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Man Behind Logan Square's Favorite Window Display Is Closing Photo Shop

By Mina Bloom | February 21, 2017 5:59am
 Florentin Raguay, who sometimes goes by Tino Quetzal, is getting out of the retail game after 38 years.
Florentin Raguay, who sometimes goes by Tino Quetzal, is getting out of the retail game after 38 years.
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DNAinfo/Mina Bloom

LOGAN SQUARE — When The Whistler re-created its neighbor Foto Quetzal's iconic window display earlier this month, the cocktail bar was really saying goodbye to the photo and video shop.

After nearly 20 years at 2419 N. Milwaukee Ave., Foto Quetzal — complete with its neighborhood-famous window display — is leaving, according to shop owner Florentin Raguay.

Raguay, who has owned the building since 2006, is planning to lease the storefront, move into the upstairs apartment — which he had been previously renting out — and run a downsized version of the photo and video business out of his home.

"Right now, I'm trying to adjust to the changes," said 58-year-old Raguay, who sometimes goes by Tino Quetzal.

"I try to walk with life. I've been working since 1980 and I've had ups and downs and I've survived. So now there's another chance to move in a different direction."

Raguay has been doing event and portrait photography and video work in the city for 38 years.

He moved to Chicago from Guatemala in 1976 after a catastrophic earthquake killed thousands. Raguay soon joined his sister in Chicago to work at a factory in suburban Northfield and at Swedish Convenant Hospital, where he did a little bit of everything, from sorting mail to doing laundry.

Raguay had always been fond of painting and photography, but he treated it like a hobby until one day when he wandered into a church and took photos of a happy couple. The photos ended up receiving rave reviews from the family and it wasn't long until Raguay's started ringing off the hook with event photography jobs. He went on to earn a degree in art from Truman College.

In 1980, Raguay opened Foto Quetzal, named after a Guatemalan bird, in Ravenswood at 5044 N. Clark St. After seeing success, he opened another storefront at Logan Bouelvard and Kedzie Avenue before landing on his current storefront in 1999. He went on to buy the Milwaukee Avenue building in 2006.


The exterior of Foto Quetzal. [All photos DNAinfo/Mina Bloom]

Up until the mid-to-late 2000s, Foto Quetzal was a successful small business. Raguay worked five separate events per weekend and made enough to hire 12 employees. In his free time, Raguay freelanced for a range of local publications, including La Raza and El Norte.

"I had a budget for Christmas parties and repairs. If something broke, I just bought a new one," he said.

Now Raguay said he's lucky if he books one event per weekend. After slowly letting go of all of his employees, Raguay works the shop alone except for when one of his seven adult kids comes in to help out.

Foto Quetzal is one of many longtime businesses in Logan Square that has suffered due to changing neighborhood demographics.

Most of Raguay's customers are Hispanic, and the neighborhood has lost more Hispanic residents than any of the city's 77 community areas over the last 15 years, according to U.S. Census data.

"In one way you feel good because before there were a lot of gangs in the neighborhood. The neighborhood is growing up," Raguay said. "The other side is bad because it's not the same and equipment is very expensive."

He said he's still paying off an $8,000, top-of-the-line digital camera he bought last year.

And with the advent of high-quality cellphone cameras, some people are skipping professional photography altogether, Raguay said. If they do choose to go the professional route, they often opt for a much cheaper and, Raguay would argue, less experienced photographer. 

Another unexpected reason for dwindling business more recently, he said, is Donald Trump's immigration policies.

Raguay said many of his Hispanic customers who would've otherwise booked him for parties far in advance are choosing not to have a party at all because they fear they'll be deported.

"Everybody's doing that. My business, right now, is hurting because nobody wants to spend money. They say, 'Let's wait last minute. If we don't [get deported], then we do the party.'"

While Raguay said he hasn't received any serious offers to lease the storefront, he was recently approached by a man who wanted to buy the building for $600,000, which is double what he paid for it in 2006.

But the building isn't for sale — and Raguay doesn't foresee that changing anytime soon. He said he doesn't have much debt and he wants to stay in the neighborhood and keep working.

"With that half of a million dollars, I could live the rest of my life. I could buy a house in Indiana with cash. But I've been working since I was 6 years old. Since 6 years old, every day I work. What am I going to do? How long can I stay without doing anything?," Raguay said.

"That's the reason I don't want to give up. I'm doing this, not because I'm dying or full of debts, I'm doing this because I love what I'm doing."

Raguay said he's not surprised that his portraits, particularly the one with a half-naked couple in embrace, have left such a lasting impression on folks in the neighborhood. The couple in the photo are Raguay's son and his now-wife.

"My idea is I wanted to express something and I like when people [understand] it. That's love. That's what I consider love. There is something amazing about expressing love today," he said.


Arguably the most popular portrait is of a half-naked couple in embrace.

Raguay said people stop in all the time to ask about the portrait, which started as 8-by-10 and is now 20-by-30.

Anyone who's interested in buying a print can do so by stopping by the shop in its final days. Raguay said he's willing to sell prints for $30.