The Mayor

Running the Streets 

- John Mata Jr

CARLOS EACOTO IS A TRUE product of his environment. Having grown up in Southern California, but more specifically in the city of Burbank, where renowned television and movie studios also call home, he has always been well aware of what lurks behind the gates and walls surrounding nondescript lots and buildings. This is the Promised Land for those looking to make their big break in the Hollywood scene, but there’s so much more to see here that remains in the shadows, hidden behind the glitz and glamor of the entertainment industry.

A good deal of the flash photography here is all just a façade, smoke and mirrors that act as a lure to distract those chasing dreams of instant fame. Carlos has been here long enough to spot the difference between the town’s manufactured reality and the one that is an essential fabric that makes up the true SoCal cityscape.

He works in the motion pictures industry, and has seen enough behind-the-scenes B-roll to know just how the “magic” is made. But one type of wizardry that he has yet to grow tired of is the kind that is cast upon old American metal in the form of classic GM pickups. Custom car culture was essentially born here in the Southland, and just like the studios that pump out televised, twisted versions of what’s real, there are giants of a different breed lurking the same streets, producing their own specialized works of propaganda.