Senior Art Director: Jynnette Neal jneal@advocatemag.com
Creative Director/Photographer: Lauren Allen lallen@advocatemag.com
Digital Editor: Cloi Bryan cbryan@advocatemag.com
Intern: Niki Gummadi
Contributors: Patti Vinson, Carol Toler, Sam Gillespie, Patricia Gerecci
Contributing photographers: Kathy Tran, Yuvie Styles, Victoria Gomez, Amani Sodiq, Rae Overman, Austin Marc Graf, Jenni Cholula, Austin Gibbs, Brandon Gonzalez
Advocate (c) 2025 is published monthly in print and daily online by Advocate Media - Dallas Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation based in Dallas and first published in 1991. Contents of this print magazine may not be reproduced. Advertisers and advertising agencies assume liability for the content of all advertisements and sponsorships printed, and therefore assume responsibility for any and all claims against the Advocate. The Publisher reserves the right to accept or reject ay editorial, advertising or sponsorship material in print or online. Opinions set forth in Advocate publications are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the Publisher’s viewpoint. More than 180,000 people read Advocate publications in print each month; Advocate online publications receive more than 4 million pageviews monthly. Advertising rates and guidelines are available upon request. Advocate print and online publications are available free of charge throughout our neighborhoods, one print copy per reader. For information about supporting our non-profit mission of providing local news to neighborhood readers, please call 214-560-4212 or email aquintero@advocatemag.com.
The City of Dallas is ranked No. 2 in the nation for child hunger, and an Oak Cliff-based nonprofit is looking to change that.
Hunger Busters is an after-school feeding program that has provided over 1 million meals to children in Dallas who don’t have access to a third meal at home. CEO Latame Phillips has known he wanted to combat this issue from a young age.
Phillips was born in Mombasa, Kenya and raised in San Diego by immigrant parents. He moved to California at the age of 2, and lived in an immigrant community.
“When I say immigrants, I mean like the whole world,” Phillips says. “There were Asians, there were Africans, there were Hispanics. It was just basically an immigrant village.”
In third grade, Phillips took what was called the “California achievement test.” After taking the test, he was told he could not attend the same school and instead was bussed to a school across the city in a more affluent area.
“That’s when I realized I was poor,” Phillips says. “That was also the first time where food insecurity became like a big thing because the school was so affluent that they didn’t have a cafeteria, and so you were either supposed to bring your lunch, or your mom, dad, grandparents, nanny, or whatever, was supposed to bring your lunch and eat with you.”
From there, Phillips graduated high school and attended the University of Southern California.
“I worked in finance and was able to work my way into wealth management, and that’s when I saw tremendous social inequities,” Phillips says.
He ended up taking a job with Halliburton that moved him to Texas. When he left Halliburton, he started doing research on nonprofits and food insecurity to try to figure out how to bridge that gap.
“Too many times we look for the government, we look for a celebrity or an athlete to do things where the greatest innovations and the greatest changes and the greatest impact would come from regular, everyday people,” he says.
Phillips says that if you live in DFW, you are
always less than 10 miles away from a child who’s food insecure. Solving this issue is imperative for the future.
“There are so many systemic issues that come from malnutrition,” he says. “The three most notable things that we know is that obviously attendance goes down because a child feels like they’re sick. Behavior issues in the classroom increase. And then test scores go down. So these are issues that we have to address today if we want businesses and our society and our city to flourish.”
Phillips met someone affiliated with Hunger Busters, they formulated a partnership, and he took it over a few years later.
The organization is made possible through volunteerism. Companies, community groups, churches, fraternities and sororities come in and volunteer. They make the meals, and a small team goes out and delivers them to the after-school program.
“We feed dinner and we do it in a very healthy way,” Phillips says. “We go to places like Eatzi’s and Panera Bread and Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, and we pick up the food that did not sell, then we supplement it with purchases, and we fix a healthy, nutritious meal every day.”
There’s no canned or boxed goods. Food high in sodium and preservatives are avoided as much as possible. And the organization tries to make sure everything that’s served was made within the last 24-48 hours, according to Philips.
The students receive their meal between 5:30 and 6:00 p.m., and Phillips says the exact number is 3,489 students a day.
Hunger Busters is always looking to expand and serve more students.
Currently, they are looking to build a new facility that focuses on collaborative effort from various nonprofits. The goal is to help people progress in life from getting homes and filling basic needs.
“And so by us combining forces, we’ll be able to kind of have a unified plan in our communities with the children and obviously the families that we serve,” Phillips says. “People say that young people are the future, but that’s actually incorrect. They’re right now.”
Latame Phillips was raised by immigrant parents and was inspired by his upbringing to help solve the hunger crisis in Dallas.
Where curated beats, craft cocktails and community collide
Story by JILLIAN NACHTIGAL | Photography by AUSTIN MARC GRAF
WHEN YOU WALK INTO LADYLOVE LOUNGE & SOUND, YOU MIGHT BE GREETED WITH A, “HELLO, HAPPY YOU’RE HERE.” The bartenders will crack jokes with each other as curated music is spun from the DJ booth.
Kate Siamro. David Grover. Jimmy Contreras. This trio is the mastermind behind Ladylove, which offers cocktails and bites served in a laid-back record lounge featuring live music and DJs.
Siamro and Grover own Spinster Records, a vinyl store in Bishop Arts. While the pair wanted to expand Spinster, they didn’t want to do another record shop.
“We both love to drink, and we love going to bars and being DJs,” Siamro says. “We were like, man, there’s so many things we would do different when it comes to an experience of music in this way.”
They wanted to focus to be on quality food, drinks and a warm atmosphere with high quality audio. The idea was there, and when a space went on the market, Ladylove was born.
“I just asked Kate for a gut check, I go, ‘Do you think we could work here?’” Grover says. “And she says yes, so that’s how we make most decisions.”
Ladylove quickly became the spot to listen to quality music — “non-Spotify” music, as Grover says.
“That’s what Kate crushes here,” Grover says. “We have these dope curated nights every night, and it’s always gonna be interesting, always be something different, and nothing’s ever gonna be generic, and that’s what I think is part of the magic here.”
Each night features a different DJ and specialty selected tunes. But there’s one rule — no requests.
“I think the main thing for David and I being DJs, we don’t like requests,” Siamro says. “Sometimes when you have an idea of what you want to make your night, and then someone out of nowhere is like, play Journey. And you’re like, I’m not playing anything like Journey right now. We want to make sure when we book the DJ, they feel very comfortable with what they’re doing. We want them to really thrive in that booth.”
The booth itself is just for the DJ, no groupies, and the space is specially designed to make sure they have what they need to create their own vibe.
“You go into restaurants and bars and
they have like, this cubby hole with a table where the DJ can bring their equipment,” Contreras says. “No. David thought that out and thought out that DJ booth, and put effort into every single speaker here so that there’s nothing contrived about any of this. Everything is very intentional. Everything is very thoughtful.”
While Siamro and Grover thought of themselves as music connoisseurs as the owners of Spinster, they find themselves learning more and more about music throughout their time at Ladylove.
“Since we have a DJ every night and the genre is always changing, I really didn’t know how many genres there were,” Siamro says. “There are so many sub genres. There’s so many subcultures of genres too. You can book a hip-hop night or house night, but a house night could be 20 different things. So it’s very interesting. I kind of love it, because it doesn’t put people in boxes with what they do.”
Siamro says one of the biggest nights they’ve had is a disco night.
“I think given the disco balls and the ambiance, when people come in for that, they’re getting dressed for it,” Siamro says. “We’ve had parties of people show up, and they’re all done up in the ’70s, and it just feels themed in a fun way.”
Contreras, owner of Taco y Vino and who Siamro calls the “Mayor of Oak Cliff,” runs the kitchen.
“We’ve gone back to kind of a traditional dive bar menu, but definitely elevated,” Contreras says. “Instead of having french fries, you can get fried green beans. We’re serving fresh fruit with some of our sandwiches, we’re doing a bulgogi steak sandwich, a couple burgers, and a great ahi tuna burger.”
The drink menu is a collaboration between the entire staff, and everyone has a hand in creating the specialty cocktails.
“What’s cool about the menu for me is everyone has a drink on there,” Siamro says “You’ll go to a lot of bars where it’s one person who’s curating the entire menu. This has become like a commune of decision making with everyone who’s behind the bar.”
Heaven’s Highball, Big Tease, Hollaback Girl and Bee’s Knees highlight the cocktail options.
“We try to have fun with the menu. We don’t give them too serious of names,” Siamro says. “We had a drink called The
Ladylove Lounge and Sound hosts themed nights for music lovers with themes such as goth night, drawing in huge crowds.
Leather Daddy, which was hilarious. It sold a lot on goth night.”
For those who don’t drink, Ladylove offers an “elixir” menu — drinks that are nonalcoholic and good for you.
“They’re called elixirs because, one drink has liquid collagen in it, good for your skin, another drink has liquid chlorophyll, which is really good to fight off bacteria disease. It makes more sense to buy a drink that’s going to do something for me, versus just a sugary concoction,” Siamro says. “I never want a group to not show up here because one person doesn’t drink and they don’t feel like they can have something in their hand while they’re here.”
For Ladylove, inclusivity is a main priority.
“That was really important to us, to make a place where everyone did feel safe,” Contreras says. “We say like, ‘Hey, we’re actually glad you’re here.’ That’s a big part of our thing.”
This includes the staff. When they first opened, Siamro says she was told that 80% of staff leave within the first six months. A year and half later, she says the majority of the staff they opened with are still there.
“There’s a sense of heart, I think, when you own your own business, and you love it, and you know your staff, and you care about them,” Siamro says. “We’re really good friends, and I think that energy in the space reflects to the customer, and they can feel that even if you don’t tell them.”
While they’ve had DJs from around the country, local acts tend to get a lot of love at Ladylove.
“I want us to be a pin on the map nationally, where someone in New York is like, ‘Oh, you’re going to Dallas, you should go check out the spot in Dallas,’” Siamro says. “We do book some good acts that come in, but really, what does the best here is local acts. So what’s really interesting about Dallas is our local DJs who we’ve adopted are our best nights.”
Ladylove could also be the place to find your next boo, just in time for Valentine’s Day.
“We’re the anti-Tinder,” Siamro says. “I have friends who’ve met their boyfriend here, or their girlfriend. I have friends who’ve come out here, got rid of their dating apps because they just want to meet someone here and have it be really natural. Bishop Arts is a very Christmassy area with Tipsy Elf. But I want us to be the Valentine’s bar.”
Jason Cuccia Kathy Hewitt Jason Saucedo Jeremy MooreSteve Habgood
Neville Crowell
FIRING UP INNOVATION
How NOMAD Grills is redefining portable cooking and building community
Story by JILLIAN NACHTIGAL
In 2016, John Veatch and Cam Leggett saw a gap in the market for portable grills. They found that most were poor quality, and they knew they could do better. So they did.
In 2020, NOMAD Grills set out to change the grill game with high-quality materials. The team celebrated their four year anniversary last summer, and has now shipped grills to over 80 countries and all U.S. states.
“It hasn’t been easy — we launched our business in the height of the pandemic,” Leggett says. “It’s tough to get any business off the ground and on its feet, but think we had a good combination of an incredible product and good timing in the market,
and good product market fit that’s helped us send these all over the place, and kind of start up a grilling revolution.”
The brand started in a small space fulfilling out of a shipping container in a backyard with a tiny little apartment office for the first three years. They later moved into a space, 607 N. Clinton Ave., that was curated for the brand and built out specifically for them.
The all-in-one facility has a fulfillment operation, corporate offices, and plenty of open space to hold community events.
With their new headquarters, NOMAD is big on community.
“We were really careful to stay in this area,” Leggett says. “We just really wanted
to stay down in this community, so we decided to invest here and invest in our space and improve the community immediately around us.”
Two to three times a week, they will set up a grill outside and cook for anybody walking by.
“It’s not scheduled. but if someone’s walking by, they get to come by and have a bite,” Veatch says. “We love cooking on the grills anytime we get the chance.”
Additionally, they love hosting parties at their headquarters, which features a large outdoor area and plenty of common spaces. Their most recent party had about 3,000 people stop by.
Photography by LAUREN ALLEN
Camp NOMAD was held last fall, which featured an evening of laidback tunes, good eats, and great fun. Campers received free entrance to the campgrounds with access to a complimentary beverage and barbecue bites cooked by grill masters from Rossler’s Blue Cord BBQ, KHOI BBQ and Zavala’s Barbecue on the NOMAD.
With a curated collection of vendors, Camp NOMAD featured brands from all over Texas.
Cooking classes, dinners, networking and school events all take place at the headquarters.
“I feel like we’ve been very embraced, and we try to be real active with all the local events,” Leggett says. “Everyone is welcome here, our doors are always open.”
As far as portable grills go, the pair believe NOMAD is the best in the game.
“We built the products specifically to tackle an issue that we saw on the market,” Leggett says. “They’re really kind of the opposite of the other products that are available — they’re thin, they kind of fall apart and rust out. We just set out to kind of over-engineer one and use materials like aluminum that don’t rust, just a bunch of amazing features in the grill and a lot of capability that it has. We absolutely stand out from the crowd.”
The outer casing houses two heavy-duty, cast aluminum cookboxes that make up over 60% of the total assembly weight. All that mass ensures the grill holds heat in well and maintains stable smoking temperatures for hours on end.
NOMAD has partnered with plenty of big-name retailers, including Lowe’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Bass Pro Shops.
“The observation that most grills out there are this race to the bottom. How cheap can you make it?” Veatch says. “Customers end up buying a new one every season or two as the cheap ones rust out or fall apart. And we took this approach of, what if we engineered something with a really long design life that was built to last and built to travel, but also was incredible in the performance department as well.”
The grill is accessible and portable. Built like a suitcase, it can be carried with one hand and used on a variety of surfaces.
“They’re being used by everyone from backyard barbecue heroes to people that live in high-rise apartments to traveling chefs and everything in between,” Leggett says. “They’re out in RVs. They’re out on tour buses, so they’re just going in a lot of places and serving a lot of incredible meals.”
Priscilla and Paulino Duarte met over 40 years ago when their paths to work crossed every day at the corner of Colorado and Westmoreland.
Timeless Love
From casual waves to forever traditions
Story by JILLIAN NACHTIGAL | Photography by LAUREN ALLEN
Forty years ago, Paulino and Priscilla Duarte’s paths crossed over and over again in Oak Cliff.
“It was a year where I would see her going to work, and I was going to work,” Paulino says. “At Westmoreland and Colorado, and every time, here she comes. One day, I was at a light, making a left, and when I turned, she saw me and she waved.”
“It’s because you know how you see these people every morning,” Priscilla chimes in. “And I didn’t think nothing of it. But he always says, ‘You know you wanted me.’”
They laugh.
One day, Paulino worked up the courage to leave his number on Priscilla’s windshield. As their paths crossed so often, he knew where she worked.
“I left that card on the windshield and just thought, if she’s interested, she’ll call me,” Paulino says.
But it wasn’t that easy.
Priscilla was at her aunt’s house, and shared the news that someone had left the card for her with the phone number.
“(My aunt) said, ‘Let me have that card,’ and I remember looking at the card, and looking at the number, and she tore it up,” Priscilla says.
The two started going steady and eventually got married. Each had children from their previous marriages, and Priscilla wasn’t supposed to be able to have any more kids. Then came along their “miracle baby,” Ashley.
“She’s been our world,” Priscilla says. “We were both divorced, we had to raise our kids as a divorced parent, you know. So it’s been so much easier, a whole different world.”
Priscilla says their grandkids are always asking them to recount the story of how they met.
She tried to call over the weekend, but she couldn’t remember the number. That Monday at work, she tried to imagine the number in her head, and after a few tries, she got it right and got ahold of Paulino.
Priscilla was going through a divorce at the time, so she talked to Paulino for about three months before they ever went on a date.
Throughout their 40 years of marriage, there have been hardships. Priscilla battled skin cancer and Paulino recently had a triple bypass.
They say one of the most important aspects of keeping their relationship strong is maintaining their traditions, such as getting breakfast together once a week, every Friday morning, at Norma’s Cafe in Oak Cliff. Norma’s employees know and love them, and their morning coffee is always complimentary.
“The person you’re with, to be able to sit down and eat and go over the week, it’s special,” Paulino says.
“It’s always ‘Good morning, beautiful,’ even when I’m just waking up, and he says, ‘No, you still look beautiful,’” Priscilla says.
Whenever they go out — they attend monthly dances — they match.
“It’s the most adorable thing I’ve ever witnessed,” says their daughter Ashley. “Everyone that knows them knows how much they both mean to each other. They keep each other going.”
One of Priscilla and Paulino Duarte’s many traditions that keeps their marriage strong is eating breakfast a Norma’s Cafe every Friday.
CRAZY FOR CORN
How Me
Enloteces’ became Bishop Arts’ viral elote sensation
Story by JILLIAN NACHTIGAL | Photography by KATHY TRAN
Me Enloteces loaded elote tray is a top seller and customizable with chips and plenty of toppings.
Me Enloteces Frozitas come in mango, fresa and piña flavors.
AFTER A PANDEMIC PIVOT, A PINKHUED ELOTE STAND IS BRINGING MORE COLOR TO A VIBRANT CORNER OF BISHOP ARTS.
Boasting nearly 20,000 Instagram followers, Me Enloteces owes a lot of its success to social media.
“It has definitely been a roller coaster, but to this day, it’s still so surreal having the following that we have,” owner Aidee Del Villar says. “We’ve had so many different people from out of state come out here. Or when they’re here visiting their family, and they’re like, ‘Oh, if you’re in the Dallas or Fort Worth area, you have to go to this place.’”
Me Enloteces started back in October 2022 after Del Villar and her husband, who she runs the elote stand with, had to close their popsicle and ice cream business due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In just a few months, thanks to social media, Me Enloteces went from being another pop-up offering elote to having people line up for up to 45 minutes in 100-degree heat to get their hands on a Taki-elote or salchi-elote.
After doing popups for a while, they found enough success and support to open a permanent location in Bishop Arts last summer.
“We were able to find that hidden gem here in Bishop Arts,” Del Villar says. “And it’s definitely been a blessing. Sometimes I kind of just sit and I’m still in shock, just because I never really thought that we would get to the point where we’re at now.”
The shop has an all-pink aesthetic, which Del Villar says is a message of women’s empowerment.
“Sometimes we find ourselves with so many difficulties throughout our lifetime, and even just trying to distribute our time, me speaking personally as a mom and a wife, there’s just so many things that we have going on,” Del Villar says. “Life can be so chaotic, but you can still accomplish your dreams, no matter how big, no matter how small, everything is doable.”
Of course, the most popular menu item is their corn in a cup, but they have plenty more menu options, especially since moving to their physical location.
The loaded elote tray is another top seller, which is customizable with chips and plenty of toppings. Ramen elote was recently introduced and has been a big hit, and sweet offerings like ice cream and strawberry cheesecake round out the menu.
“Me Enloteces” is a variation of the Spanish-language expression “Me enloqueces,” which means, “You drive me crazy.”
“We just tied in the elote part, because it sounds so similar,” Del Villar says. “So it’s almost like, you love corn so much that it just drives you crazy.”
Running the business with her husband is what Del Villar calls her family’s “biggest blessing.”
“We’re able to do it together, and it’s teamwork,” she says. “Just being able to work together and show our son, how it is to run a business, which he shows a lot of interest in, is very, very nice.”
AC & HEAT
WHERE CAN I FIND LOCAL ...?
EMPLOYMENT
LAWNS, GARDENS & TREES
THE HEATING & AC EXPERTS
Installations & Repairs
Emergency Services
24/7 On-Call
100% Satisfaction Guarantee
ALEXANDER HOME REPAIR. AC/HEAT Repair & Install. LIC#28052 469-226-9642 TA CLA67136C 214-710-2515 dallasheatingac.com
ASK ABOUT DISCOUNTS!
APPLIANCE REPAIR
JESSE’S A/C & APPLIANCE SERVICE
TACLB13304C All Makes/Models. 214-660-8898
BUY SELL TRADE
!!OLD GUITARS WANTED!! Gibson, Fender, Martin, Etc. 1930’s to 1980’s. Top Dollar Paid.1-866 -433-8277
CABINETRY & FURNITURE
JD’S TREE SERVICE Mantels, Headboards, Kitchen Islands, Dining tables. Made from Local Trees. www.jdtreeservice.com 214-946-7138
GOLDEN CLEANING SERVICE
CINDY’S HOUSE CLEANING 15 yrs exp. Resd/Com. Refs. Dependable. 214-490-0133
WINDOW MAN WINDOW CLEANING.COM
Residential Specialists. BBB. 214-718-3134
COMPUTERS & ELECTRONICS
CONFUSED? FRUSTRATED? Let a seasoned pro be the interface between you & that pesky Windows computer. Hardware/Software Installation, Troubleshooting, Training. $100/hr. 1 hr min. Dan 972-639-6413 / stykidan@sbcglobal.net
HANDYMAN WANTS your Painting,Repairs, To Do Lists. Bob. 214-288-4232. Free Est. 25+yrs exp. HOME REPAIR Small/Big Jobs. Int/Ext. Sheetrock, Windows, Kitchen, Bathroom 33 yrs exp. 214-875-1127
HOMETOWN HANDYMAN All phases of construction. No job too small 214-327-4606
TEXAS BEST PAINTING LLC Resd,Interiors 30Yrs. 214-527-4168
INTERIOR DESIGN
Halls Interiors
Interior Design Services Bedrooms, Kitchens, Living Rooms, Offices, Game or Media Rooms, any space you are looking to make your mark on!
KITCHEN/BATH/TILE/GROUT
FENN CONSTRUCTION Full Service Contractor. dallastileman.com 214-343-4645
TK REMODELING 972-533-2872
Complete Full Service Repairs, Remodeling, Restoration. Name It — We do it. Tommy. Insured. dallas.tkremodelingcontractors.com
MONSTER TREE SERVICE DALLAS Certified Arborists, Fully Insured 469.983.1060 Locally harvested wood!
JD’s Tree Service
RESPONSIBLE TREE CARE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT Firewood/Cooking Wood Full service trimming & planting of native trees. 214.946.7138
ORGANIZATION
A CHARMING HOME Decluttering + Organizing + Styling acharminghome.co 214-794-6382
PEST CONTROL
NATURE KING PEST MANAGEMENT INC. Squirrels, Racoons, Skunks, Snakes, Possums, etc. Pest & Termite. Neighborhood Resident 30+ Yrs.exp. 214-827-0090
"Keeping Children &
• Abetterearth.crw@gmail.com abetterearth.com PLUMBING AC PLUMBING Repairs, Fixtures, Senior Discounts. Gary Campbell. 214-321-5943 ANCHOR PLUMBING Your trusted Oak Cliff plumber for 30+ years. 214-946-1638.
FENN CONSTRUCTION Kitchens And Baths. Call Us For Your Remodeling Needs. 214-343-4645. dallastileman.com
RENOVATE DALLAS renovatedallas.com 214-403-7247
S&L CONSTRUCTION All Home Services & Repairs. 214-918-8427
ROOFING & GUTTERS
BERT ROOFING INC.
Family owned and operated for over 40 years • Residential/Commercial • Over 30,000 roofs completed • Seven NTRCA “Golden Hammer” Awards • Free Estimates www.bertroofing.com
SERVICES FOR YOU
AGING ROOF? New Homeowner? Got Storm Damage? You need a local expert provider that proudly stands behind their work. Fast, free estimate. Financing Available.1-888-878-9091.
SERVICES FOR YOU
BECOME A PUBLISHED AUTHOR. We want to read your book! Dorrance Publishing trusted since 1920. Consultation,production, promotion & distribution. Call for free author’s guide 1-877-729-4998 or visit dorranceinfo.com/ads
DENTAL INSURANCE-Physicians Mutual Insurance Company. Covers 350 procedures. Real insurance -not a discount plan. Get your free dental info kit! 1-888-623-3036 www.dental50plus.com/58 #6258
DIRECTV STREAM - Carries the most local MLB Games! ChoicePackage $89.99/mo for 12 mos Stream on 20 devices at once.HBO Max included for 3 mos (w/Choice Package or higher.)No contract or hidden fees! Some restrictions apply. Call IVS 1-866-859-0405
SERVICES FOR YOU
HUGHESNET Finally, super-fast internet no matter where you live.25 Mbps just $59.99/mo! Unlimited Data is Here. Stream Video. Bundle TV & Internet. Free Installation. Call 866-499 -0141
INFLATION is at 40 year highs. Interest rates are way up.CreditCards. Medical Bills. Car Loans. Do you have $10k or more in debt? Call National Debt Relief to find out how to pay off your debt for significantly less than what you owe! Free quote.1-877-592-3616
PROFESSIONAL LAWN SERVICE: Fertilization, weed control, seeding, aeration & mosquito control. Call now for a free quote. Ask about our first application special! 1-833-606-6777
Kitchens, Bathrooms, Windows, Doors, Siding, Decks, Fences, Retaining Walls, New Construction
New Construction & Remodels FiferCustomHomes.com• 214-727-7075
TK REMODELING
KITCHEN • BATHS
Complete Remodeling and Restoration Design Build • Detailed Professionals
TKREMODELINGTX.COM 972 533-2872
BATH & SHOWER UPDATES in as little as ONE DAY! Affordable prices - No payments for 18 months! Lifetime warranty & professional installs. Senior & Military Discounts available. Call: 855-761-1725
DONATE YOUR CARS TO VETERANS TODAY. Help and Support our Veterans. Fast - FREE pick up. 100% tax deductible. Call 1-800 -245-0398
ELIMINATE GUTTER CLEANING FOREVER! LeafFilter, the most advanced debris-blocking gutter protection. Schedule a FREE LeafFilter estimate today. 15% off Entire Purchase. 10% Senior & Military Discounts. Call 1-855-402-0373
GENERAC Prepare for power outages today with a GENERAC home standby generator $0 Down + Low Monthly Pmt. Request a free Quote. Call before the next power outage: 1-844-334 -8353
GET DISH SATELLITE TV +INTERNET Free Install, Free HD-DVR Upgrade, 80,000 On-Demand Movies, Plus Limited Time Up To $600 In Gift Cards. Call Today! 1-866-479-1516
REPLACE your roof with the best looking & longest lasting material steel from Erie Metal Roofs! 3 styles & multiple colors available. Guaranteed to last a lifetime! Limited Time Offer up to 50% off install + Additional 10% off install. (military, health &1st responders.) 1-833-370-1234
SAFE STEP North America's #1 Walk-in tub. Comprehensive lifetime warranty. Top-of-the-line installation and service. Now featuring our free shower package & $1600 off - limited time! Financing available. 1-855-417-1306
THE GENERAC PWRCELL, a solar plus battery storage system. SAVE money, reduce your reliance on the grid, prepare for power outages and power your home. Full installation services WATER DAMAGE
cleanup & restoration: A small amount of water can lead to major damage and mold growth in your home. Our trusted professionals do complete repairs to protect your family and your home's value! Call 24/7: 1-888-872-2809
TUTORING/ LESSONS
GARTH ORR - TUTOR Math & Physics grade 8-12. Private Tutoring that works! garthorr.com
LENS OF CHANGE
How Don Tortellini is capturing the essence of Oak Cliff Story by JILLIAN NACHTIGAL | Photography by YUVIE STYLES
DON “TORTELLINI” THOMAS II WAS WORKING AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SAFETY SPECIALIST WHEN HE WAS FURLOUGHED DURING THE PANDEMIC.
He decided to pick up photography, and turned to YouTube to learn everything he knows.
“I had a moment where I wanted to try to change the trajectory of my life,” Tortellini says. “I went through a few creative mediums, but landed on photography. I knew as soon as I picked up a camera that I didn’t want to do what everyone else was doing. I wanted to tell stories in my community.”
He started shooting food distribution events at For Oak Cliff, a nonprofit fighting against systemic racism and oppression in Dallas.
This first project snowballed into professional gigs for the dedication of Botham Jean Boulevard in Dallas, as well as commissions for NorthPark Center, Fiend BMX and NFL players. Soon, Tortellini started developing his own projects.
Tortellini made it his mission to shine the spotlight on Oak Cliff with the creation of “Village Oak Cliff.” He travels across our neighborhood connecting with people and sharing their intimate stories.
“Oak Cliff is a place that, unfortunately, has been misconceived as a place of violence, and an unfortunate set of circumstances that makes it not anybody’s real destination,” Tortellini says. “There’s a lot of value here, rich tradition and history and culture that people haven’t tapped into because there’s nowhere for them to learn it. So what I try to do is I try to tell those stories and bridge that gap, to fill that need, to fight that misconception that’s been created through the media.”
The idea of The Village is to have tangible photography all around the city.
“One of the main photographs lives at Redbird Mall, and I would love for the photography to be acquired by different buildings and different entities to show
storytelling in the form of photography,” Tortellini says.
Another one of Tortellini’s projects, titled KLAWZ, is an exhibition that shows off nail art in Dallas. The body of work was acquired by the University of North Texas, making Tortellini the first and only student to have work acquired and added to the special collections library.
The Village Oak Cliff, which includes cinematography, is also part of the partnership with UNT.
“[UNT] gave me access to the NBC 5 archive they acquired, and I was the first ever student to make a film out of that archive,” Tortellini says. “I’m able to expand The Village by adding another layer of education, presenting archive news footage to educate people about things that happened in Oak Cliff.”
The goal of The Village is to preserve the culture of Oak Cliff through photography and short films to honor the people and pillars of the neighborhood.
He has produced several films that pay homage to the rich culture and history of Oak Cliff. This includes Dear Oscar , which gave a voice to Laura Sanchez, whose son Oscar was murdered in Duncanville.
“We premiered it at Texas Theater, and 500 people were there,” Tortellini says. “It was insane. It’s definitely something that I’ll never forget. I felt like filmmaking was something that Oak Cliff needed.”
All of this was pre-film school for Tortellini, who later attended Florida State University. He left after he said he did not have the best experience.
Despite this, Tortellini is going on four years strong making a living off of his photography and filmmaking.
“I’m so grateful,” Tortellini says. “I haven’t clocked into a job for four years, going on five years, which is insane.”
Tortellini has plenty of projects in the works, including a part two for KLAWZ, and of course continuing to expand The Village.
“I want to inspire, and I want people to know the work that I’ve done,” Tortellini says. “Hopefully it lives forever.”
Don Tortellini has been working to capture the essence of Oak Cliff through his multimedia project, Village Oak Cliff.
