Adál Alberto Maldonado (November 1, 1948December 9, 2020), styled as ADÁL, was a photographer who lived and worked in New York City and Puerto Rico. Primarily a
portrait photographer
Portrait photography, or portraiture, is a type of photography aimed toward capturing the personality of a person or group of people by using effective lighting, backdrops, and poses. A portrait photograph may be artistic or clinical. Frequentl ...
, his works focused on the concept of
identity
Identity may refer to:
* Identity document
* Identity (philosophy)
* Identity (social science)
* Identity (mathematics)
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Identity'' (1987 film), an Iranian film
* ''Identity'' (2003 film), ...
. He also worked on musical performances and installations. Maldonado is associated with the Nuyorican movement.
Maldonado was born in
Utuado, Puerto Rico
Utuado () is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the central mountainous region of the island known as the '' Cordillera Central''. It is located north of Adjuntas and Ponce; south of Hatillo and Arecibo; east of Lares; and west ...
, on November 1, 1948. His family moved to
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.the Bronx when he was 17.
Among Maldonado's works is a mixed-media installation and website titled ''El Puerto Rican Embassy'' (1994), developed in collaboration with Pedro Pietri. (According to Acosta-Belén and Santiago, the concept is due to Eduardo Figueroa.) For the project, Maldonado and Pietri created a Puerto Rican
passport
A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...