Soledad is a farming town in the heart of Salinas Valley, California. The town rests near the Salinas River just a horse ride from Mission Nuestra Senora De La Soledad which was founded in 1791 by the Spanish Catholic Franciscan Order.
The valley's fecund soil and climate sustains year-round agriculture and provides farm labor for many of Soledad's inhabitants. Harvest depends on a large community of farm workers, mostly Mexican Nationals and Chicanos.
Nuestra Senora De La Soledad Mission suffered greatly after secularization. For over 90 years, wind , rain and avarice reduced the mission's adobe walls to grotesque sad mounds of mud.
Farmers, mostly of Swiss heritage, plowed the dark soil with little or no regard for the ruins. They planted a plethora of profit-making vegetables. The harvest over, the gleaning complete, cattle were brought in to graze on what remained. I watched the cattle eat, sleep, drink and defecate among the sad ruins.
Soledad has shaped who I am and continues to be a fertile source for much of my imagery.
Federico Correa
The mission has been partially restored and worth a visit . Soledad is now a thriving community with its own Starbucks.
Soledad Series
Federico Correa
Cabeza, mixed media/paper, 02
Wagon Builder, mixed media/paper, 02
Field Novios, mixed media/paper, 02
Dirty Brown Face, mixed media/paper, 02
Bull and Head, mixed media/paper, 02
Light Skinned Boss, mixed media/paper, 02
Soledad Perro, mixed media/paper, 02
Dirty House on Fifth Street, mixed media/paper, 02
