The Backdrop for “Quinceañera.”
HIS SHRINE: Alberto Hernandez mixes the natural with the artificial faux flowers, statues, ceramic parrots and other found objects, even art made by children. (Myung J. Chun / LAT)
His porch is as gaily colorful and rich in religious iconography as the backyard, which hes been creating and re-creating for 14 years. He says that as the Silver Lake garden took shape, the neighborhood joined in to beautify the area. (Myung J. Chun / LAT)
ART OF THE AGES: Hernandez uses mirrored glass and ceramic shards as flooring in the outdoor rooms. (Myung J. Chun / LAT)
The bead-covered altar originally built for his mother who died nearly seven years ago is where Alberto Hernandez spends most of his time in the garden of his Silver Lake house. (Myung J. Chun / LAT)
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Alberto Hernandez has spent the last 14 years creating his garden which was featured in the movie, “Quinceañera.” (Myung J. Chun / LAT)
A PLACE OF PEACE: Hernandezs garden is a spiritual haven, encompassing Catholicism and other beliefs. He spends a moment meditating in the circular courtyard, above, a relatively new addition to the garden, before a Buddha shrine, where friends often set their offerings alongside bowls filled with fruit and money. (Myung J. Chun / LAT)
STONE AND EARTH: The hands and footprints of actress Meche Carreño are among the prints left by friends that dot the paths of Alberto Hernandezs garden. (Myung J. Chun / LAT)
Hernandez’s living room is filled with garage sale finds even the wood-inlay screen and now a mannequin that Hernandez decorated for a Sunset Junction Street Fair event. Alberto is a true artist, someone who creates constantly, effortlessly, the way most people breathe, filmmaker Richard Glatzer says. (Myung J. Chun / LAT)
