Born in Mexico City in 1941, Carlos Almaraz became a prominent artistic figure in the Chicano movement of 1970s Los Angeles. A founding member of Los Four, one of the earliest Chicano art collectives, Almaraz spent much of his early career engaged with social and activist art, collaborating on murals, banners, and posters in direct support of El Movimiento. By the late 1970s, however, Almaraz transitioned from a focus on public projects to incorporating more private studio work, often taking an introspective lens. "The Pleasure is Mine" is one such meditation on Almaraz’s lived experience in L.A. The work depicts a frenetic cityscape: an amalgam of highly saturated colors and varyingly recognizable popular symbols (among them crosses, steaming coffee cups, and human faces) that all blur into an energetic ambiance. In the foreground, silhouetted figures bear witness to the sensuous tumult of the city, perhaps representing the artist’s various alter egos contemplating the vast urban landscape.