The party was about to hit its peak when the lights went to dim and, lo and behold, from out of the blue, the birthday celebrant was shown in his – what else but – birthday suit! Thus friends old and older got a good look at the naked Nestor Mata, celebrating his 90th but appearing onscreen bald and bare as a baby should, from top to toe and from elbows and shoulders to buns. What a scandal! But none more scandalized than the venerable, immortal Mr. Mata, who grabbed the mic to ask his conspiring children and grandchildren, “Who ransacked my library and dragged out those pictures?” A picture taken 90 years ago is not only a piece of family history, it’s also a testament to the durability of black-and-white photographs, for black-and-white was all they had in those days, and a good thing, too. Color prints fade after [...]
