![[Blog] Hello and Goodbye at the U.S.-Mexico Border](https://dainabeth.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/msi-summer-08-008.jpg?w=290&h=290&crop=1 "[Blog] Hello and Goodbye at the U.S.-Mexico Border")
After a half-dozen trips, I thought I knew Tijuana. I thought I understood the vicissitudes of border life. But I had never been to the crazy spot between the United States and Mexico, San Ysidro and Tijuana, where the border wall descends into the sea. I finally saw it in 2008, during a trip with the Occidental College Multicultural Summer Institute… Continue reading
![[Blog] Musings on Olvera St.: Whitewashed or Authentic? | Pensamientos Sobre la Calle Olvera: ¿Whitewashed o Autentico?](https://dainabeth.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/013.jpg?w=290&h=290&crop=1 "[Blog] Musings on Olvera St.: Whitewashed or Authentic? | Pensamientos Sobre la Calle Olvera: ¿Whitewashed o Autentico?")
Olvera St.: Authentic Mexican enclave? Whitewashed tourist attraction? Olvera St. is not one or the other. It is both, and in that mix represents a fascinating model of what it means to be at the center of such a pluralistic, multi-cultural city as Los Angeles, in the exact spot where its history, present and future intersect…. [read this post in both English and Spanish] Continue reading
![[Blog] Masanga Marima Brings “Guantanamera” from L.A. to Zimbabwe and Back (+ Video)](https://dainabeth.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/016.jpg?w=290&h=290&crop=1 "[Blog] Masanga Marima Brings “Guantanamera” from L.A. to Zimbabwe and Back (+ Video)")
The simple tune and patriotic lyrics of “Guantanamera,” Cuba’s signature song, have traveled to numerous far-flung corners of the planet. Even unlikely ones, I learned last Friday at a concert by Masanga Marimba at MacArthur Park’s Levitt Pavilion. Masanga Marimba blends African and Latin American musical styles, mostly played on seven Zimbabwean marimbas ranging from … Continue reading
![[Blog] Summer Reading: China, North Korea, Russia, Ukraine, Cuba and New York City](https://dainabeth.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/msi-summer-reading.jpg?w=290&h=290&crop=1 "[Blog] Summer Reading: China, North Korea, Russia, Ukraine, Cuba and New York City")
We’re nearing the end of those “lazy, crazy, hazy days of summer,” as Nat King Cole put it in his 1963 pop hit. The days have been especially lazy, crazy and hazy for those of us who just graduated college. Plenty of time for reading! No syllabus necessary. My picks have taken me to the … Continue reading
![[Blog] Cute Video: Obama on Michelle’s Favorite Cuisine](https://dainabeth.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/lilianas.jpg?w=290&h=290&crop=1 "[Blog] Cute Video: Obama on Michelle’s Favorite Cuisine")
In my tamale research for the LA Weekly I came across this very funny clip from Cinco de Mayo 2011. Says Obama, teasing his wife: “You do not want to be between Michelle and a tamale.” The crowd cheers. Continue reading
![[Blog] Watch This Now: Ana Tijoux + Manu Chao in Arizona](https://dainabeth.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/anatijoux.jpg?w=290&h=290&crop=1 "[Blog] Watch This Now: Ana Tijoux + Manu Chao in Arizona")
The scene in the just-released music video by Alex Rivera looks calm and quaint, at first. Like a few friends camping in the desert who decide to sing a song at sunset, accompanied only by acoustic guitar and the taps of their toes in the dirt. But it’s not so simple. The place is Arizona, … Continue reading
![[LA Weekly] Diana Kennedy at LACMA: Oaxacan Foods, Book Signing + Proper Tortillas](https://dainabeth.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/dianakennedy-slideshow.jpg?w=290&h=290&crop=1 "[LA Weekly] Diana Kennedy at LACMA: Oaxacan Foods, Book Signing + Proper Tortillas")
Diana Kennedy, the Mexican cuisine authority and cookbook author, doesn’t often travel outside of Mexico, where she lives in rural Michoacán a few hours from Mexico City. For the past 65 years, Mexico has been her home, and a laboratory for her studies and writings about Mexico’s regional cuisines. So her appearance last Sunday at the L.A. County Museum of Art for a brief talk and book signing presented a rare opportunity for Angelenos to meet the woman who’s often called “the Julia Child of Mexican food.” Like Child, Kennedy has shared her vast knowledge on a topic that had previously been both exotic and esoteric in the United States. Her latest book, Oaxaca al Gusto from 2010, ismuch more than a cookbook. The 450-page tome presents a study of Oaxacan cultural history illuminated by glorious photographs, many taken by Kennedy herself…. [keep reading] Continue reading
On the cover of the latest Los Jornaleros del Norte album, Que No Pare la Lucha (May The Struggle Go On), a drawing portrays a mustachioed man wearing a cap stitched with the word “dignidad.” His right hand is clenched in a fist above his head. The stance depicts pride and defiance, the same attitude the group has taken in response to Arizona’s controversial immigration law, Senate Bill 1070, which shines through the band’s entire repertoire… Continue reading
![[LA Weekly] Read This Now: The New Yorker on Misión 19’s Javier Plascencia](https://dainabeth.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/027.jpg?w=290&h=290&crop=1 "[LA Weekly] Read This Now: The New Yorker on Misión 19’s Javier Plascencia")
Misión 19 in Tijuana, chef Javier Plascencia’s first independent venture, is celebrating its one-year-anniversary. Read “The Missionary,” a profile of Plascencia by Dana Goodyear in this week’s New Yorker, and you’ll learn why that matters. Plascencia’s mission is to bring innovative but authentic cuisine to the notorious border city where he grew up, Goodyear writes. And he’s created Misión 19 as an ultra-hip spot to draw locals and tourists alike into the fold. His ambition is no less than to spur a culinary renaissance in troubled but vibrant Tijuana… Continue reading
“Aaaiiiiiiiiiiii!” The bulk of a man shrieked as he thudded to the ground in an attack on his opponent. The two flailed about on the floor, each trying to pin down the other. The spectators roared with cheers and put downs alike. “Go get ’em!” cried some. “Pinche pendejo!” belted others. The noise was accented by a sound not always heard at sports events: raucous laughter.
Lucha libre is supposed to be silly. Continue reading
Lotus land 