‘Beauty is beauty. The perspective may be different, but the perception is pretty much the same. My perspective happens to have a lot of color and spice… and some heat!’
Although I had been aware of the artistry of Ricardo Muñiz, it was not until getting to know his story that I gained a true appreciation for everything that makes up his incredible work. I got to know a bit of his story while working on a profile for the second issue of tMf magazine. In that feature what most impressed me was Ricardo's sense of community, but literally and artistically and how it figures so proximately within his imagery. Prior to exploring his artistic endeavours, Ricardo spent over 15 years serving his community as a social worker and teacher. Ricardo worked with young people with severe problems, emotional, social and psychological. When he made the decision to focus solely on his photography, puppetry and body art, community remained central. The creation of Coquíchulo Images stemmed from Ricardo’s passion to provide artistic support and foster creativity and success within communities of color and in particular the Latino community.
I have been looking to feature more of Ricardo's work since this time but when I recently saw his recent images of David, I got in touch with Ricardo about showcasing them on the blog. David, is a young Latino from the Miami-area whom Ricardo was asked to shoot for the website, Papithugz.com. Although Papithugz is a porn website, the owners hired Ricardo to bring an "artistic" and "softer" feel to the erotic photography portion of David's feature.
'The photo story seen here highlights some of the many erotic shots available on the site. My idea was to photograph David as a chulito, a pretty boy, who takes the viewer on an erotic stroll along the beach and to the pool. David slowly strips as he ambles along finally culminating in a full, erotic dip in the pool.'
To see the complete series, please visit Papi ThugzHERE: To see more of Ricardo's work, please visit Coquichulo ImagesHERE: