Walking around photographing the most scenic parts of the Bronx is a picture perfect day for Adiana Rivera.
As one of the borough’s most talented photographers, she’s captured the uptown landscape and much, much more in ways that others just simply have not.
Some of those iconic shots are being displayed throughout the month of April at the Boogie Down Grind café at 868 Hunts Point Avenue in what is the first solo exhibit for the talented Rivera who hails from south Riverdale.
It’s hard to believe that the 24-year-old only started to seriously pursue photography just over a year ago.
That came after she spent a few years learning production at SUNY New Paltz.
It was during this time, while living in a more rural environment, that she affirmed her Bronx roots.
“I just belong in the Bronx,” Rivera said, noting how the borough’s culture is simply embedded in her in blood.
“My family is here and my life is here – it’s just my home,” she continued. That Bronx homecoming encouraged Rivera to pursue a deep interest in not just photography, but filming and producing documentaries as well.
Rivera even shot and cut a two-minute video for the night that her exhibit opened up. Titled ‘I Am Every Woman,’ it was a series of testimonials from different women, mostly from around the Bronx that briefly detailed their experiences growing up in a feminine culture.
That’s in addition to her five photographs that continue to hang on the walls of Boogie Down Grind; they vary from her iconic Bronx landscape shots to the more sentimental ones like a father and daughter walking through Fordham together.
Speaking of family, Adiana’s mother was overwhelmed with joy witnessing her own daughter’s success during the premiere.
Rivera wants to continue producing documentaries over the next few years in addition to her photography. She’s currently working on another project called ‘Bronx Boys.’ That’s an eight-part series that profiles what life in the Bronx is like for four different young men.
The subjects she choose all stride in very different walks of life. The film series focuses on the commonalties that the Bronx has given the foursome in upbringing, family, adolescence and much more, while highlighting their differences as well.
“What I really want to do in the future is start an organization for Bronx creatives so that they have a place to produce and work as well,” Rivera said.
