luckygrrr
westernartgirlTorrance Families, Anti-Violence Group to Make a Statement at ¡Vivan los Muertos!
One of the altars that is scheduled to be on display in front of the Autry at this month’s ¡Vivan los Muertos! celebration commemorates the shooting death of a young girl — and the rebirth of a community. “Those bullets were not for her,” said Blanca Mendoza, a mother and resident of the low-income, racially diverse … Read more
Sandy Torres Finds Escaramuza Both a Tough and Ladylike Way to Do Rodeo
Whenever there’s a horse or two in a story, you know there’s going to be a lot of pageantry — brave knights, mighty steeds, legendary riders, all that stuff. But even with those expectations, the film Escaramuza: Riding From the Heart, premiering at the Autry on Sunday, Sept. 30 and debuting on PBS on Oct. … Read more
A Cinco de Mayo Ditty
Music has always been part of the festivities in the 150 years that Cinco de Mayo has been celebrated in Southern California. But among the archives at the Autry is a popular song that could have been intoned at that first known pachanga to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, in May 1862 in Columbia, CA, not … Read more
As American as July 4th — on May 5th
It’s true that Cinco de Mayo is more popular and more celebrated in California than in Mexico, where the Battle of Puebla that it commemorates actually took place. But contrary to popular belief, that is not because of U.S. Latinos’ flimsy grasp of history, says David Hayes-Bautista. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Hayes-Bautista, an … Read more
Tere Romo and a Seven-Year Quest for Art Along the Hyphen
Updated Jan. 10, 2012 — As much as Domingo Ulloa’s painting Braceros has become a symbol and one of the most admired works in the Autry’s current exhibition Art Along the Hyphen: The Mexican-American Generation, there was a time when its very existence was little more than a theory. The large canvas, which depicts a … Read more
An Interview with Louie Perez of Los Lobos: Evangeline’s Long Road
Louie Perez gets a little flummoxed when he reflects on his partnership with fellow Los Lobos bandmate David Hidalgo. “I’ve been writing songs with David and the band for forty years!” he said. “That’s kind of scary.” Perez chatted with me ahead of the Autry’s presentation this week of Evangeline, The Queen of Make-Believe, an … Read more
Dora De Larios: Sculpting a Mexican-American Identity
Most days, you can find Dora De Larios at her happiest in her Venice studio, surrounded by vases, plates, plaques, sculptures and even giant totems, all of her own making, in various states of completion, and made from stoneware and a variety of other materials. De Larios, one of the six artists featured in the … Read more
George Sanchez: Disentangling Mexican-American Identity
George Sanchez believes those who try to “protect” their culture from “attack” or “invasion” — as immigration restrictionists do today and as Chicano Power warriors tried to do in the sixties and seventies — are like a thirsty man trying to catch water with a sieve. In other words, they fight a losing battle. Sanchez, … Read more
LA Plaza Opens a Space for Mexican-American History and Culture in Los Angeles
Given that almost anywhere you go in Los Angeles, you’re likely to encounter some aspect of its Mexican origins, on some level it seems almost redundant to have a museum dedicated to L.A.’s Mexican and Mexican-American history, culture and art. On the other hand, not to have one is unthinkable. The latest effort to rectify … Read more
