and it was one teacher during my junior years who early on recognized my talents and bought it to my mother’s attention … he was the one person who really believed in my talents, so much that he prepared me for the entry exams to get into high school of art and design in NYC.

BFC: What drew you to pick up a camera?

The way the camera captures every little detail; how it makes the simplest thing seem intricately beautiful, as opposed to seeing something with the naked eye; the camera let’s me take a step back, refocus on what’s really there and see a completely different perspective.

The details of what makes something beautiful. I’ve learned there is beauty in literally everything.

BFC: What’s been your experience in fashion photography and do you see a trend for Latina models?

I really don’t consider myself a fashion photographer, although I love fashion. I have covered fashion shows, runway events, and promo cards for designers and models.

I would say my love for fashion photography would be in the craft of fashion it self.

I think for Latina’s today there’s a lot more opportunities. There are local and mainstream model agencies and agencies looking for real people whether is for print or TV commercial work.

Latina’s come in all different shapes, sizes and colors. Our women tend to be shapelier and voluptuous in ways that wasn’t necessarily embraced by the Anglo American’s perception of beauty.

Now we have the likes of Eva Mendez, Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Alba and Penelope Cruz gracing the covers of major magazines.

At one time I too was guilty of the more Anglo features in the women I photographed but it was based on the images I grew up seeing as a child in every magazine, TV and movie. I’ve worked on broadening my idea of what beauty really is, my new view is broader in scope, which has brought me a tremendous amount of creative inspiration.

BFC: After directing a few short films, do you see your filmmaking as an extension of your photography or is this a new venture for you?

It is absolutely an extension with almost no difference for me except the movement (motion pictures) and to capture and bring forth a vivid life.

BFC: Do you see filmmaking as a different art form than photography? For example: commercial vs. noncommercial?

I’m sure they are very different to most filmmakers, but I keep the common link, which is my passion, so to me in the end it’s all art coming through me.

BFC: How about collaborative vs. individualistic?

This can be tricky, myself as a writer/director my idea will come with my own vision, but in the end, it is about collaborating and coming to a common ground. Filming is a collaborative art form. You have to be open with other talents and their views; influence, inspire and support each other, that’s how you create magic.

BFC: Where do you see your filmmaking taking you in the future? Do you have any projects in the works?

Yes! Several feature screenplays in the works but I will not diffuse their energy by discussing them before they’ve come to fruition. I will say that where it will take me is on an endless journey of beauty.

Currently, I’m working on a DVD project titled “Dark Tales of Tortured Souls”, which is a collection of seven to eight short films I’ve written and will be directing.

The first few shorts “In Stillness I Lie” and “Blood Drips” are making their rounds into film festivals while, “me, I’m Not Dead” and “So Quiet” are in post-production.

Currently I’m preparing to shoot the next few shorts, “Asphixia”, “Buried Dreams”, “Broken Whisper” and “Greshen” to complete the collection.

During a film screening of “Blood Drips”, I was approached by an A&R person from a record label, who heard the music track on the efilm and asked if I would be interested in working on a music CD. My partner (Capri) and I composed music for our films, so now we’re in the studio cutting tracks for our first music cd titled “gothic melodies” and we call our selves … “dark composers”.

I’m also shooting a dark glamour calendar of my work.

To view more of Pepper’s work:
www.myspace.com/PEPPERNEGRON
www.facebook.com/pepper.negron

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