LA Downtown News 01-23-2023

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Missouri: The showing-me-too-much state

ARepublican female politician — Missouri state Rep. Ann Kelley — recently pushed for a stricter dress code for women in the state House, a truly heinous move. By the way, it’s a classic “repression playbook” move to have a member of an oppressed class be the public face of status-quo oppression. It’s reminiscent of enslaved people testifying to the benefits of slavery. Yes, in the past, slaves and former slaves have spoken in defense of slavery.

The motion, part of a new rules package from the state’s GOP, did not sit well with Democrats. “You know what it feels like to have a bunch of men in this room looking at your top, trying to decide whether it’s appropriate or not?” Democratic state Rep. Ashley Aune said, visibly bristling. “This is ridiculous!”

OPINION

EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Christina Fuoco-Karasinski

DEPUTY EDITOR: Luke Netzley

Rep. Kelley, the subordinate and churlish* woman who introduced the measure, spat back, “You would think that all you would have to do is say ‘Dress professionally’ and women could handle it. You would think elected officials could handle that.” I would think that Republicans of both genders could be less obvious with their misogyny, but no.

STAFF WRITERS: Luke Hertel, Morgan Owen, Leah Schwartz

Los Angeles Downtown News PO Box 1349

South Pasadena, CA 91031 213-481-1448

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Jeff Moeller, Ellen Snortland

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER: Chris Mortenson

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Known as the “Show me” state, the Missouri House of Representatives is not in favor of women showing their shoulders or arms. Their arms as in appendages, not their arms as in weapons — packing heat would probably be fine.

ART DIRECTORS: Arman Olivares, Stephanie Torres

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Catherine Holloway (213) 308-2261

Michael Lamb (213) 453-3548

Denine Gentilella (323) 627-7955

FOUNDER EMERITUS: Sue Laris

SINCE 1972

Yes, my friends, elected women flashing their bare arms: the Second Amendment joke, “the right to bare arms,” begs to be told!

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Really? Exactly what century are we in… or which country? The difference between various white Republican men serving in official capacities in this country and the Taliban becomes less as time marches forward… while our personal freedoms go backward. How could this happen?

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Hey you! Speak up!

Representative government in name only, the Missouri House has 116 men to 43 women. And, of course, Republicans are the majority there. The vote to restrict women’s clothing options passed with 105 for and 51 against. What a relief for those weenies: They won’t have to see bare female elbows or wrists… whew!

I probably sound like an inveterate feminist “geezer” right now: “You kids, today — you don’t know how good you have it! I had to walk eight miles in the snow to be discriminated against!”

That said, there has been inspiring progress for women’s rights in my lifetime. My mother could not obtain a credit card on her own. And she was the first woman in our family to work outside the home — as a teacher.

I remember that one of my mother’s first acts of “civil disobedience” was sending me to school wearing slacks, fully expecting me to be sent home or expelled. She could not fathom a school administration’s insistence that 7-year-old girls get frostbite because of their extremely rigid “dresses or skirts only” dress code for girls. If you think this is a trite issue, you try wearing a skirt or dress when the windchill factor on the plains of South Dakota is 50 below zero! South Dakota wasn’t an anomaly: In most families, it was considered too “manly” for girls to wear pants — the symbol of “who’s the boss” — during the ‘50s and ‘60s. I did get sent home, and my mom sent me right back with my pants on. We finally won

EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Christina Fuoco-Karasinski DEPUTY EDITOR: Luke Netzley

STAFF WRITER: Morgan Owen, Leah Schwartz

CONTRIBUTING WRITER: Ellen Snortland

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER: Chris Mortenson

ART DIRECTORS: Arman Olivares, Stephanie Torres

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Catherine Holloway (213) 308-2261 Michael Lamb (213) 453-3548

FOUNDER EMERITUS: Sue Laris

Downtown News wants to hear from people in the community. If you like or dislike a story, let us know, or weigh in on something you feel is important to the community.

Participation is easy. Go to downtownnews.com, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the “Letter to the Editor” link. For guest opinion proposals, please email christina@timespublications.com.

when the school district decided girls could wear pants when it was below 32 degrees Fahrenheit if they wore said pants under their dress or skirt. One small step for girls, a giant leap for women’s trousers.

Columnist Gail Collins opened her fabulous book “When Everything Changed” with a story featuring a 28-year-old executive secretary who was thrown out of court for wearing slacks. Laughable now, the anecdote is emblematic of the rigid gender rules that baby-boomer females and their older counterparts faced daily. Do you think dress codes are so… yesterday? Think again! It wasn’t until 1995 that the state of California, America’s bastion of liberal values, gave women the right to wear slacks to work!

How I long for the Democratic men in the Missouri chamber to do something outrageous in support of their sisters. At least one of them, whose heart was in the right place, did step up. Democratic state Rep. Peter Merideth said, “I don’t think I’m qualified to say what’s appropriate or not appropriate for women, and I think that is a really dangerous road for us all to go down.” He abstained from voting. Nice! Even a white male federal legislator piped up about this Missouri business: U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D; California) tweeted, “Republicans continue to codify their brand of sexism and misogyny, but let’s hear more about that gas stove outrage … SMH.” (SMH is slang for “shaking my head.”)

SINCE 1972

Los Angeles Downtown News PO Box 1349

South Pasadena, CA 91031

213-481-1448

1620 W. FOUNTAINHEAD PARKWAY, SUITE 219 TEMPE, ARIZONA 85282

PRESIDENT: Steve T. Strickbine

VICE PRESIDENT: Michael Hiatt

Hey, dudes! How about pulling a “Spartacus” by violating your own dress code and showing up en masse wearing short sleeves or a tank top? That would be pretty newsworthy! You could start a trend of white men standing up and putting their bodies and reputations on the line as they declare their feminism. Can you imagine that? Men standing loudly and proudly in solidarity with their sisters? Here in 2023, it’s way past due.

* Thanks, Key & Peele!

2023 marks the 30th year that Ellen Snortland has written this column. She also teaches creative writing online and can be reached at ellen@beautybitesbeast.com. Her award-winning film “Beauty Bites Beast” is available for download or streaming at vimeo.com/ondemand/ beautybitesbeast.

DTNEWS

LA’s drought outlook: Death by a thousand cuts

This winter has been a wet one for Los Angeles. With the first large storm rolling in on Election Day to three big storms in a row this January, Southern California has been inundated with rain. But experts caution Angelenos not to not grow too optimistic that recent rains will bring an end to the ongoing drought.

“Most of California is going to get a substantial break about six or seven days out lasting indefinitely. So it does look like this very wet pattern … does have a relative expiration date,” UCLA climatologist Daniel Swain said.

The wet season in California usually lasts from December through February, but there is nothing to guarantee these storms will continue. Although LA has been seeing lots of weather, experts warn that if the stormy weather abates, rainfall totals could end up simply at average levels.

But Bruce Reznik, the executive director of LA Waterkeeper since 2015, said there is still reason to be cautiously optimistic about the impact these storms will have on the availability of water in the Los Angeles basin — just not in the way people expect.

“Storms that bring a lot of rain but not a lot of snow don’t really help our water supply in the state very much,” Reznik said. “These storms brought a lot of snow, so we’re going to see a better snowpack in the Sierras. That will replenish some of these places where we get imported water, (but) I think we have to see how things play out in Colorado.”

Reznik added that relief to the drought would be very slight and that Angelenos shouldn’t expect too much relaxation on water restrictions. In his opinion, a drier climate is simply going to be the new normal and to improve the local water supply, the city needs to continue its efforts to create stormwater capture systems.

In a typical year, LA sees about 100 billion gallons of water runoff into rivers and coastal waters, and yet LA imports more than 60% of our water from the Colorado River and Owens Valley. Not very much of LA’s water supply comes from local rains. However, the city is making efforts to change that.

LA Waterkeeper has been successful in getting stormwater capture projects implemented throughout LA for several years. In 2018, they were instrumental in getting Measure W, otherwise known as the Safe Clean Water Program, passed with 70% of the vote. The program allocates $280 million per year for multi-benefit stormwater projects throughout the county.

“One of the things I like to say about urban stormwater runoff is that it really is death by 1,000 cuts,” Reznik said. “It’s all the hardscape we build; it’s what flows off of every road and every parking lot. I think the Safe Clean Water Program is doing a good job of making sure money is going countywide, because it is going to take a regional approach.

“If urban stormwater runoff is death by 1,000 cuts, we’re going to solve it with 1,000 different solutions.”

Reznik explained that the ecosystem in LA makes collecting stormwater and local rains more difficult because the city was built to get rid of water as fast as possible. It’s not just that LA needs more stormwater capture projects, but it also needs to create more greenspaces so rain and runoff have the opportunity to soak through the soil into the groundwater. With rivers and waterways encased in concrete, water hardly has the opportunity to touch the soil.

On average, 100 million gallons of water a day run off into the ocean, and much of it is very toxic. But when that runoff is captured and allowed to percolate through the soil into the water table, that natural process helps alleviate some of that toxicity. That is why combining green spaces with stormwater capture systems is so important, Reznik emphasized

Last year, through stormwater capture projects, the city collected 33 billion gallons of water. Reznik said this is still only about 8% of the water the county consumes in a given year. One silver lining Reznik said he hopes will come from some of the destruction these recent storms have caused is an urgency to redouble our efforts to implement effective and sustainable stormwater capture systems throughout Los Angeles and the state.

The Department of Water Resources in Sacramento appears to agree with Reznik, because it and the State Water Resources Control Board decided to fasttrack efforts to capture flood waters in response to the latest storms on Jan. 13.

“The state is capturing more water supply by accelerating groundwater recharge permitting and projects that mitigate the impacts of prolonged drought and support long-term sustainable groundwater management,” Department of Water Resources Director Karla Nemeth said. “Projects that capture available precipitation, stormwater or floodwaters to recharge depleted groundwater basins need to be ready to capture high flows when they are available during each wet season.”

It remains to be seen how this year’s winter will impact the water supply in Los Angeles County. According to the Department of Water Resources, the statewide snowpack was 174% of average totals as of Jan. 3, but data released by the U.S. Drought Monitor on Jan. 12 showed the metropolitan area of Los Angeles in “moderate drought,” with some areas of the county in “severe drought.”

“These storms obviously had a huge impact on our communities. They are going to help some of our drought with improvements to snowpack, but we can’t let our foot off the gas. Think of what we could be doing if we were doubling or tripling (our stormwater capture) and all the benefits that would provide our local communities,” Reznik said.

LAPD releases body camera footage of 3 fatal incidents

Amid increased public interest regarding recent fatalities, the LAPD released body camera footage of three incidents in the first week of January that resulted in civilian deaths. In a news conference on Jan. 11 to address these events, LAPD Chief Michel Moore called into question the lack of mental health resources involved in each of the three incidents.

“Each of these instances resulted in a tragic loss of life. At this point, it appears to involve individuals experiencing mental health crises and/or being under the influence of narcotics and other substances,” Moore said.

“These cases are a stark reminder of the ongoing mental health struggle for many people in our community throughout the city of Los Angeles. It’s important as a department in the city we continue to work together to find more effective solutions to the public health crisis caused by untreated and under-treated individuals involving substance abuse and mental health.”

Despite officers receiving both implicit and explicit indications that these three individuals were experiencing mental health issues, Moore said officers never called LAPD’s Mental Health Evaluation Units into action.

The first body camera footage released involved Takar Smith, 46, a father of six who was killed by officer gunfire on Jan. 2. in Westlake. Police responded to a call from Smith’s wife, who told officers he was violating a restraining order by entering her home and refusing to leave. She explicitly told the operators Smith had schizophrenia and had not been taking his medication.

In the body camera footage, Smith appears to resist the officers before he enters the kitchen and grabs a large knife. Officers then tased Smith until he was on his knees. It’s then that Smith grabbed the knife again and multiple shots were fired. Smith was pronounced dead at the scene.

“I have concerns relative to the communications operator who took information from this victim regarding the actions of Mr. Smith, as well as the actions of our officers and supervisors not acting on information regarding this individual’s prior mental health issues or concurrent mental health issues,” Moore said.

The second incident occurred on Jan. 3 in Venice Beach after officers subdued Keenan Darnell Anderson, a 31-year-old schoolteacher. Anderson was stopped by police at what they described as a “felony hit and run.” It is unclear what part Anderson played in the car collision, but the LAPD asserts Anderson was attempting to get into a car that was not his without permission.

The officer on the scene subdued Anderson and waited seven minutes for backup to arrive. While waiting, Anderson became agitated that he was out of public view and fled across the street. This resulted in several officers using their body weight to subdue Anderson. In the struggle, he was tased six times for five seconds each. Moore said that in his view, it is “unclear what role the visible struggle with the officers and the taser played in his unfortunate death.”

In the video, Anderson can be heard yelling for help and saying, “They’re trying to George Floyd me.” It was later revealed that Anderson was the cousin of prominent Black Lives Matter founder Pattrise Cullors. Later, on Jan. 14, friends and family gathered in Venice for a vigil in remembrance of Anderson.

The third incident also took place on Jan. 3 in South Los Angeles as officers responded to reports of a man throwing objects off a building at a passing vehicle. When the driver pulled over, the man, Oscar Sanchez, 35, threatened him with a knife. After arriving at the scene, the victim directed officers to a nearby abandoned residence where Sanchez reportedly was located and armed with a makeshift spear and metal chain.

Officers located Sanchez on the second-story landing of the building. Officers attempted to de-escalate the situation in English and Spanish but were unsuccessful. Ultimately, Sanchez was shot on scene and was pronounced dead after being transported to a hospital.

Last year, there were 31 shootings in Los Angeles and six in-custody deaths. In 2023, there have been three in-custody deaths so far. Some have already placed the blame for these deaths at the feet of Moore, using these incidents as evidence to persuade Mayor Karen Bass to block the reappointment of Moore to a second term as chief of police.

Bass also spoke up about the footage, calling the tapes “deeply disturbing.”

“Especially as a former health care professional, I am deeply troubled that mental health experts were not called in, even when there was a documented history of past mental health crisis,” Bass said in a statement. “When there is no immediate risk to others, law enforcement must not be the first responder when someone is experiencing a mental health crisis. I believe officers and Angelenos agree on this.”

At this time, all three of these incidents involve an ongoing investigation. No officers were injured in any of these events, and the LAPD will be entering into investigations on policy and officer conduct.

Pharos Athletic Club expands reach to Idyllwild

Before opening the first Pharos Athletic Club in Echo Park, co-owner Pieter Vodden worked for Warner Bros., training actors for movies and creating realistic gym movie sets.

He parlayed those experiences into his 22,000-square-foot gym, complete with class studios; an open cardio room; fuel bar and in-house nutrition; recovery services; private sessions; and 11 athletic programs featuring yoga, conditioning, bodybuilding, boxing, muay thai, HIIT and Pilates.

The athletic club recently expanded, opening its second, 3,500-square-foot facility in Idyllwild this past December. The new gym features the same programming and equipment as the original Echo Park location.

Following the pandemic, owners Vodden and Emylee Covell, along with many other young families, moved to Idyllwild in 2020. At the time, there was no gym in the town, so the couple decided to open their own.

“There was definitely a market for it. A lot of people have moved (to Idyllwild) in recent years,” Vodden said.

“People were concerned with fitness and their health, and we could feel that there was a real demand for a gym.”

A Palm Springs facility is slated to open later this year.

When founders Covell, Vodden, Katherine Haker and Jeff Scarborough opened the gym in 2017, their goal was to create an open, sunlit space, in direct contrast to many of the classically dark and dingy gyms of the past.

“We built a pretty incredible space; it’s both aesthetically pleasing and a

very welcoming space — bright and spacious,” Vodden said.

“(We wanted to include) lots of windows, light and bright colors. It was intended to be everything you would need to quickly get someone in great shape. So, a mixture of different disciplines, including resistance training, cardiovascular work, boxing and different elements. So, if I ever had an actor to train for a movie, I could do it in the best space possible. And, of course, that then translates to general populations.”

Since 2017, the gym has grown immensely. Initially, it was just Vodden, Covell and Scarborough teaching classes and running operations. Now, they have grown to 40 employees and 700 members. But despite this, Vodden iterated, “it’s still a mom-and-pop-type shop. We’re a small, family-owned business and try to keep it that way. … We like to keep things local and friendly and try and do as much for the community as possible.”

During the pandemic, the gym was moved outside into two separate car parks each morning and back in at the end of the day so that clients could keep training. “

People appreciated the efforts we made to keep things going. We realized during the pandemic that the most important thing about the gym is social connection and mental health,” Vodden explained. “People don’t just go to the gym for the weights. They go to the gym to see and meet people and to rise to the energy of those around them.”

When the gym was shuttered during COVID-19, Pharos Athletic Club rented and sold equipment to clients to work out at home and created online programming. Vodden said they did “everything we could to engage with mem-

bers we did to keep it going. And again, I think people just probably appreciated that.”

The triannual, six-week Limitless Challenge started Jan. 16, accessible to members and nonmembers either in the gym or remotely. The program provides support with coaching and check-ins, helping challengers stay motivated, consistent and educated throughout the process.

Participants will have access to all Pharos programming and one-on-one coaching to help navigate sessions and nutrition. For those who commit fully, prizes will be awarded based on overall participation.

“The purpose of the limitless challenge is to educate and help build healthy habits. So, it’s not just a weight loss and muscle gain challenge. We try and help people through nutrition, journaling, workouts, programming and coaching. We try to give them the tools they need to live a long healthy, successful, fitness life.

“That awareness alone allows you to focus, commit, and comprehend the change that happens because everything is written down and recorded. It’s a very transformative process, physically, because people always lose fat and gain muscle, but also the psychological aspect of ‘I now comprehend, I understand everything that I need to do to feel and look this way.’ … It’s gratifying for us to be able to help people in that way.”

The physical gathering space of a gym is just as important as the weights and exercises. Vodden explained that a gym is “a place not just to get fit, but to commune, converse and connect with people.

“We’ve always tried to lower the barrier to entry and welcome everybody and not be single-minded but be open to everybody and new ideas and concepts.”

Pharos Athletic Club in Echo Park 1316 Glendale Boulevard, Los Angeles 213-908-7141, jointhepac.fit

Pizza City Fest LA unveils inaugural event at LA Live

Angeles is as thrilling as it sounds — a two-day smorgasbord featuring nearly 40 of Southern California’s best pizzaiolos hailing from Santa Barbara to San Diego, demos and panel discussions to celebrate America’s favorite pie (no, not apple). The pizza featured at the event will mirror Southern California’s and Los Angeles’ diversity, with pies ranging from Sicilian, artisan, Detroit and “LA style.”

Pizza City Fest LA will hold its inaugural Los Angeles event at LA Live in Downtown on Saturday, April 29, and Sunday, April 30.

The festival was created in Chicago last year by 13-time James Beard Award-winning podcaster and food journalist Steve Dolinsky, who literally wrote the book on pizza — two, in fact — and is currently “The Food Guy” at NBC 5 Chicago.

“I’ve seen the LA pizza scene explode

recently, having visited about 60 places while researching over the past year,” Dolinsky said in a statement.

“But with so much great pizza spread out from Santa Barbara to San Diego, there needed to be a way to highlight these artisans all in one place. Not only will we do that, but we’ll also bring together some of the most talented local pizza pros to share their knowledge and expertise with home cooks.”

The festival’s lineup includes iconic pizzerias like Brooklyn Ave. Pizza Co. in Boyle Heights, DoubleZero in Venice, LaSorted’s in Silver Lake, Pi’ LA in DTLA, Pizzana in Brentwood, and Slice & Pint in El Segundo, among others.

Those who are interested in making their own perfect pie can drop into expert panel discussions and demonstrations: “The Dough Whisperers,” “Perfect Pan Pizza at Home” and “How to Make Great Pizza at Home.” Panels will also discuss what makes an “LA pizza” and how to run a pizza brand.

Pizza City Fest LA

WHEN: Noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 29, to Sunday, April 30

WHERE: LA Live Event Deck, 1005 Chick Hearn Court, Los Angeles COST: Tickets start at $95

INFO: pizzacityfest.com

DT ARTS & CULTURE

Chinatown welcomes back its Lunar New Year Golden Dragon Parade

In honor of the Lunar New Year of the Rabbit, celebrated by more than a billion people worldwide and over 1.5 million in Southern California, many of whom are of Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese descent, Chinatown will host its 124th annual Golden Dragon Parade and New Year Festival.

Among many, the rabbit is considered the luckiest animal in the Chinese zodiac, and with the resurgence of the Golden Dragon Parade since 2020, it appears to be a lucky year indeed.

In 2020, with the onslaught of the pandemic and rampant Asian American discrimination, most stayed away from the celebration. Since then, the parade has been on hold until this year.

“The Lunar New Year is the largest holiday in Chinese culture, and it’s been celebrated for thousands of years. Anywhere around the world where there are Chinese people, you will find Chinese New Year celebrations,” said Xiayi Shirley Zhang, special project coordinator for the Chinatown Business Improvement

District. “Ever since there’s been a Chinese community in LA, the Chinese New Year has been celebrated in Los Angeles. The Golden Dragon Parade has been celebrated since the end of the 19th century. So even before we had a Chinatown, we were celebrating Chinese New Year.”

The New Year Festival, organized by the Chinatown Business Improvement District, will be held from noon to 6 p.m. in Chinatown’s historic Central Plaza. Coinciding with the festival, the Golden Dragon Parade, put on by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, will go from 1 to 4 p.m., starting at Hill and Ord streets and concluding at Broadway and Cesar Chavez. The festival and parade are slated to draw crowds upwards of 100,000.

The three-hour parade will feature floats, marching bands, music, local business leaders, government dignitaries, cultural groups and dance troupes, each performing dragon and lion dances traditionally used to drive away evil spirits and bring good luck and strength during the new year. The parade will conclude with a firecracker display.

Paradegoers are welcome to arrive ear-

lier to watch the floats line up before the parade. Grandstand tickets are available for purchase for those who would like a seated view of the parade.

Coinciding with the parade, the festival in Chinatown’s Central Plaza will host

Chinese artisans displaying various traditional Chinese art forms, like seal carving and calligraphy. Hong Kong-based artist Jane M. Li will also facilitate a small cal-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 13

DT ARTS & CULTURE

LA Plaza Cocina exhibition honors cacao’s past and present

Chocolate, the beloved spawn of the cacao bean, is one of the most popular and widespread confections in the world. The global chocolate industry is reportedly worth over $127 billion today.

Though chocolate has been mass-produced and international distributed since the mid-19th century, the roots of cacao cultivation can be traced back thousands of years to the Olmec civilization of Southern Mexico, who fermented, roasted and ground the beans into a bitter drink.

“It was one of the greatest gifts of Mexico to the world,” educator, writer and cook Maité Goméz-Rejon said.

Unearthing the ancient history of cacao and following its footsteps to the modern world, Goméz-Rejon and co-curator Ximena Martin, director of programming and culinary arts at LA Plaza de Cultura y Arts, unveiled the “Legacy of Cacao” exhibition at LA Plaza Cocina in Downtown Los Angeles.

“The story is about … celebrating Indigenous ingredients and what that means,” Martin described. “If you go into choco-

late, Africa is a big provider, all these other folks are providing the chocolate. But even though that happens, what we try to celebrate is that, yes, it started Mexico. Yes, it went to Europe. It was transformed in so many different ways, but we bring the story

back to LA Cocina about celebrating Mexican chocolate.”

During the pandemic, Martin came across food and beverage photographer Shava Cueva’s book “Bebidas de Oaxaca” and felt that his images could enhance the storytell-

ing around the mythic history of cacao.

“With beautiful photography, (images) can tell a lot,” Martin said. “That helped tie it all together.”

Accompanying the photographs, the exhibition, which will be on display until Sunday, April 30, features a Mayan sculpture and chocolate vessel dating back to 900 A.D., a collection of ancient drinks and recipes still used today, a molinillo used to create foam for hot chocolates, a metate used for grinding, a set of cacao pods and beans showing the cultivation process, and a timeline recounting the history of cacao from its use as currency and consumption in Mexico to its spread throughout Europe after being brought to Spain.

There is also a tiendita with hot chocolate and artisan chocolate bars from Mexico, circling back to the origins of chocolate after a journey around the world.

“A lot of these drinks that have ancient roots, some of them have sugar, some of them have rice,” Goméz-Rejon explained. “We live in such a global world that ingredients (come) from all over, basically from everywhere.”

“I think that’s what makes Mexican cuisine so beautiful,” Martin added. “There’re Indigenous beginnings, but then all the different folks that came into Mexico, all the different flavorings … this combination makes each (creation) unique and different at the same time. It’s like all the best worlds collide to make this beautiful cup of chocolate in various ways.”

One of the main challenges for Goméz-Rejon and Martin was finding out how to tell a story that spans thousands of years and myriad cultures within the walls of the exhibit space. They decided to focus on contemporary drinks in Mexico that have ancient roots and were made by women, who traditionally roasted, peeled and ground the cacao to make chocolate while the men harvested and processed the beans.

“Right before the holidays, we did a history of chocolate class, and we walked through the exhibition and then we had a tejate maker and her daughter from Oaxaca,” Goméz-Rejon recalled.

“In the past, our regular public programs

have always closed with Maité doing her history walkthrough of chocolate and doing a tasting of Aztec chocolate … to compare and contrast, this was then, this is now,” Martin said. “For public programs this year, it was even more intense because we had a formal walkthrough, a space to go through and an actual presentation of tejate, which is a very unique experience, so beautiful that we’re going to bring it back.”

On Thursday, April 20, Oaxacan tejate specialist Soledad Lopez will be invited to LA Plaza Cocina for another presentation on the pre-Hispanic drink that originated from Oaxaca and is made with maize, cacao and mamey.

“These stories and these drinks can only continue if people talk about them and if people continue making them,” Goméz-Rejon said. “(I’ve learned) about so many different drinks (and) how alive the past is in Mexico today, … how deeply rooted they are, and how important it is to celebrate it and for people to continue to make them so that these beverages don’t get lost.”

“Legacy of Cacao” at LA Plaza Cocina

WHERE: LA Plaza Village, 555 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles

WHEN: On display until Sunday, April 30

COST: Free admission

INFO: lapca.org

Los Angeles Best Advertising Source

CHINATOWN WELCOMES BACK ITS LUNAR NEW YEAR GOLDEN DRAGON PARADE, 11

ligraphy workshop. During the festival, Chinatown businesses will all be open for those who want to pick up New Year’s gifts.

A large part of the New Year festival is the food. Noodles, dumplings and rice cakes are all eaten to promote health and fortune in the coming year. The celebration will include a street food corner selling traditional Chinese snacks, and several Chinatown restaurants will produce special menu items.

Both the parade and festival are free of

charge and open to the public. Patrons are encouraged to take public transportation (like the LA Metro Gold Line) or ride-sharing services to the event due to street closures at 10 a.m.

“We’re having a big party and just want to invite the whole block,” Zhang concluded. “We want to share our culture. We want to share our joy, and we really enjoy seeing Angelenos of all backgrounds having such a great time in Chinatown celebrating this special holiday.”

124th Golden Dragon Parade

WHEN: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28

WHERE: The parade route starts at 717 N. Hill Street, Los Angeles COST: Free to the public, grandstand admission starts at $40 INFO: lachinesechamber.org

Chinatown’s Chinese New Year Festival

WHEN: Noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28

WHERE: Chinatown Central Plaza, 943 N. Broadway, Los Angeles

COST: Free to the public

INFO: chinatownla.com

No more waiting: Ahnert brings 1st solo show to Helford DT ARTS

Toronto-based artist Richard

will present his first solo show of the year, “While We Wait,” at the Corey Helford Gallery in Downtown LA on Saturday, Jan. 28.

The exhibition kicks off with a free opening reception from 7 to 11 p.m. Jan. 28 in Gallery 3. It remains on view until Saturday, March 4.

True to the show’s title, each of Ahnert’s works will feature anthropomorphized animals, each in the process of waiting. Ahnert’s juxtaposition of animals against human backdrops comes through in paintings like “Unusual Table,” which has a bear cub waiting for food in a diner booth, or “Rocketman,” showing a panda in a kiddie rocket waiting for a ride to begin.

Ahnert said the scenes in his paintings

are often snapshots of human stories but that he replaces people with animals because he finds them more universally relatable. Upon reflection, he said he wondered if that is the quality that makes his work so appealing to galleries and collectors.

“Painting portraits, people can often see and relate to those characters, but not in the same way when they’re animals,” Ahnert said. “A lot of people will say ‘That reminds me of my boy’ or ‘That reminds me of my grandfather’ — and it’s irrelevant what sex, race or age you might be, (they) can relate to that character as if it was me painting actual people.”

Ahnert continued to say he thinks this reaction comes naturally, because from birth the media and literature we consume, from cartoons to picture books, is often loosely based around animals. But

Ahnert’s works are far from cartoons or picture books. In each painting, he combines oil-brushed realism with whimsical compositions that communicate emotion and intention, especially in the animal’s eyes.

Ahnert has been exhibiting his work since 2010 and has shown in galleries in both the United States and Canada. This will be his first solo exhibition at the Corey Helford Gallery. Each painting on view for “While We Wait” Ahnert created especially for this show. While Ahnert said he is sad he won’t be able to attend the opening in person, he is interested to see the re -

action Californians have to his woodland animals.

At the end of the day, though, Ahnert said he just hopes every person who visits his show leaves with a smile on their face. To him that’s what his paintings are all about.

“(My paintings) are supposed to be something that warms your cockles,” Ahnert said. “Go in; enjoy it. Try to develop some of the stories in your head that you see are happening in each piece or outside the borders of the painting. You can choose your own adventure. They are supposed to make people smile. That’s it.”

“While We Wait” Opening Reception

WHEN: 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28

WHERE: 571 S. Anderson Street, Los Angeles

COST: Free

INFO: coreyhelfordgallery.com

JANM awarded over $5.4M in funding

The Japanese American National Museum received over $5.4 million in funding from 23 major foundations, corporate agencies and government resources on Jan. 11.

“JANM is a pioneer in serving diverse communities of color,” said Ann Burroughs, president and chief executive officer. “We are deeply grateful for this support which enables us to provide programming that amplifies the unique lessons of Japanese American history, to educate future generations about the experiences of Japanese Americans, to combat rising divisiveness and discrimination, and to shape a future based on social justice and a vibrant culture of democracy.”

Established in 1985, JANM promotes the appreciation and understanding of the Japanese and Asian American experience. Located in the historic district of Little Tokyo, the museum stands on the site where Japanese Americans were processed before being incarcerated throughout the country during WWII. Today, the building serves as both a traditional museum and a cultural center for Japanese Americans to explore their heritage and culture.

The Freeman Foundation awarded $50,000 to create two new interactive video displays capable of educating visitors by responding to their questions. The two displays will feature Ms. Mary Murakami, a Topaz detainee, and Dr. Hoshizaki, a Heart Mountain detainee.

The Japanese American Confinement Sites grant program awarded JANM $175,903 to create another experimental exhibition on what food was like during Japanese incarceration.

The exhibition, titled “Eating Together: Food in Japanese America,” will show how detainees remembered their food experiences through photographs, artifacts, multimedia and interviews. They also donated an additional $327,974 to catalog and digitize the “Preserving America’s Community Treasures (PACT): The Toyo Miyatake Collection” that documents wartime incarceration.

The Terra Foundation also awarded the museum $150,000 for their upcoming traveling exhibition that explores the legacy of pre-WWII Japanese Americans in California and what it means to be their descendants. The exhibition will feature three women artists entitled “Pictures of Belonging: Miki Hayakawa, Hisako Hibi,

and Miné Okubo.”

Since JANM opened to the public in 1992, the museum has curated over 70 onsite exhibitions and 17 traveling exhibitions at prominent locations from Ellis Island to international museums in Japan and South America.

In this round of funding, the National Endowment of the Arts awarded $40,000 to support JANM’s upcoming exhibition “Glenn Kaino: Fox and Stork,” for which artist Glenn Kaino will create a new monumental artwork inspired by the Japanese fable of the fox and the stork. The Institute of Museum and Library Services also awarded JANM $105,787 to continue the preservation of JANM’s collection of Henry Sugimoto’s original artworks.

The National Endowment for the Humanities allocated $75,000 to support the upcoming exhibition, “Cruising J-Town: Nikkei Car Culture in Southern California.”

This grant will allow JANM to produce a companion documentary and book to accompany the exhibition that will focus on the Nikkei relationship with cars and automotives from the 1900s to the present.

JANM will also make a 60-minute documentary film titled “Nobouku Miyamoto: Not Yo’ Butterfly” with $75,000 funded by the Henri & Tomoye Takahashi Charitable Foundation. The documentary will be about the life of Nobuku Miyamoto and their life.

In addition to exhibitions and documentaries, JAMN also curates extensive educational programs for school visits and other occasions. The Nissan Foundation ($35,000), The Dwight Stuart Youth Foundation ($55,000), MUFG ($60,000) and Toyota Motor North America ($100,000) all contributed to JANM’s educational programming and educational

department.

Donating to JANM’s general operations are the Perenchino Foundation ($2.55 million), the Aratani Foundation ($950,000) and Ralph M. Parson’s Foundation ($100,000). The Ahmanson Foundation also donated $416,000 to support capital renovations in the museum’s main building and in the Historic Building that was formerly the Nishi Hongwanji Bud -

dhist Temple.

This funding will allow the Japanese American National Museum to continue its work of preserving the heritage of Japanese Americans and their descendants. The museum is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday to Sunday.

Admissions is free every third Thursday of the month and from 5 to 8 p.m.

Japanese American National Museum

WHERE: 100 N. Central Avenue, Los Angeles

WHEN: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday to Sunday; noon to 8 p.m. Thursday

COST: $16 for adults; $9 for seniors, youth and students; free for children under 5

INFO: janm.org

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