Venice Celebrates Cinco de Mayo With Annual Parade and Fiesta - Viva Mexico!

The annual Venice Cinco de Mayo Parade and celebration took place this past Saturday, and I got to see the whole parade for the first time ever! Paraders met up at the corner of California and Lincoln, where dancers, marchers, bands, and classic cars and low-riders convened to show their Mexican pride.

There's always excitement for a parade, and this one had Venetians lining the streets to see the bright colors, music, and history brought out for this wonderful event each year. I got there early and stayed late as we were capturing the activities for our documentary, 90291: VENICE UNZIPPED, and we could not have asked for a more gorgeous day for our efforts to capture the spirit and essence of our real Venice. The whole day was awesome.

With all the talk of immigration and walls and negativity toward our Mexican neighbors, this event was more important than ever to show the pride and history of the beautiful country that we used to be.

There was a float with men and women dressed up in old-timey 1862 Mexican garb, letting everyone know that this part of Venice history goes way, way back.

A dude dressed up in a superhero outfit was roller-skating around, and he told me he was "Captain Native America" and it was his job to welcome everyone to the event. Love him.

The classic car clubs were out in force and slicker than ever. Mexican flags hung from them with pride, and the drivers of some low-riders treated the parade watchers to the hydraulic coolness of their cars bouncing up and down as everyone egged them on.

I think my favorite shot of the day was this little guy riding in his own mini classic car, and beaming ear to ear to be right out there with the big boys. 

The parade route this year went down Lincoln, turned left on Rose, then left on 7th to the Oakwood Park and historic E.L. Holmes Square - the real epicenter of our African American and Latino history. The street was full of parade participants and celebrators alike, with taco trucks and merchandise booths lining the street, where you could purchase traditional Mexican wares.

Folklorico dancers entertained the crowd, from young to old, all dancing their traditional numbers with traditional music.

Several mariachi bands played, giving the whole day a festive soundtrack to party along to. And people were partying.

The car club guys lined the street in their lawn chairs, tossing back beers and greeting one another like the old friends that everyone seemed to be. It was interesting - and pretty cool - to see guys from former rival gangs embrace and wish each other well ... even though one guy told me that he and the guy he'd just been talking to had shot at each other in the past. Over territory. It all seems so dumb now that they're older and wiser, but it was real and heavy when it was going down, and pretty impressive that they've been able to let things go and live in peace. That was just one of many touching moments throughout the day.

We got to interview several people who live and breathe the history of Venice - like my friend, Lydia Poncé, who walks her talk daily. It's inspiring to be in the presence of people who care so deeply, and are consistently on the front lines of standing up for what's right. Venice needs more of these gems, and should consider itself lucky to have the ones we still do.

The Venice Gondolier marching band played in the parade and at the park, and it was great to see the kids appreciating and participating in their town's history with such enthusiasm. They are all torch bearers to the future, and my heart swelled to see them all there - and proud.

The beautiful and powerful Aztec dancers we saw at the First Baptist Church rally a few weeks ago were back to dance for their people, and their gorgeous costumes brightened the day for everyone. The little ones just killed me with their little outfits and smiles at being a part of it all.

Families came out en masse, enjoying their traditional foods and drinks, dances and rituals. Old friends and neighbors greeted each other all day, and new friends were also made. I had just about the best street corn I've ever had, and happily chowed it while my face became a sticky mess. YUM. I heard so many good stories, and ran into so many cool people that I can't wait to share this film we're making with everyone ... you will laugh, you will cry, and you will think. I could have stayed there all day, enjoying the happy festivities there in the sunshine with so many other happy people of Venice - but we had to get over to Great Western Hoagies to interview my awesome friend, Sergio Perez (all decked out in his Cinco de Mayo best!) about the special place Hoagies has in the heart of Venice - and what Venice means to him. Again, I can't wait to share it all with everyone.

Venice Cinco de Mayo was another fantastic community event, and I hope everyone got to experience even just a part of it - or you fully missed out. Thank you/Gracias to everyone for making it a beautiful day, and for keeping the true history of Venice alive and very well.

Viva Mexico! Viva America! Viva Everyone TOGETHER! 

Venice Celebrates Cinco de Mayo - Olé!

What a gorgeous day for Cinco de Mayo we had this year! The sun was out, the breezes were warm, and people were in the mood to fiesta!

 I didn't get to catch the actual parade that went down Lincoln Boulevard, but I heard (and saw below) that it was fantastic. The car clubs came out with their lowriders and hot rods, there were beautiful, brightly costumed Folklorico and Azteca dancers twirling their skirts, and the Mariachi played all over town - from Oakwood Park to the rooftop of La Cabaña!

Oakwood Park was the epicenter of the fun this year, and it was packed with revelers of all cultures and backgrounds celebrating the Mexican and Chicano history that is so crucial to Venice, and especially this neighborhood (It's also right across the street from the Baptist Church that we sure would like to save as part of the town's equally important history).

There were food booths, arts and crafts you could purchase, performances from the dancers and musicians, and several speakers who educated everyone on the local and national histories behind this holiday (really commemorating the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862 over the French, not Mexican Independence Day, as many believe, and also why Mexicans have bolillos ... they learned the baking from the French).

Friends and neighbors pulled up lawn chairs and blankets, settling in to enjoy and to learn. It was a bright, colorful, beautiful, festive day in Venice, for sure. I couldn't stay as long as I'd have liked at the park, as it was also the birthday of my little friend, Mia, and her mother's 19th Anniversary of owning Burro on Abbot Kinney AND my friend Lacey's birthday too! Partying was in order. And was done.

One of the speakers at the wonderful Cinco de Mayo celebration in the park (planned and organized by Darlene Rodriguez and Laura Ceballos) explained how important the Mexican and Chicano history is in Venice, and that the working class of all colors is what made Venice what it is today. They are raising funds for a monument to go in Windward Circle (where nearby the Venice sign is now lit with the red, green, and white of the Mexican flag) so that all may know of the contributions made to our town by our Latino friends and neighbors. "We don't care about the color of your skin in Venice, we care about your heart." Exactly. And on days like this in Venice, you can feel pretty good about the hearts that call it home.

Viva Mexico! Viva Venice!

*Video courtesy of Brad Hennegen

R.E.S.P.E.C.T. - Part Two

There was a very special gathering of Venice ladies last night at La Cabaña for International Women's Day, that was touching, inspiring, and an awful lot of fun. Organized by longtime Venice advocate for everyone, Yolanda Miranda (in town visiting from Utah, where she said she is like "A palm tree in Siberia."), I felt honored to be there in the presence of such strong and talented women.

                                                           *Poster created by Greta Cobar

Former Free Venice Beachhead ringleader, Jim Smith, was there to present us all (nearly all Beachhead Alumni) with roses on behalf of the men of Venice. Pitchers of margaritas were already flowing by the time I got there, and the ladies were in the mood to celebrate. We had the back patio pretty much taken over, and other patrons were on notice that it might get loud. And it did. Miranda read Ain't I A Woman by Sojourner Truth to us, and it gave goosebumps ... Just click on the link and read it for yourself. 

I'll wait. (I'd post it here but something is messing up with formatting today. Like below. Sorry.)

Wow.  Then Greta Cobar recited And Still I Rise, by Maya Angelou, which is equally great. Cobar's mother, Natasha, was there as well, and it's always great to see where your friends get their radness from.

Artist and poet, Hillary Kaye, created a beautiful poster, and she and Miranda gifted us all with bookmarks made from the same art as the poster that featured legendary women. I love it. Thank you!  There was a purple bag (the color for International Women's Day, I was told) for each of us, containing a sachet that I'm smelling and loving now, and a card featuring Frida Kahlo. I love that I.W.D. is becoming an actual celebration - complete with gifts! 

Suzy Williams sang such a beautiful rendition of Moon Over Venice that a woman approached me in the bathroom and asked who it was that had such a wonderful voice. That's our Venice Songbird for you.  Beautiful speeches were made, and all were honored. Alice Stek was there - she delivers and saves babies born with AIDS every day. Ivonne Guzman was there - she fights for housing and the homeless every day.

                                                                                 *Photo by Jim Smith
A woman was there who had lost her husband to cancer only a month ago, and you could see her regain strength just being there amid women that understood, and enveloped her with love. It truly was a special feeling ... of what it means to belong to the tribe of Women - women who can -and DO - do anything. The mariachi fellows honored us with their beautiful serenades, and the party was on.

There was even a special cake for the occasion, and it too was fantastic. I hope ladies everywhere felt special yesterday, and that the current groundswell of support for each other only continues to build ... into a tsunami of change and progress that cannot be challenged. 

Viva Las Mujeres! 

Gracias, Yolanda & every woman there. You are forces of nature, All.