who is Bella Villela?
Early Life
Around the age of five Bella Villela's entire life was uprooted, having to immigrate from Chihuahua, Mexico. As the seventh child in a family of ten, Bella was dozing off in the back of their family station wagon when her parents were stopped for identification at customs. Having fairer complexions, Bella explained that “all they had to do was say American Citizen”. Once through, her family moved to a small town of Anthony, New Mexico and into a small trailer. Coming from a home where all the floors were made of dirt, the opportunity to start a new life finally seemed possible. However, on her first day of school Bella felt like a fish out of water, gasping for breath as she began to drown in the distant normalcy of an entirely new country. Unfortunately, the feelings of detachment evolved into an overwhelming anxiety, as her family did not have any papers and were immediately reported by the school and deported back to Mexico. No longer wanting to live in Mexico and underneath the abusive outbreaks of their father, a few years later Bella’s mother came alone to the States, this time to California. After finding an apartment and saving up money, the only way for her mother to bring back all her children was if she paid a coyote $300 per child, but as there were ten kids, her mother had to save enough money every time. For a while the kids had to hide from their father because their mother was bringing them back little by little, eventually it was Bella’s turn to finally make the treacherous journey across the border. Bella recalled the drive being at the dead of night, very dark, and being brought through the back mountains in order to reach Los Angeles. She remembers how awful it was being surrounded by total strangers, not knowing what was going on and how everything was going to turn out. She is reminded of her father and expressed, “I am sure it was devastating for him, but you know… he ended up losing us,” and by October of 1978 all of them had arrived safely to Los Angeles, California. After that Bella and her family were displaced from several homes, lacking a sense of belonging or community as it proved hard to settle down and finally find a place to call home. It was not until 1980 when her family moved to Echo Park where she experienced a nature of stability, and as a result diving into her passion for photography.
Greatest Impact- Bella’s Mother
When at the age of twelve, while walking with her mother, she asked “What do you want to be when you grow up?” to which, without hesitation Bella exclaimed that she wanted to become a traveling photographer. Nothing but supportive, her mother exclaimed “Really! Well then let's go to the store, get you a little camera and I’ll be your first model.” Thus proceeding to buy a long, skinny 1/10 millimeter camera and film which sparked a flame of inspiration that further ignited a lifetime passion for photography. To this day Bella still has these pictures of her mother whom she described as someone who was extremely encouraging of allowing her to do what she wanted to do with her life as a child. “When she asked me what I wanted to do, it was not something that I had to think about, it was so natural to me… at a young age, I noticed everything around me… the lights, the way things smelled, the way the sky looked… everything seemed so sharp, all the senses, the sights… I must have been born a photographer because I remember being a baby, in a crib, gazing up at the blue sky reaching out to touch it through the white knitting atop the crib.” Even still, Bella views the world with a certain romanticism that is outside the concept of time where “all you have is light and everything around you is magical… still after looking back on my life the way I see things is still very magical.”
Along with the impact her perspective of viewing life through a lens had on her, Bella continues to attribute her greatest admiration towards her mother. With three older brothers, three older sisters and three younger brothers who she learned from, right in the middle and observing everything, their family dynamic was held together by women who were the caretakers and caregivers of the house. Bella’s mother was the woman who found a way to reunite her entire family back in the States with no support other than herself. A woman who was also raised in a family of ten, but the only one in her family to migrate to the United States. A woman who became a legal/permanent resident in 1986. Bella can proudly say, “She is my hero… she was a strong Latina woman, she was the kind of woman that nobody could mess with, she brought us here with no welfare, no money, found a way to feed and provide for us, including her sister and her two kids. She had this amazing strength about her that I always looked up to… and she was gorgeous, my mother, I guess I don’t get starstruck by movie stars I get starstruck by my mother. My mother was my force, she really showed me how to be a strong Latina woman in a rough world… you cannot let things fall apart, you have to be in charge.”
Life in South Pasadena
Bella was drawn to South Pasadena for its well-known reputation as a city for families and the wonderful schools in the district. As their family was growing quickly, they came to the realization they would need a larger home, so with the support of her husband's father, they bought a beautiful house around the year 2000 in South Pasadena that was built in 1919. Over the course of the past twenty-two years, Bella has been remodeling and adding her own improvements and style to the home. Although Bella would not want to live anywhere else, she still believes that we need more LatinX representation, community and gatherings. She reflected, “I think Latinas are very powerful when they stick together in numbers, especially women. If there is anything I can do to encourage that, I am more than happy to provide whatever we need, whether it is a space or ideas.”
Achievements & Accomplishments as a Professional Photographer
Bella takes senior portraits for teens in lower income/poor neighborhoods, basing her prices off of income in an effort to ensure minority families are able to have the same accessibility to nice graduation photos of their children, as well as recognition of their accomplishments. Caring more about her customer than making a profit, as a former student at Lincoln Heights High School, Bella began to work with the Lincoln Heights Alumni Association around fifteen years ago as they were looking for a photographer, giving back 50% of all her profits. She has learned how to do on the spot portrait session printing, setting up all necessary equipment to give students without equal opportunities the ability to receive senior portrait photos, and a place to feel recognized and seen. Through working within a strong community, and constantly being inspired by those around her Bella believes that being able to share someone’s special day is everything to her. “I don’t know what the money amount means, it doesn't matter, I still want to be there. That’s my inspiration, to be able to help others get what they need,” Bella stated.
Prior to Covid, Bella housed gallery receptions at her home for rising artists, and as a result her studio is decorated with pieces of artwork that folks have gifted to her as a token of her hospitality. Bella did not charge for them to use her space as she worked to broaden their network, inviting all her friends/family as well as theirs. From this,the South Pasadena Arts Council would show up, working to fundraise money for the arts in South Pasadena by providing artwork for the two events they have a year. Bella explained, “It was a social network of artists that represented and encouraged aspiring artists to exhibit their work because a lot of them are really afraid, they don’t want to go to a gallery, they start small here and were able to begin to sell their work… a lot of the people I have photographed come back to her studio with success stories… their success is everybody's success.” In addition to her own business, Bella’s Classic Photos, which she founded and started from the ground up twelve years ago, she created another company before Covid known as Shutters and Chardonnay. Shutters and Chardonnay of South Pasadena teaches small groups of individuals how to use digital and film cameras. Bella is an inspiration to us all on how to make a creative difference within our community, as she wholeheartedly believes you must always give back to your neighborhood.
consejos/advice for the next generation of Latinas & Youth
“All you have is light and everything around you is magical. Latinas are very powerful when they stick together in numbers, especially women. If there is anything I can do to encourage that, I am more than happy to provide whatever we need, whether it is a space or ideas”
