{"id":671236,"date":"2026-07-03T07:33:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T07:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/671236\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T07:33:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T07:33:15","slug":"for-a-place-that-struggles-with-drugs-violence-exile-and-the-heat-a-haven-is-a-special-place-photographer-documents-boxing-club-that-gives-struggling-community-a-se","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/671236\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cFor a place that struggles with drugs, violence, exile and the heat. A haven is a special place.\u201d\u00a0Photographer documents boxing club that gives struggling community \u201ca sense of place\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Moret\u00f3n is the Spanish word for ‘bruise’ and the title of Darren Vargas\u2019 first publication, which centers around the Lee Espinoza Coachella Valley Boxing Club.<\/p>\n

The first-generation Mexican-American photographer was inspired to embark on the project following the death of his grandfather, Esmael. Boxing club owner Lee Espinoza, who is affectionately known in the area as the \u201cgodfather of boxing,\u201d reminded Vargas of his grandfather.<\/p>\n

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Rather than focus on the combat sport itself, the photographer\u2019s work is said to build a narrative around the process of finding a sense of place, self and forgiveness. And indeed, a portion from the sale of each book will go back to the boxing club \u2013 which is free to the public.<\/p>\n

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Image 1 of 2<\/p>\n

\"DarrenEl Polito and His Family(Image credit: \u00a9 Darren Vargas)\"DarrenWinning Belt(Image credit: \u00a9 Darren Vargas)<\/p>\n

Vargas grew up in a non-traditional Mexican immigrant home. His parents divorced before he was born and he moved from city to city as a child. But Indio and Coachella Valley were constants of sorts.<\/p>\n

During the summer, grandparents Esmael and Jessie would take Vargas to the desert region where they were born and where relatives still lived. “This place does not just hold meaning for me; it holds legacy,” says Vargas.<\/p>\n

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“One of the immigrants is building something for themselves, for their community, and their families. To me, Coachella Valley is a representation of what it is to make it from nothing and still build everything around you.<\/p>\n

“This project is not only a personal reflection on what legacy means and how that translates to my own experience with my grandfather but is a documentative view on what it is to be an immigrant and build something.<\/p>\n

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“It is a response to struggle and hardship but finding ways to still give back. Lee has sacrificed to make something for the youth in Coachella valley. For a place that struggles with drugs, violence, exile and the heat. A haven is a special place.”<\/p>\n

Image 1 of 7<\/p>\n

\"DarrenEl Polito(Image credit: \u00a9 Darren Vargas)\"DarrenThe Daughter(Image credit: \u00a9 Darren Vargas)\"DarrenThe Cross(Image credit: \u00a9 Darren Vargas)\"DarrenThe Mural(Image credit: \u00a9 Darren Vargas)\"DarrenLee(Image credit: \u00a9 Darren Vargas)\"DarrenThe Ring(Image credit: \u00a9 Darren Vargas)\"DarrenNo Title(Image credit: \u00a9 Darren Vargas)<\/p>\n

The Espinoza Coachella Valley Boxing Club was founded in the Eighties so Espinoza\u2019s son could take up the sport. It would eventually relocate next to Coachella City Hall, where generations of boxers would seek Lee\u2019s guidance in spite of the confined space and lack of financial support.<\/p>\n

Moret\u00f3n by Darren Vargas<\/a> is published by Rocket Science Studios<\/a> and will officially launch on July 25 priced $60 (approximately \u00a345 \/ AU$87). The 98-page book is softback with a casebound linen-texture cover, sized at 8x10in. It will be promoted at the NY Art Book Fair<\/a> in September and Paris Photo<\/a> in November.<\/p>\n

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Want to shoot the sweet science yourself? Take a look at the best cameras for sports photography<\/a> and the best lenses for sports photography<\/a>. If you’re looking for more photography literature, Don McCullin returns to the horrors of Vietnam in “last ever” photobook<\/a>. The day a 25-year-old photographer convinced Marilyn Monroe to go nude in a swimming pool<\/a>: Lawrence Schiller’s remarkable memoir of a movie icon. And for a focus on tutorials, here are the best books on photography<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Moret\u00f3n is the Spanish word for ‘bruise’ and the title of Darren Vargas\u2019 first publication, which centers around…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":671237,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,1120,96,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-671236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=671236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671236\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/671237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=671236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=671236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=671236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}