Foreverglades_Valiente2019

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For decades after Western Expansion, South Florida was.still a
wilderness. Only once pioneers dredged canals and redirected the
flow of Lake Okeechobee did this area become habitable. These once
considered "useless" territories of marshes and swamps ultimately
gave way to development and industry.
On the southern tip of the lake lies Belle Glade, a small agricultural
town that one might pass on a road trip today, just a couple of
stoplights and it's gone. It hides a rich history that leads to how we
arrived here to Florida.
In 2015, I moved to Belle Glade to a former rooming house apartment
and soon after came across books by Lawrence E. Will and
Zora Neale Hurston. Will painted a picture of the pioneers who
developed the area through persistence and foresight, and for me,
Hurston gave a voice to the workers who built the Glades with their
bare hands.
Their writing became my framework for exploring the past and
looking at its contemporary parallels. In this time capsule; history is
present. Roots run deep and the pioneer spirit can still be felt.
Thank Yous and Credits
Jose Jesus Zaragoza for living this with me.
-Sofia Valiente
David Wallace, Ms. Balla and Loretta, for introducing me to my
friends in downtown Belle Glade, and inviting me to all of their parties.
They are nothing but love.
Lawrence E. Will, for taking it upon himself it upon himself to
record local history and collect countless stories.
My neighbors Pookie and Sugarmama, for having my back and
defending me.
Butch Wilson, for our long talks about history, life and society.
Sonny Stein and Willie Lee, for providing me with the closest experience
I'll have to meeting a pioneer.
Boots Boyer, for taking me out on his airboat to explore the Custard
Apple Woods.
Jennifer Earnest, Barbara Boswell and The H.E. Hill Foundation,
for their support of the project.
The entire Glades community that will always be a piece of my
heart.
Adam Ganuza and The Knight Foundation, for their commitment
and generous support to empowering artists and their visions.
And thank you always to my mom Malaica, and three brothers
Jigme, Nico and Mati for their unconditional love.
Photography and Concept by Sofia Valiente
Design by Bonnie Briant
Text, halftone images and maps were appropriated from SWAMP
TO SUGAR BOWL, PIONEER DAYS IN BELLE GLADE by
LAWRENCE ELMER WILL, 1968.
Five brief quotations from THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING
GOD by ZORA NEALE HURSTON. Copyright (c) 1937 by Zora
Neale Hurston. Renewed (c) 1965 by John C. Hurston and Joel
Hurston. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers.
The publishing of this book was made possible by funding from
the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation's 2017 Knight Arts
Challenge.
m KNIGHT
DIii FOUNDATION
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced
or transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical, without
prior permission in writing from the publisher.
© Foreverglades by Sofia Valiente 2019
© all color photography by Sofia Valiente 2019
© all text by the authors
First edition self-published by Sofia Valiente 2019
ISBN: 978-0-578-55230-9