Joy as Resistance: This Trans Photographer Uses His Camera to Uplift His Community
At a time when joy often feels overshadowed by adversity, Wezz De La Rosa captures celebrations with a photography business that transforms those moments into resilience through vibrant imagery.
By Christina Fernández-Morrow, Hola America News
De La Rosa was 18 when the current administration took office their first term and began their attacks on the trans community. Coming from a family with a rich military history, he wanted to follow in their footsteps and join the Air Force. The expulsion of trans military personnel changed his plans. Instead, he found work with an optometrist. Focusing on sight helped him realize the power of images and led to his photography business.
Helping others see more clearly expanded how De La Rosa saw the world. He especially loved the work his mother did at a photo lab. “I remember visiting her and she would show me the cool photos by local photographers,” he recalls. “Eventually I bought a camera.” He took it on a trip to California, where he shadowed the photographer at his aunt's wedding, a taboo move that most professionals frown upon, but one that sparked his career. “I loved capturing the smiles,” he says. He returned with a plan and in 2017 began doing photography around the Quad Cities.
This early exposure laid the groundwork for De La Rosa Photography, where he captures everything from the bright colors of a South Asian couple's engagement ceremony where marigold garlands and joyful laughter fill the air, to intimate family gatherings. “It's a really cool experience to see how different cultures show love and compassion,” he says, the excitement palpable in his voice. “I get to be a fly on the wall in these special moments.”
De La Rosa also photographs live action like races, festivals and corporate events across the Quad Cities. His portfolio bursts with quinceañera parties, wedding receptions with mariachi bands, and community festivals where families gather in traditional dress. “I like to add a lot of vibrance and color to my photos,” he says, reflecting how his Latinidad draws him towards smiles and celebration. “Laughter and togetherness are huge important points that the Latinx community focuses on.”
It is an especially pivotal time to center happiness, when state lawmakers across the US have introduced over 850 anti-trans bills that threaten to strip away rights and visibility. “With the new administration and their constant push to erase the LGBT community, especially the trans community, I find it more of a push to be out and open about who I am,” he says.
For De La Rosa, community was the lifeline that empowered him to embrace his identity and pursue his passion for photography. Growing up in the Quad Cities, where the LGBTQ+ community is small but close-knit, he built a network of support that helped him battle loneliness and fear as he transitioned to his true self. He found solace and strength among friends and allies who shared similar struggles.
Online communities were where he first learned about the resources he needed for his transition, like doctors, and all the steps required to change his name in legal documents. “You have to announce in newspaper form, at least three times prior to changing your name. That can be dangerous if the wrong person stumbles upon it, or you want to transition without your previous identity known,” he warns. He has since formed lasting bonds through local initiatives like The Project, where he learned that true family extends beyond blood. De La Rosa makes time to have at a booth at both Quad City Pride festivals and volunteers for QCAD Out for Good to create a database for LGBTQ-friendly businesses called Safe Connect. He also participates in Out and Proud in the QCA, and is thankful for spaces like Atlas Collective, a coffee shop and bookstore that has become a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community.
When asked what advice he would share with a trans person currently seeking joy he says, “Reach out and ask questions to other LGBTQ people, to elders in the community. You don’t have to figure things out on your own. We have some answers and want to help.”
To parents raising a trans child, De La Rosa offers these words of wisdom: “Lean into the community and show your child love. That’s all they want. You don’t have to fully understand but try your best to show compassion.”
In a world that seeks to erase him, Wezz De La Rosa’s mission and work reminds us all that experiencing and sharing joy is a powerful act of resistance. Each photo he shoots is a personal act of defiance, a powerful declaration that bliss persists in the face of legislative hostility. “They don’t want us here, so I’ll be louder, more colorful and try my best to be happy against all odds because they don’t want us to be happy. They want us to go back in the closet or act like we don’t exist. I’m not going anywhere. I’m Hispanic, I’m Mexican, I’m trans, I’m here,” he declares, camera poised like a weapon, ready to uplift and celebrate the trans community and showcase the beauty of diversity in all its forms.
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