EFE Photographer in Los Angeles Opens His First Solo Retrospective

Omar Alonso’s first solo retrospective in Los Angeles brings together the many faces of his life behind the camera, from immigration protests and difficult street assignments to the spectacle of a World Cup.

The exhibition, titled “Becoming. What Was,” focuses mainly on work Alonso produced as an independent photojournalist and, since May 2026, as part of EFE’s audiovisual team in the United States. It includes images from the ICE Out protests, a movement formed in opposition to U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.

For Alonso, that section is deeply personal. “It is very meaningful to me because, as a child, before my parents regularized their immigration status, we lived in fear. Today I know what that fear means and understand what it is like to be on the other side. It is a very unfair situation. Today I do not like feeling that fear again, because I know what it means,” he said.

Born in Los Angeles in 1993, Alonso began taking photographs as a hobby in 2006, when he started documenting the “A Day Without Mexicans” movement in the streets. The experience shaped both his personal life and his professional path.

The retrospective also covers his work at the 60th Super Bowl and its halftime show, headlined by Bad Bunny, as well as the Oscars and EFE’s recent coverage of the 2026 World Cup. His World Cup assignments took him to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Vancouver, as well as to the final in New Jersey. Through the exhibition, Alonso presents the contrast between the realities he has encountered through his lens, from protests and city streets to major sporting and cultural events.

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It is very meaningful to me because, as a child, before my parents regularized their immigration status, we lived in fear. Today I know what that fear means and understand what it is like to be on the other side. It is a very unfair situation. Today I do not like feeling that fear again, because I know what it means.