I came across Maria and José at Vista Hermosa Park, located in Los Angeles, while searching for an overlook to photograph another subject. What caught my eye wasn’t the skyline, but them, two teenagers from Central America, sitting so close it felt like the rest of the world disappeared. Their friends, sprawled just a few feet away, teased and laughed, but Maria and José were unmoved, entirely enamored with each other.

Vista Hermosa, translated to “Beautiful View”, is a park built on reclaimed land once dominated by oil fields. It has become a meeting place for Los Angeles youth—an escape after school, a stage for first loves, friendships, and the quiet rituals of grow- ing up in the city. In Maria and José, I saw a portrait not only of young love, but of the Latino presence that so deeply shapes Southern California’s story.