La Vida Yaya

I moved to LA in 1993, to an whole new urban reality from a lush, green, laid back San Antonio. It is a very culturally Mexican city where cute little old white ladies wear chili pepper earrings and yellow Mexican dresses with ruffles and the Mexicans pack into George Straight concerts and eat polish sausage wrapped in tortillas (don't knock it til you try it). Cowboy hats and boots are bilingual yanno. Leaving the Riverwalk and the Guadalupe Culture Center, the mariachis, and the Battle of the Flowers for a new city was exciting and yet disappointing. LA didn't have that peaceful co-existence of cultures I was used to in SA. It was very much us vs them here in this ocean-lined metropolis. I expected LA to be bustling with Mexican pride and power. I was hoping to find Chicano leaders at the top of their game spearheading large festivals uniting the best mariachis, the best ballet folkloricos, and singers. Afterall, everyone who was anyone in the entertainment industry landed in

Amazing sunset shot above and dancers below by Abel Gutierrez . The sun is out and not a cloud in the city of angels. This is the season that California is known for. Might as well patent the sun because we have it. The past couple of days have been scorchers early in the morning and driving around in my trusty Saturn with no a/c has been a challenge. Nevertheless, I'm loving it. Break out the sandals (as if I ever put them away) and the SPF 99 because unless you hate people, now is the time to get the heck out of the house. What can I tell you about summertime in LA other than it's fun and fulfills the soul. I might as well list everything and the kitchen sink that you can go out and do. Regionally, by theme, by dress code, and parking rates, there are tons of events going on. Let's see . . .  Well, let's start with where I'll be this summer. Working at the Autry comes the perk of going to Sizzling Summer Nights every Thursday in July and August. Last night's