One summer in the early 1980s Janette Beckman, best known for her photographs of British punks and skins as well as the emerging hip-hop scene in NY and LA, was introduced to members of the LA gang El Hoyo Maravilla. “East LA area was poor, hot and arid, and there was the constant sound of LAPD helicopters buzzing overhead. The gang members introduced me to their families, showed me the barrio and tried to explain how it was living ‘la vida loca’. I was the first British person they had ever met and we were curious about each other.”