Could an Olvera Street type attraction work in Santa Ana?
Why doesn’t Santa Ana promote Latino culture the way Los Angeles does with their very successful Olvera Street?
In 1810, year of the commencement of the war of Mexican Independence (1810–1821), Jose Antonio Yorba, a sergeant of the Spanish army, was granted land that he called Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana. Yorba’s rancho included the lands where the cities of Olive, Orange, Irvine,Yorba Linda, Villa Park, Santa Ana, Tustin, Costa Mesa and unincorporated El Modena, and Santa Ana Heights, are today. This rancho was the only land grant in Orange County granted under Spanish Rule. (Wikipedia).
Latinos have been here for generations. But our city leaders act like anything Latino is radioactive. Can we do something similar in Santa Ana despite our failed city leaders?
“Olvera Street is the birthplace of the City of Los Angeles, otherwise known as El Pueblo Historic Monument. The colorful village features 27 historic buildings with a traditional Mexican style plaza area. Wander around the marketplace and shop for souvenirs including handcrafted Mexican wares typical of old Mexico,” according to the Olvera Street website.
The real shame is that we COULD have gone with an Olvera Street type concept years ago, likely to huge success, but Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido went the gentrification route instead with the Artists Village. I don’t think anyone can argue that the Artists Village has been a huge success, as it hasn’t.
But Olvera Street has been quite a success indeed. Here is how Wikipedia sums it up:
In the midst of Downtown industrialization, Olvera Street is a quaint, colorized, and non-confrontational environment. Olvera Street is successful in depicting the quaintness of Mexican culture. The Avila Adobe aside, however, the buildings on the street date from at least a hundred years after the founding of the city in 1781, and have little if any authentic association with the city’s founding, or with its former status as a Spanish, then Mexican outpost. Olvera is really a named alley, unusual in Los Angeles, rather than a true street. This can be seen from the fact that most of the buildings originally had their main entrances and addresses on the adjacent and parallel Main and Los Angeles Streets. In addition, the frontages along Olvera Street are uneven, as is typical with alleys.
As a tourist attraction, Olvera Street is a living museum paying homage to a romantic vision of old Mexico. The exterior facades of the brick buildings enclosing Olvera Street and on the small vendor stands lining its center are colorful piñatas, hanging puppets in white peasant garb, Mexican pottery, serapes, mounted bull horns, oversized sombreros, and a life-size stuffed donkey. Perhaps the single most widespread image of this version of old Mexico is the painting or ceramic statue of the Mexican campesino reclining against a giant saguaro cactus. Olvera Street attracts almost two million visitors per year.
Santa Ana could do this even better by including cultures from throughout Central and South America.
Consider the huge crowds that show up to the Orange Street Fair every year. Imagine what we could do in our downtown area with Latino-flavored restaurants, vendors, and entertainment including mariachi music, boxing and lucha libre? It would be awesome!
Art- that sounds like a good idea, it could be a great place to show the best of the latino culture, food, and history. Above all it could be profitable! In the outside chance you can get past the wide web of random and unnecessary web of government intervention, and regulation. You must make it about the culture, the people and appreciation, not about politics.
Bigmarkod,
I am having lunch on Tuesday with two local Latino businessmen who could make this happen. Each has over 25 years experience in our downtown area.
Cross your fingers! This may take years to realize but I think it would be a game changer for Santa Ana.
Sounds like a great idea, better than the last plan they had. Best of luck.
Good luck Art!
Just remember, keep it cultural and not poitical… They will lose the visitors they are looking for, if they start selling “che” T shirts!
post 4 if a che shirt is out there they should burn it like the scum he was .
#5,
I think Che shirts would actually sell very well. Santa Ana is a majority Democratic city – and we are also Orange County’s youngest city.
Che is a marketing phenom, whatever you may think of him.
Besides, I expect Obama will make peace with Cuba within the next couple of years.
Art I couldn’t agree with you more. We the Latino people will have changed the face of Santa Ana and through a project like this we can show the great Orange County area the best of our culture, food, and music. Imagine being able to hear the very best of Mariachi Music while dining on the best Mexican food and then catching an up and coming Latino comic all within the downtown 4th Street/Artists Villiage/Train Station district. With crime increasing South of the Border more and more tourists are going to be looking for an authintic Mexican experience closer to home. I imagine we could bring cruise ship visiters from Long Beach and San Pedro to dine in S.A. and spend a night or two going to see Disneyland. Anaheim and Orange have really missed a golden opportunity by not doing this in the DownTown Disney and Orange Plaza Area. We can now make Santa Ana a truely international experience. Can you imagine what this will do to bring good jobs to the city and improve our schools? Art, when this is said and done, you may be credited for turning around a city that was once thought to be a lost cause. Tom Lutz brought the Arts to Santa Ana, and I’m glad we gave that idea a try but…Now that we see the Modern Arts movement can’t make it here, let’s embrace our cultural past which is our hope for a better future! Do you think we have the political support for such change?
#7,
I think folks have been waiting for something visionary to embrace. There has been so little in the way of vision coming out of City Hall. It is time for the people of this city to make our own vision – what we will need now is to generate the political will to make this happen.
I believe we have a lot of talented people in town. Getting them on the same page will be the challenge…
Promoting Latino culture is more like exploiting Latino culture on Olvera Street. Be careful what you ask for.
Good Luck, Art: It sounds like it might have promise…..
Maybe you might be able to convince Gustavo Arellano to help you on this one….a piece in OC Weekly promoting the notion of the idea would be fantastic…
Art, the Che shirt is the point! Weed would sell too, but what are you trying to do? Are you trying to bring in people/ families from all around the county, region, Country? To appreciate your culture and make some money? Or do you want to pander to the “wanna be” leftists who know nothing about that murderous thug, who killed thousands and thousands of people and imposed a marxist dictatorship on the people of Cuba??? Because if you do the, “white boys” will come once, be offended, leave, and you have just reinforced the stereotypes of latinos, while teaching and showing , nothing of your culture. That is my point
I think folks have been waiting for something visionary to embrace. There has been so little in the way of vision coming out of City Hall
Visionary as long as it comes out of the mouth of a latino. Did i not say the same thing, and i was called a racist??
I completely agree with #7, bring the communities together with music and food and an invitation!!
And make education the #1 priority, that is brought home with intense campigning to increase parent envolvment.
Be a city of prosperity and exchange, instead of a city of segregation and pity!.
Did anyone check out the Jaranero festival yesterday downtown?!? it was fantastic!! Santa Ana is well on it’s way thanks to groups such as El Centro Cultural de Mexico. We just need to support them. Can’t wait for the New Santa Ana blog…and i hope it does just that!!
I agree with Olmec Nation and this may be our last chance to save Santa Ana. Too bad we wasted so many years with white “leaders” trying to turn Santa Ana into Pasadena. As they found out, we ain’t Pasadena and that’s ok. I agree it’s time to stop being embarased for being a Mexican city and instead embrace our Mexican culture and bring even more of it to Santa Ana. Instead of being ashamed of seeing Mexican flags and Signs in Spanish, lets play to our strength and double our efforts to make this a Mexican cultural hub with all the fun and culture of Mexico BUT with a top police and fire service and really make education first. As to Tom Lutz I applaud the work he did in his time but those days are longgggg gone. (Too bad we let that guy Dan Cribbs waste so much of our money on useless arts projects) The most important step will be to hire a Latino City Manager when Reams retires who shares our Latino heritage and vision. We need to purge the city staff of people white people who live in high end neighborhoods but care nothing about Santa Ana.
LOVE THE IDEA!!! Used to live about 30 min. from Olvera Street decades ago and we went there half a dozen times a year. Great revenue for the city as well as a really nice place to take the family, or just spend time with a friend. Good Luck
Too bad we wasted so many years with white “leaders” trying to turn Santa Ana into Pasadena. As they found out, we ain’t Pasadena and that’s ok. I agree it’s time to stop being embarased for being a Mexican city and instead embrace our Mexican culture and bring even more of it to Santa Ana.
I think another Guy said the Same thing about Germany, N.Ireland, Bosnia, take the white word out and put in Jew, Catholic, Muslim.
Creepy right!!
Instead of embracing your Mexican culture, embrace your American culture and combine it with your heritage!
Maybe you should stop worrying about getting rid of people that add revenue to Santa Ana and purge your gang members’. YOU MISSIES OR MR. Might as well call yourself a “latino mobster”! how do you know all whites don’t care about the city. their children are not the ones hanging around the streets in gang!. Bring more of what?? the Mexican culture, “its American”, not Mexico and God help us all if it was. We would all be heading North, whites, blacks, Asians, Hispanic’s.
If you learn one thing from the post learn that your own may betray you faster and easier than anyone, “cause you dont expect it”.
Stop division and embrace unity of what makes this country great immigrants with vision, not one race or culture.
If you want one Mexican culture and one race, go back to Mexico! You are in the wrong country!.
It was once un-american to be Irish decent, once unamerican to be Polish decent, once un american to be anything but from Britain or France. Once un- american to be Black.
We now all embrace and enjoy aspects of all the various backgrounds that we all come from.
When I came here from Ohio many years ago, I had never met a person who had a background much different than mine.
I could have hide out of fear of people who had different background and cultures. I would have remained as I was and not have enjoyed learning about many different ways and cultures.
It takes time for each new generation of to adjust and become a part of. Those who are here also need to embrace new cultures and ideas. We blend in the best over time and that is what makes us a great country.
post 11 right on the mark . the thought of pedroza thinking che shirts are cool . hey lets sell kkk shirts , lets sell minutemen shirts too most of these clows that carry his image around have no clue who this scumbag was but it does not surprise me what pedroza said when does dignity and class win over money . mark a great post .
Michelle,
I thought you lived in Orange?
It was never un-American to be an immigrant, this country was founded and build by immigrants!.
It is un-American, to be a city of illegal immigrants that have had children in this country that are a sub-culture of their parents country. It is un-American for immigrants to be getting public assistance and refusing to speak the language that binds all immigrants in this country together”English”. No immigrant population in this country has relied so much on Social Welfare.
That is what is unAmeican!.
I could have hide out of fear of people who had different background and cultures. I would have remained as I was and not have enjoyed learning about many different ways and cultures.
Sounds like Santa Ana to me!
I do live in Orange!
I dunno, Art. The “Olvera Street” idea sounds kind of artificial for Santa Ana, relevent to the authentic Spanish-American historical places in San Juan Capistrano and El Pueblo de L.A. This was all open sparsely populated ranchland, from San Gabriel to San Diego, until anglo entreneurs like Able Stearns, John Irvine, and the Anaheim Germans started buying up land and in the later 1800’s and developing it. You might make money with an O.C. Olvera Street, but it would be a fantasy site like San Pedro’s “Ports o’ Call. The dominant Latino culture here is a rather recent phenomena.
Not!
Nice try Big D, “Im not telling”.:)
Can you please take, your own pee pee out of your arsh to let the shite out!
sorry could not resist:(
Good night folks:)
Good night Art LOL:)
SAHS teacher,
There is however no denying that Santa Ana was part of a Spanish land grant – and there have been Latino families here for generations.
And of course our city is named after a Catholic saint venerated in Mexico.
Given the current make-up of our city, which is 80% Latino, this would be a benefit in so many ways – and it would set us apart from the other cities in Orange County.
SAHS teacher,
I think you’re taking the idea of Olvera Street too literally, think more along the lines of a “Chinatown” or “Little India”, where the city embraces and promotes latino businesses, cultural events and festivals. I think some of the empty art gallery space could be used for cultural and historical exhibits that could round out a visit to SA, but overall; A GREAT IDEA.
Bigmarkod and grating one; if you are too thin-skinned to venture out into the real world, I suggest you limit your activities to faux environments, such as Disneyland’s “small world” ride for all your “cultural experiences”.
anonster i guess your berkley meeting got out early.. speaking of disney since you come from fantasy land and have no idea what this post was about . your more n likely base on your prior history a che lover .
Annonster, I understand you can’t read, but please…. get somebody to read my posts for you. What did I do to offend you today, you jackass?
Was it the first post whre I said it was a Great Idea? Was it the point of, make it about culture and not politics? Was itthe advice of if you want to make it profitable, dont make it about politics, and Che shrits, becuause you will turn off the very people you are trying to show your culture. Seriously, it’s like you have to sit around and think of stupid things to say, even if you agree with me, you still HAVE to go out and sound like an idiot!
Im not your Junior college professor, you won’t impress me with inablitiy to comprehend
“Was it the first post whre I said it was a Great Idea?”
I knew and I swear, I KNEW it was a set up from you, bigmark.
#27
What a HYPOCRITE you are, you’re always talking about FREEDOM, but you want to DICTATE what t-shirts some vendor can sell.
As to your being “thin-skinned”, let me QUOTE YOUR WORDS back to you; “Because if you do the, “white boys” will come once, be offended, leave…” all because they saw a Che t-shirt.
What DELICATE FLOWERS you poor, poor “white boys” must be, imagine getting the vapors just by seeing Che’s visage.
Tender sensibilities such as yours, must be sheltered. Thus, I take it all back, Disneyland could prove a nightmare for those of a highly emotional and sensitive nature, best that you stay home, where it is SAFE and everyone looks alike and thinks alike.
Really, why take risks?
Seriously annonster….. I am at a loss for words… Art has a good idea, I try to help, support and give Ideas, tell him I think it is a great idea, and I get you telling me I am thin skinned…. good you have a good point, rather than make it a welcoming and a diverse cultural display, you want to assault those who would visit, learn and spend money…You have obviously never signed the fromt of a check, so Art I reccomend the following.
Hire annonster to market for you.
Fail miserably.
Leave Sana Ana in Blight
File for Federal Aid.
Stay dependant on the Government.
Cry Racism, because people don’t want to go to “Annonsters Paradise” Complete with , Che gear, stabbing, murder and drug dealing. Yup, do it soon!
P.S. I pay a lot of money to live in a safe neighborhood….what is wrong with that? You attacks on me only go to show the luncay of you world.
Bigmarkod,
You bring up a good point. Which is why I think it is nuts to build high-end condos in Santa Ana. We need to resolve our issues before we try to gentrify the place.
As for the Che mini-controversy, there is no doubt he is offensive to many – but he is also popular with a lot of folks too. I say let the market determine what is sold – if there is a market for Che shirts they will sell like pancakes. If not, they won’t.
The market is quick to correct retail mistakes! And the customer is always right…
#30
Again, if you feel “assaulted” by the sight of a Che t-shirt, don’t leave your “safe neighborhood”, the world is FAR too dangerous a place.
Lucky for us that “blacks” are made of sterner stuff than the “white boys”, just think of all the confederate flags they have had to “see” over the years, the bill for the smelling salts alone would’ve bankrupted the country.
Art,
I thought that “Fiesta Marketplace” was supposed to be the Olvera Street of Santa Ana.
“Olvera Street type attraction”
There is one already, it is called “Fiesta Market” and the Jaranero festival was hopping even in this heat wave. (And fiesta market and 4th street is larger than LA’s Olveras street)
Before saying what Santa Ana needs, it would be a good idea to go and experience Santa Ana first.
And yes, like the street fair in Orange, attracting multi cultural area’s would be a plus for Santa Ana. Demanding and persistent insistence on a mono-cultural (Mexican only) is a big mistake.
junior,
Have you ever visited Olvera Street?
cook,
This is what I wrote in my post, “Santa Ana could do this even better by including cultures from throughout Central and South America.”
Perhaps you missed that.
And our Fiesta Marketplace is not the tourist attraction that Olvera Street is. But it sure could be part of such a success. Why not explore the idea?
BTW, is Fiestas Patrias still happening this year? I can’t find any updates online…
bigmark, you’re really showing your true color and what sad is, you don’t see it. PLEASE do not insult us and pretend you care about Mexican culture. I see, you were just offering ideas so those poor little Hispanic business owners can make money. And god knows, if they don’t listen, there goes your safe neighborhood.
Is it really all that, or is it simply a case of “you can have your little market, but don’t sell anything that offends ME” or “You can get political only if fits my belief. You know, a picture of Che, bad bad bad, too political. A picture of big Dick Cheney shooting someone in the bad. Ok and more than acceptable.
I have a feeling this is exactly how your all new and improved “positive” blog will turn out too. Many of your readers are incapable of holding an intellectual discussion and resort to name calling. It’s a shame. In the interim, that “Olvera Street” thing has been thought of for the past 10 years at least, but the difference is, the area is too modern hispanic. The buildings are all from white builders and architects, and mainly post 1933. The historic businesses are MODERN hispanic businesses, not like type you see in Olvera Street where everything is meant to simulate what a Mexican neighborhood was like 150 years ago.
#39,
We’ll see. The new blog is almost ready. I have figured out the software rather quickly.
As for the Olvera Street concept, obviously we will have to make it our own. I think we can come up with something.
There is no limit to what we can do if we work hard and are committed to a common goal…
as a white boy, 40 years ago I used to ride my bike to down town Sant Ana and watch movies at the Broadway theater and the West Coast theater. Its a shame my white grandchildren can not do the same.My parents (dad) still lives in the same house in south east santa ana (52yrs).I went to Madison Elementry, Lathrop jr high, and Santa Ana High.I guess Im wrong when I think Immigrants come to the United States to be Americans.
Ok, sell what you want to, squander your opportunity to share and teach about your culture, and fail. Lam, in your ignorance you actually stumbled onto my point, NASCAR has a huge following in the US, it is a billion dollar industry, and has penetrated all over the country. How many blacks and Hispanics follow it? Very few. Why? Many reasons, but it is not limited to the feeling of “safety” and being “welcome” by the organization (Please don’t say something stupid about safety again) Specifically the Confederate flag, NASCAR Wanted to get rid of them, becuse they saw how that single symbol was offending and affecting their marketing to minorities, so they, didn’t ban it outright, but in order to make those people feel safer and more welcome, they do not allow it on cars, and with crews, or marketing. That is my point, and I dare you to tell me I’m wrong about that.
Your city and those invloved will have, once again a political and social burden, and you will blame it on me, and the other “white boys”. Ok, sorry Art, it is clear that my people and I are not welcome, so we will not go there, visit learn, and spend money. Wow, I wonder how I owned operated and sold a very successful company. Being such an ignorant racist?
Bigmarkod Baboso:
You have to be careful with those that use the term,
“those people”-
i.e- #42 comments
“NASCAR has a huge following in the US, it is a billion dollar industry, and has penetrated all over the country. How many blacks and Hispanics follow it? Very few. Why? Many reasons, but it is not limited to the feeling of “safety” and being “welcome” by the organization (Please don’t say something stupid about safety again) Specifically the Confederate flag, NASCAR Wanted to get rid of them, becuse they saw how that single symbol was offending and affecting their marketing to minorities, so they, didn’t ban it outright, but in order to make those people feel safer and more welcome, they do not allow it on cars, and with crews, or marketing. That is my point, and I dare you!”(bigmarkod)
Now NASCAR is big in Mexico- moron and even though you pay tons of money to live in a safe place doesn’t give you the right to display your ignorance by thinking Mexico doesn’t know what NASCAR IS!
I ought to race you, lame one–oh you can’t afford the sport huh—
Now here’s a link to NASCAR Mexico:
http://nascarmexico.com.mx/
Just in time….Go to the bathroom, get a plunger, affix it firmly, and pull your head out of your ass! I didn’t say they don’t know what it is, I don’t really care who knows what about it, I was making a point! Dude…do you think that it may be because they don’t have the conferderate flag hanging from every car anymore? Jackass…. Who said they don’t know what it is? How big would it be there if it WAS run by the Conferate flag waving crowd? Hell even Majic Johnson has advertised for the races…why because they don’t want to offend people who will bring in money, and support to their sport you idiot! (see this is the point where that pea bouncing around your head, figures it out….OH Maybe Mark is right!) He does have a point! Wow… if we don’t fly Che Shirts, and we show the best of our culture…not the worst…maybe OTHER people will come see, and learn about us….Wow we can be “inclusive” and not be a group of Ethnocentric Bigots.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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“Che” redirects here. For other uses, see Che (disambiguation).
Ernesto “Che” Guevara
“Guerrillero Heroico”
Che Guevara at the La Coubre memorial service.
Taken by Alberto Korda on March 5, 1960.
Date of birth: June 14, 1928 [1]
Place of birth: Rosario, Argentina
Date of death: October 9, 1967 (aged 39)
Place of death: La Higuera, Bolivia
Major organizations: 26th of July Movement, United Party of the Cuban Socialist Revolution,[2] National Liberation Army (Bolivia)
Religion: None [3]
Ernesto “Che” Guevara (June 14,[1] 1928 – October 9, 1967) commonly known as Che Guevara, El Che, or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, guerrilla leader, military theorist, international statesman and major figure of the Cuban Revolution. Since his death, his stylized visage has become a ubiquitous countercultural symbol and global insignia within popular culture.[4]
As a young medical student, Guevara traveled throughout Latin America and was transformed by the endemic poverty he witnessed.[5] His experiences and observations during these trips led him to conclude that the region’s ingrained economic inequalities were an intrinsic result of monopoly capitalism, neocolonialism, and imperialism, with the only remedy being world revolution.[6] This belief prompted his involvement in Guatemala’s social reforms under President Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán, whose eventual CIA-assisted overthrow solidified Guevara’s radical ideology. Later, while living in Mexico city, he met Raul and Fidel Castro, joined their 26th of July Movement, and invaded Cuba aboard the Granma with the intention of overthrowing U.S.-backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista.[7] Guevara soon rose to prominence among the insurgents, was promoted to second in command, and played a pivotal role in the successful two year guerrilla campaign that deposed the Batista regime.[8]
Following the Cuban Revolution, Guevara performed a number of key roles in the new government. These included reviewing the appeals and firing squads for those convicted as war criminals during the revolutionary tribunals,[9] instituting agrarian reform as minister of industries, serving as both national bank president and instructional director for Cuba’s armed forces, and traversing the globe as a diplomat on behalf of Cuban socialism. Such positions allowed him to play a central role in training the militia forces who repelled the Bay of Pigs Invasion[10] and bringing to Cuba the Soviet nuclear-armed ballistic missiles which precipitated the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.[11] Additionally, he was a prolific writer and diarist, composing a seminal manual on guerrilla warfare, along with a best-selling memoir about his youthful motorcycle journey across South America. Guevara left Cuba in 1965 to incite revolutions first unsuccessfully in Congo-Kinshasa and later in Bolivia, where he was captured by CIA-assisted Bolivian forces and executed.[12]
Guevara remains both a revered and reviled historical figure, polarized in the collective imagination as the subject in a multitude of biographies, memoirs, essays, documentaries, songs, and films. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century,[13] while an Alberto Korda photograph of him entitled Guerrillero Heroico (shown), was declared “the most famous photograph in the world.”[14]
Che was driven by his perception of economic inequality , true or not, to revolution and socialism.
Non coservatives view him for the large part as a revolutionist against economic inequality.
The cofederate flag is viewed by some conservatives and largely by non conservatives as a symbol of the south in the USA that supported lynchings,racism and oppression.
Comparing a symbol of Che and the confederate flag is not similar.
Che: Socialism – Revolutinist.
Confederate Flag : Lynchings, racism and oppression.
Right wing coservatives will be offended by the image of Che because of his association to socialism.
The rest of the world is offended by the Confederate flag because of it’s association to lynchings, racism and oppression.
First of all, you missed the big one…slavery, the confedeerate falag is linked to slavery. But it is also a symbol of “Sothern Pride” they will tell you about being proud of the souther lifestyle… and that it is not about any of the earlier mentioned…..it is all about perception…Just like Che.
Secondly, Che was a Murderer terrorist and Marxist thug, not just SocialistT (That is according to the Cuban family that escaped) (Bernie Sanders and Dennis Kucinih are socialists)
You are correct, he did mange to get equality in Cuba…. Everybody is poor now! Lets go Che!
Fianlly, I am really having a hard time with this, didn’t I say (I’m sure I did) Nascar went away from the flag to not offend and make a more inclusive sport? Didn’t they get away from it to make people feel “Safe and Welcome”. Che is a polarizing figure, a murderer and a thug, most peolpe who escaped that, and know who he was are offended by it. Why would you want to offend the Cuban or your neighbors in the Vietnameese Community by selling his stuff?
Whatever I’m bored with this, there is little on no thought being passed, Art has an excellent opportuniy to do something positive in the community, and it seems you are all desting to ruin it. I may be wrong, you may get thousands of people to head there to buy of the shirts, and learn about the beauty of the Revolition! It just makes me sad to see. This blog, used to be a fun place to exchange ideas and argue a little, but it has now devolved to an internet chatroom status, and party line drivel.
#46
Poor Bigmarkod, he only wanted to help Santa Ana by instructing us on how not to offend “white people” by being poor, brown and generally “different”.
Bigmarkod just wants “our” Olvera Street project to be a non-threatening experience and not offend his conservative “white boy” values.
We should therefor restrict the vendors to such all time favorites as ; serapes, big straw hats, colorful paper flowers and of course, mexican jumping beans! The cultural activities should only include such things as weaving,a little begging (to reassure our visitors that they are indeed, superior), happy mariachi bands and pretty girls dancing in those bright festive dresses.
Brown people should be heard uttering familiar phrases; Si senor, adios amigo and ole’!
ANY MENTION of POVERTY, OPPRESSION or the HISTORY OF CIA INVOLVEMENT in LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS will be STRICTLY FORBIDDEN!
Otherwise the “white boys” won’t feel comfortable in such a foreign environment and their “cultural experience” will be ruined!
big mark i am with you these clowns on here have no idea who this murderer was they want to potray him IN immigration rallies his ugly mug is all over the place . yet dr art and some others on here dont feel; he is offensive . he WAS A MURDERED OF THOUSANDS OF innocent cuban people . he wanted to start the wwiii yet lets go buy his shirt and parade him around . thats fine its a free country but dont get mad if some one wears a kkk shirt or maybe a deport all illegals shirt . i know some of you on here would find that ofensive . i dare some of these clowns che supporters to go down to miami on calle ocho wearing your che shirt . let me kmow if you make it back ALIVE .
#46,
“..it is all about perception…Just like Che.
Secondly, Che was a Murderer terrorist and Marxist thug, not just SocialistT (That is according to the Cuban family that escaped) (Bernie Sanders and Dennis Kucinih are socialists)”
You are correct. It is all about perception. Iraq and Afghanistan will describe the USA as you describe Che.
The point is that selling a product is based on your bottom line, based on who your market is.
If you want to attract a group to your business then you accommodate them. That is what NASCAR did. They took out a polarizing symbol in order to attract minorities as you put it.
It was a business decision.
If vendors on Olvera Street or another similar venue want to attract Far Right Christian Conservatives they will not offer Che merchandise.
This group would not patronize this type of venue, because they associate the Mexican culture celebrated at the venue with illegal immigration and the destruction of the American culture as they perceive it.
The argument about Che merchandise in a Mexican Marketplace is irrelevant as your group would not patronize it any way.
If you were actually interested in celebrating that culture and the presence of a Che poster would drive you away is just too silly.
“# Bigmarkod Says:
August 30th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Good luck Art!
Just remember, keep it cultural and not poitical… They will lose the visitors they are looking for, if they start selling “che” T shirts!”
“Art has an excellent opportuniy to do something positive in the community, and it seems you are all desting to ruin it. I may be wrong, you may get thousands of people to head there to buy of the shirts, and learn about the beauty of the Revolition! It just makes me sad to see. This blog, used to be a fun place to exchange ideas and argue a little, but it has now devolved to an internet chatroom status, and party line drivel.”
Art did not inject the Che thread as part of the vision for Santa Ana Hispanic market, you did.
This not a merchandise concern now in the downtown Hispanic shopping district and I do not see why it would change. You made it up.
You are the biggest offender of “internet chatroom status, and party line drivel”. One only needs to review your blog topic history to see it.
Yep I missed the part about including other South American cultures.
I don’t know about Fiestas Patrias, It would be another loss if that party and parade is cancelled as the February one was because of lack of police funding. What a slap in the face of Santa Ana taxpayers.