|
|
Bienvenidos! It’s the start of Summer on the Street, as evidenced by the hordes of un-tanned flesh jetting out of shorts and swim suits that seemed to fit last September. So weed the garden, scrape the crust from the barbeque, dig out your Dodger cap and determine the camps, classes and getaways of another beautiful Southern California Summer with family and friends.
This month we have added more information dedicated to traveling in the Los Angeles area just in time for summer break. We will share our best tips for a romantic getaway and for family fun. Bookmark See L.A. as a reference. We welcome you to visit us at Olvera Street.
|
What’s Happening on
Olvera Street!
“Saving Babies,
Together”
fundraising drive
Friday, June 2, 2006
5:00 AM -3:30 PM
|
|
MARCH OF DIMES FUNDRAISER
AT OLVERA STREET
El Pueblo Historical Monument, home of world famous Olvera Street, and 830AM radio are helping collect donations for the March of Dimes “Saving Babies, Together” fundraising drive. The one-day fundraiser on Friday, June 2, 2006 will take place at El Pueblo Historical Monument from 5am until 3:30pm. For added convenience, the public can simply drive south on Los Angeles Street (across from Union Station) and pull over at the historic plaza where booths and volunteers will be stationed. Both cash and personal checks made out to the March of Dimes will be accepted.
 The goal of “Saving Babies, Together” is to raise funds for premature babies as well as to educate the Latino population in Los Angeles about the importance of prenatal care. In California, 51% of the babies born prematurely are born to Latino families and in Los Angeles County, of the 20,700 babies born prematurely or with a low birth weight each year, 12,696 are Latin. Donations received at charitable fundraising drives such as this help the March of Dimes reduce the overall prematurity rate in California.
 By supporting the March of Dimes, individuals help further research and expand the educational programs designed to reduce premature births and improve the health of babies. For more information, call 213-485-8372.
About The March of Dimes
The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to prevent birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds programs of research, community services, education, and advocacy to save babies and in 2003 launched a campaign to address the increasing rate of premature birth. For more information, visit the March of Dimes website at www.marchofdimes.com or its Spanish website at www.nacersano.org.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Exhibits in
Olvera Street:
|
|
Abriendo Caminos: Dos Mujeres Mexicanas Exhibition
An exhibition of abstract art by:
Maria Teresa Chavez Montes and Michiko Kamino Okuda
Saturday, June 3, 2006
5:30 PM to 9 PM
At: Mexican Cultural Institute's Downstairs Gallery
125 Paseo de la Plaza - Olvera Street, Los Angeles
Meet two extremely talented Mexican women, from Zacatecas and Mexico D.F., respectively, whose very different masterpieces utilize vibrant yet muted colors and strong brush strokes which mesh soft lights and shadows, giving the viewer a unique vantage point in appreciating expressionistic art.
The Gallery Series is sponsored by Heineken. Food from Velvet Margarita. Surprise guest DJ. Free to Public. For more information: 213-625-3660.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
AT WORK: THE ART OF CALIFORNIA LABOR
Exhibit explores the artists and images of the Labor Movement
Opening Reception: June 17, 2006 7 PM - 10 PM
Exhibition: June 13 through August 14, 2006.
Pico House Gallery at El Pueblo Historical Monument
Olvera Street
Free Public Programs
El Pueblo Historical Monument in collaboration with California Exhibition Resources Alliance (CERA) will present AT WORK: THE ART OF CALIFORNIA LABOR, from June 13 through August 14, 2006. The free exhibit examines the rich and tumultuous history of California’s workers and their movements from the turn of the 20th century to the present. The exhibition features the work of such artists as Diego Rivera, Dorothea Lange, Tina Modotti, Emmy Lou Packard, Malaquias Montoya, Yolanda Lopez and Ester Hernandez. The opening reception will be held on Saturday June 17 from 7-10pm at the Pico House Gallery at El Pueblo Historical Monument, 424 North Main Street, Los Angeles. For more information: 213-485-8432
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Events at
Olvera Street!
The 5th Annual
"Encuentro
de Jaraneros"
Saturday,
June 24, 2006
12 PM -8 PM
|
|
The 5th Annual "Encuentro de Jaraneros" will be honoring of one of the most influential Jarocho harpists of all time - Mario Barradas Murcia.
About California Encuentro de Jaraneros
The finest jarocho ensembles in California and Veracruz will be featured on Saturday, June 24 at the fifth annual concert of the Encuentro de Jaraneros de California at the historic El Pueblo Historical Monument, home of Olvera Street.
The organization’s objective is to promote and support the Son Jarocho tradition through education, performance, the visual arts, research, and the annual Encuentro de Jaraneros. The vision is to provide Jarocho musicians and dancers with the opportunity to meet, study, share, and perform in a united celebration.
For more information: http://www.encuentrodejaraneros.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Supporting
Our Community
“Events Around Town”
The NCLR
ALMA Awards 2006
ABC
Monday, June 5, 2006
9:30PM
|
|
The ALMA Awards honors outstanding Latino artistic achievement in television, film, and music and the enhancement of the Latino image in the entertainment industry.
This year’s awards will be telecast on Monday, June 5 at 9:30pm. Eva Longoria will host, and expected guests include Jessica Alba, George Lopez, Sara Ramirez, Michael Douglas, Sofia Vergara and Wilmer Valderrama.
Big & Rich, Cowboy Troy, Paulina Rubio, and Emilio. Plus, Gloria Estefan, Brian McKnight, Vico C and the Ying Yang Twins are expected to perform. For more info visit: www.almaawards.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Movies to See!
|
|
Goal! The Dream Begins
How far would you go to persue your dreams? When Santiago Munez is given the chance of a lifetime, he must leave his family, his life in Los Angeles and everything that he knows to travel halfway around the globe to England and into a completely foreign world--the exciting, fast-paced and glamorous world of international soccer.
A great inspirational movie for the family!
"Goal! The Dream Begins" is a rags-to-riches sports saga containing all the usual elements, arranged in the usual ways, and yet it's surprisingly effective. We have the kid from Mexico who dreams of soccer stardom, his impoverished life in Los Angeles as an undocumented immigrant, his dad who scorns soccer, his grandmother who believes in him, the scout who gets him a tryout with a top British team, the superstar who befriends him, and even a pretty nurse.” Robert Ebert
For more info and movie times: click here!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Lost City
Andy Garcia stars and makes his directorial debut in a passionate and historical tribute to his native Cuba. Havana in 1958 is a place of pleasure and suffering under the rule of dictator Fulgencio Batista. As the revolutionary forces of Fidel Castro and Ernesto “Che” Guevara prepare to move on the city, Fico Fellove (Garcia)—owner of the city’s classiest music nightclub—struggles to hold together his family and the love of a woman (Inés Sastre), not knowing that his club will become more than just a stage for popular entertainment. Observing all is Bill Murray as an expatriate American who acts as Fico’s muse. Though Fico watches a government vanish and a people transformed, it is his love of Cuban music that keeps his memories alive. Co-starring Dustin Hoffman. Written by Cuban novelist Guillermo Cabrera Infante.
“Throbbing with music, seething with romance, a film that breaks your heart and ravishes you.” -Michael Willington, Chicago Tribune
For more info: click here! For show times: click here!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
“Dia de Los Padres”
Happy Father’s Day!
|
|
 Father's Day historically has been an after-thought to Mother’s Day. It is credited to a Sonora Dodd, a woman from Washington State who had been raised by her father and thought it was not right to honor moms but not dads.
Sonora, 28, sat in church way back in 1909, listening to a sermon praising Mother’s Day. Sonora’s father, a U.S. Civil War veteran, had raised six children following his wife’s death at childbirth. She complained to her pastor, and the two of them cook up the idea of Father’s Day
Sonora's father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father's Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on June 19, 1910.
The idea took off, and eventually led to something called the National Father's Day Committee, formed in 1926 in New York City. It took a literal Act of Congress to make it a national day of recognition, which is what happened 50 years ago, in 1966. If you thought Congress might have had better things to do in 1966, like, maybe the War in Vietnam and Civil Rights unrest, you’d be wrong.
Fast-forward to 1972. Electronic gadgets are often a favored gift on Father’s Day, so appropriately it was the president often associated with electronic devices, Richard Nixon, who established it as a permanent holiday on the third Sunday of every June. So with a small bit of stretch, we unabashedly declare that Sunday, June 17, 2006 is the Fortieth anniversary of Father’s Day, at least of the Congressional Declaration. (The 96th and 34th anniversaries just don’t have the same ring to them.)
Different types of flowers were of great significance in the early 20th century. Sonora proposed the wearing of a red rose for a living father, and of a white one for a deceased but not forgotten padre. Others clamored for a white lilac. But a Pennsylvania preacher suggested a dandelion. The appropriate flower, they argued, since “the more it is trampled on, the more it grows.”
So Father's Day was born in memory and gratitude by a daughter who thought that her father and all good fathers, grandfather, uncles and significant male role models should be honored with a special day.
We would like to wish all the wonderful fathers,
“A Happy Father’s Day!”
"I watched a small man with thick calluses on both hands work fifteen and sixteen hours a day. I saw him once literally bleed from the bottoms of his feet, a man who came here uneducated, alone, unable to speak the language, who taught me all I needed to know about faith and hard work by the simple eloquence of his example." -- Mario Cuomo
Feliz Dia de Los Padres!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Unsung Hero
Rebecca Carranza
The Mother
of the
Tortilla Chip
Carranza receives the
Golden Tortilla Award
for her contribution
to the Mexican
food industry, 1994.
|
|
The mother of the tortilla chip, Rebecca Carranza, died earlier this year in Arizona at the age of 98.
 Carranza, who spent most of years here in Los Angeles, resourcefully cut deformed tortillas into triangles and fried them for a post-World War II party. And Eureka, a new food was born! The chips became such a big hit with her family and friends that she soon began selling them for a dime a bag at her Mexican deli and factory in southwest Los Angeles at Jefferson and Arlington.
Rebecca was born in Durango, Mexico in 1907, and came north to Texas during the Mexican Revolution to escape the violence between Pancho Villa and U.S. forces of Gen. John Pershing and Col. George Patton.
"Pancho Villa did not like her father, because he was American," Mario R. Carranza, the eldest of her two sons told the Los Angeles Times. "She had pictures of her father on his horse dashing away from danger."
 After her parents divorced in the 1920s, her mother had the good sense to bring the family to Los Angeles. Rebecca grew up, married Mario Carranza, and began making ties for a living.
A family friend ran a tortilla shop in East Los Angeles, giving the Carranzas an idea. In 1940 they opened their own business, and began cooking and selling tortillas.
The El Zarape Tortilla Factory soon became one the first tortillaries to automate production of tortillas. The new modern machinery manufactured tortillas more than 12 times faster than the traditional hand-slapping approach could. However, the machine also created deformed tortillas pieces, which were initially discarded. It was there that Rebecca decided not to waste the odd-shaped pieces, and a new food was born.
 By 1950 El Zarape was mass-producing the tortilla chips for commercial markets. Living in an apartment above the factory, “Tort Chips” began the company's primary of business within a decade.
Carranza had several other businesses, along with four marriages, two sons, a dozen grandchildren, 19 great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren. She moved to Phoenix, Arizona in 2003 where she lived out the last years of her rich life.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
News About Our World
Update
Iraq War
At Olvera-Street.com,
the spirit of giving,
understanding, and
support goes far
beyond our doors.
|
|
 “There have been 2,695 coalition deaths, 2,471 Americans, two Australians, 113 Britons, 13 Bulgarians, three Danes, two Dutch, two Estonians, one Fijian, one Hungarian, 30 Italians, one Kazakh, one Latvian, 17 Poles, two Romanians, two Salvadoran, three Slovaks, 11 Spaniards, two Thai and 18 Ukrainians in the war in Iraq as of May 31, 2006, according to a CNN count. (Graphical breakdown of casualties). The list below is the names of the soldiers, Marines, airmen, sailors and Coast Guardsmen whose deaths have been reported by their country's governments. At least 18,184 U.S. troops have been wounded in action, according to the Pentagon."
That is 86 more deaths and more than 422 U.S. troops that have been wounded since last month. That is a total of 1,445 more deaths since the original 1250 deaths we honored at Olvera Street for the 2004 Dia De Los Muertos. Note, May 1 is the three year anniversary when President Bush announced “Mission Accomplished!” and the end of hostilities in Iraq.
You can view casualties in the war in Afghanistan and examine U.S. war casualties dating back to the Revolutionary War.” at the CNN web site.
The “Altar of the Iraq War” was created on October 28, 2004 to honor and respect the memories and lives of all those who have died. NOTE: It does not count the estimated 100,000-200,000 Iraqi deaths, including women and children.
* (The "Altar of the Iraq War" was created by six artists and does not necessarily reflect the thoughts of the Olvera Street merchants or El Pueblo Historic Monument.)
We would like to pay our respect and send our love to them, their families, and dear friends. This altar is dedicated to their memories so they won’t be forgotten, true to the meaning and spirit of íDa De Los Muertos!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This year we will create a new “Altar of the Iraq War” that will be displayed for Dia De Los Muertos exhibition. We are asking family and friends to send photos of beloved ones and any stories you may want to share so we can include it in the altar.
If you would like to submit photos and stories, please e-mail them to webmaster@olvera-street.com
To learn more about the altar, click here!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
On Saturday, June 3 from 2- 6 PM in Mystery Mesa, Santa Clarita, California, photographer Zach Gold will be making a single photograph of the exact number of Americans that have died in Iraq.
Know War aims to depict the human cost of the Iraq War by transforming the American death toll into a visible reality. The photograph will be created so that it can stay up to date with the casualty number until the war is over. To sign up or to learn more: www.knowwar.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mailbox to Heaven”
created by Ginette Rondeau
|
|
If you know someone who died in the Iraq War and would like to share your story in honor of his or her memory, please submit it to
webmaster@Olvera-Street.com
Just make sure you write “Stories to Share” in the subject line of your email.
To write a private letter to a beloved one,
visit: www.MailboxToHeaven.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Continuing Exhibitions
Olvera Street
|
|
The 13th Annual
34th Congressional District Student Art Exhibit
 Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Los Angeles) presents the 13th annual 34th Congressional District Student Art Exhibit on display in the Pico House Gallery at El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument from April 22 through June 10. The art competition provides a scholarship and a trip to Washington D.C.
The exhibit will be open daily to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. For more information call 213-628-9230.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Exhibits Around Town
Mexican-Americans in baseball are being featured in a current exhibit at Cal State L.A.’s John F. Kennedy Memorial Library through June 9.
“Mexican-American Baseball in Los Angeles: From the Barrios to the Big Leagues” illustrates how baseball has acted as a conduit social and cultural forces within the Los Angeles Mexican-American communities.
The project includes oral histories; the establishment of an archive dedicated to Mexican-American baseball history as part of the Library’s Special Collections; and the presentation of an exhibition examining the cultural ramifications of Mexican-Americans in Los Angeles baseball.
The first Mexican American major leaguer baseball was Vincent Nava, a catcher for the Providence Grays and the Baltimore Orioles in the 1880s. The first Mexican born major leaguer was Baldomero "Mel" Almada (Hwatabampo, Sonora, Mexico), who played with the Boston Red Sox, Washington Senators, St. Louis Browns and the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1930s. Almada set a major league record by scoring nine runs in 18 innings in a game in 1937.
 Other great Mexican-American and Mexican major leaguers include Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox, considered one the greatest hitters in baseball history, 1954 Batting Champion Roberto Avila of the Cleveland Indians, 1981 Cy Young winner Fernando Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Dodgers; and 1999 batting champion Nomar Garciaparra, who now patrols first base for the Dodgers.
The Cal State L.A. exhibit is a collaborative effort between the Kennedy Library and the Baseball Reliquary — a Southern California-based nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering an appreciation of American art and culture through baseball history.
The event is open to the public and free of charge.
Library hours are Mondays through Thursdays, 8 AM -10 PM; Fridays, 8 AM - 5 PM; Saturdays, 9 AM - 7 PM and Sundays, 10 am - 8 PM. For more information on the project, go to the web site at or call (323) 343-3974.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recent History on
Olvera Street
“Cinco de Mayo 2006”
|
|
It was Cinco de Mayo on Olvera Street!
The weather was warm and Olvera Street’s celebration began on Los Angeles’ Méxican marketplace for Cinco de Mayo.
The Olvera Street celebration of México's 1862 victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla featured popular and traditional music, cultural presentations, festival, dance, food and live entertainment.
Although all Americans may be Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, on Cinco everyone was Méxican. At least all Americans who want to have a good time.
But few Americans knew that Cinco de Mayo was a legitimate American holiday. For when Emperor Napoleon III’s, 8,000 well-trained French fighters were repelled by 4,000 Méxican troops (most of whom that were indigenous teenagers) Cinco de Mayo, 1862, President Lincoln rejoiced. Napoleon III hated the United States, and had hoped to aid the southern confederates fight the U.S. Federal Army.
 Lincoln and Méxican President Benito Juarez were mutual admirers, and Lincoln directed U.S. General Phillip Sheridan to supply the Méxicans with weapons and ammunition to fight the French. With the help of U.S. supplies, sloppy mud from a thunderstorm and a cattle stampede they rustled up to impede the charging French, the young Méxicans prevailed.
So ¡Viva Cinco de Mayo!
To read the history of Cinco de Mayo click here!
To learn more about President Benito Juarez, click here!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Celebrating
“Cinco De Mayo!”
|
|
ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW
Ellen was recently on Olvera Street filmed her special Cinco de Mayo show, which aired May 5, 2006.
We also had so many other visitors who came to enjoy the festivities. Some came with family and friends, and some stopped by right before their prom! It was wonderful to see everyone!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
What’s New Next Month!
|
|
Now that summer is just around the corner, come down to Olvera Street and enjoy this historic marketplace. Shop, eat, and listen to the strolling musicians. It’s a great little escape and a wonderful place to spend some time with family and friends.
Olvera-Street.com is currently developing much more for our visitors; children’s section coming soon, history tour of Olvera Street, and shopping.
Great News! Next month we will publish our “Call for Entries for the Annual Dia De Los Muertos Juried Exhibition!” Make sure to sign up for our e-newsletter so you can get all our info.
Bookmark Olvera-Street.com and visit us often to find out about the latest arts, fundraisers, business mixers, screenings and much more. We hope you will visit us often in May and throughout 2006.
Please e-mail this page to anyone
you think may be interested.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Got Gas?
|
|
As a public service we at Olvera-Street.com want to help you find the least painfully-expensive gas in your area. To find out the best gas prices around, click here!
If you have any other suggestions for links that our community can either learn or benefit from such as scholarships, community programs, et cetera, please submit them to us.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
“Father’s Day”
|
|
My Father
When I was:
Four years old: My daddy can do anything.
Five years old: My daddy knows a whole lot.
Six years old: My dad is smarter than your dad.
Eight years old: My dad doesn't know exactly everything.
Ten years old: In the olden days, when my dad grew up, things were sure different.
Twelve years old: Oh, well, naturally, Dad doesn't know anything about that. He is too old to remember his childhood.
Fourteen years old: Don't pay any attention to my dad. He is so old-fashioned.
Twenty-one years old: Him? My Lord, he's hopelessly out of date.
Twenty-five years old: Dad knows about it, but then he should, because he has been around so long.
Thirty years old: Maybe we should ask Dad what he thinks. After all, he's had a lot of experience.
Thirty-five years old: I'm not doing a single thing until I talk to Dad.
Forty years old: I wonder how Dad would have handled it. He was so wise.
Fifty years old: I'd give anything if Dad were here now so I could talk this over with him. Too bad I didn't appreciate how smart he was. I could have learned a lot from him.
Thank you Father for all the love and wisdom
you have given to me.
Happy Father’s Day! I will love you always!
-Writer Unknown
|
|
|
|
|
| |
