AVONDALE — A timely photo exhibit will give neighbors a deeper look into early Puerto Rican life in Chicago through the eyes of photographer and musician Carlos Flores, a prominent cultural figure in the diaspora’s history in the city.

The “Carlos Flores: A ChicagoRican Story — Images of Community, Memory, and Resistance” is the latest exhibit from the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance, 3000 N. Elbridge Ave., that opens Saturday, honoring the preservation of one of the most important community archives documenting Puerto Rican life in the Midwest, curators said.

“A Boy And His Flag” depicts a boy and his Puerto Rican flag in 1971, part of the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance’s El Archivo preservation project and one of the photos from Carlos Flores’ new Avondale exhibit at the alliance library, 3000 N. Elbridge Ave. opening Aug. 29, 2026. Credit: Carlos Flores

Flores, born in Guayama, Puerto Rico, in 1949, settled in Chicago with his family in 1956, later documenting early Puerto Rican life in Lincoln Park, West Town, Wicker Park and other areas depicting neighborhood displacement, community activism, educational initiatives, artists, grassroots organizations, family life and major cultural celebrations from the ’60s to early 2000s. 

While his work representing Latino life in Chicago has been featured in photography books, films and articles over the years, some of his photographs spanning 50 years have never been publicly shared until now, he told Block Club.

The black and white photographs represent his effort to “immortalize my community” and are an impressive collection that started with a film camera when he was 20, he said. Flores was a founding member of the Young Lords, the Lincoln Park-based Puerto Rican street gang from the ’60s and ’70s that became a civil and human rights organization modeled after the Black Panther Party.

“What is important is the history and the memories that are preserved, and the people that were part of the photos,” Flores said. “I have great joy when people call me and say they saw a photo of mine of their dad when he was 17 years old and it made them cry … those things make me feel very proud I did this. I get calls like that all the time.”

Being part of the Young Lords and growing up in Lincoln Park, he witnessed firsthand the activism around gentrification, cultural milestones, protests and more where DePaul University now sits.

Carlos Flores, a Puerto Rican photographer, will have a free exhibit at the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance starting Aug. 29, 2026. Credit: Luisell Quintero

“Carlos Flores has spent more than 50 years documenting our community with compassion, dignity, and purpose,” Jorge Félix, co-curator of the exhibition said in a press release. “His photographs preserve stories that might otherwise have disappeared. They remind us that our neighborhoods, our Black and Afro-Puerto Rican histories, our institutions, our struggles, our music, and our celebrations matter.”

Curated by Félix and Dr. Marisa Alicea, the Avondale exhibition came about because of the recently acquired Carlos Flores Collection, which is now being preserved through the alliance’s El Archivo Project, a community archive dedicated to documenting Puerto Rican history in Chicago and the Midwest.

As similar waves of gentrification and displacement continue on the Northwest Side now, the exhibit feels timely — and personal, Flores said.

Flores has lived in Wicker Park for 40 years but now is being pushed out due to high property taxes he can no longer afford. He isn’t sure where he will go next, he said.

“It’s happening again,” he said.

Flores, who no longer does photography, has not been back to Lincoln Park in years. After his parents died in 1992 and sold their Lincoln Park home, he has no business there — but he has fond memories of the area that will always stay with him and are seen in his photos, he said.

A photo documents men standing outside a Lincoln Park tavern at Fremont and Armitage in 1971, part of the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance’s El Archivo preservation project and one of the photos from Carlos Flores’ new Avondale exhibit at the alliance library, 3000 N. Elbridge Ave. opening Aug. 29, 2026. Credit: Carlos Flores

Looking back at those photos now, “it feels great because I know I preserved my photographs and culture, just the way that camera was put in my hands to get the perfect shot,” Flores said.

Flores’ work aims to preserve Latino history and life in Chicago, which he has done through various efforts. He’s also a jazz musician, educator and Afro-Puerto Rican cultural advocate. He was a co-founder of the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance in 1997, founder of the National Puerto Rican Cuatro Festival in 1998 and is a co-founder of the Chicago Afro-Latino Institute.

The free Flores exhibition has an opening reception 6-9 p.m. Saturday and lasts through June. It kicks off a yearlong series of public programs, including gallery talks, panel discussions, musical performances and educational workshops exploring the history and continuing legacy of Puerto Rican Chicago.