Born in Mexico City, Twin Cities photographer Xavier Tavera takes portraits of Mexican and Mexican-American military veterans living on St. Paul's West Side. In the Minnesota History Center exhibition "Amvets Post #5," a series of 35 large-scale color portraits, he captures them in domestic settings, wearing their uniforms, many with a distant look in their eyes. John Obregon, a Korean War vet, unbuttoned his uniform to reveal a cross tattooed on his chest. Lorenzo Rangel stares straight into the camera as he lifts his sleeve, revealing a tattoo of a skull. Rosemary Campos, wearing a mint-green uniform, cups her hands in front of a pink wall filled with portraits of grandkids. These veterans served abroad, oftentimes only to return home and face the usual enemy that goes by the name "racism." (10 a.m.-8 p.m. Tue.; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.-Sat.; noon-5 p.m. Sun. Ends April 22. Minnesota History Center, 345 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul. $6-$12. minnesotahistorycenter.org)
ALICIA ELER
