For the last year, Joel Galvez and Leanor Torres have been in survival mode.
In Los Angeles’ Fashion District, the couple owns shops specializing in dresses for proms, weddings and quinceañeras, that Latin American right of passage celebrating a young girl’s 15th birthday.
Last June, the Fashion District was where the Trump administration carried out its first large-scale immigration raids. The raids set off days of civil unrest and disrupted life throughout the district.
I first photographed the couple not long after the raids. I’ve watched how, month after month, they’ve struggled to keep their businesses afloat. Fearful of being detained or deported, Latino patrons stayed home.
In L.A.’s Fashion District, quinceañera shops struggle after ICE raids scared off their Latino clientele.
Once-busy stores were often empty. Customers canceled orders for ball gowns. Other businesses in the quinceañera industry — such as ballrooms and limousine services — received cancellations, too. Leonor debated whether she should start carrying extra identification, even though she is a U.S. citizen.
Despite the overwhelming financial strain, Joel and Leonor refuse to close their doors. Girls and mothers still visit their stores and, all smiles, find that perfect dress.
