Setting Your Inner Bruja Free

As a child of the early to mid 60's I had become familiar with the association between the female gender and witches. Some of my favorite television shows and cartoons had witches as their main characters, many movies had witches as villains, songs were even made about witches. There was a lot of light hearted portrayal of witches so why was being called a witch meant as an insult. I guess it had to do with a deeper wickedness than I wish to delve into at the moment. I just remember hitting the point where I refused to wear a witch costume ever again. It was after an annual halloween costume parade at Rosewood Park in City of Commerce we attended as a family. I have a vague memory of myself and other children walking around home, first, second and third base in an array of store bought and homemade costumes as parents cheered us on. In the center of the field was an effigy of a witch tied to a post in a bonfire pile which was lit once our costume parade was over. I suppose watching the lit torch tossed onto the bonfire pile and hearing the crowd applauding was a bit much for me.

The last time I participated in any sort of Halloween celebration was in 2006 at Stella Esparza's annual Bruja Party in East LA. It was a fun night of mixing up spirits and casting spells of laughter. There's something bonding about setting your inner bruja free in a room filled with other locas setting their own inner bruja free. I'm sure each and every one at that party had been called a witch or bruja at some point in her life. I am also sure each and every one of at that party had set a spell or two and had at least one of them stick. So yes, setting your inner bruja free now and then is a good thing.

Of course, you have to know what you're doing before actually practicing any real form of witchcraft or brujeria and try not disrespecting those whose craft has been mastered. Wishing on falling stars or making a wish by blowing out birthday candles is fine and all but a little help from your local botanica now and then never hurt anyone, did it?

Or you can reclaim the misogonistic bruja mislabeling by turning it into something wicked in a good sense like Las Brujas of the Bronx did or even how bruja is being branded in cooking rather than being branded on the forehead of a suspected bruja. Academia is recently addressing the feminist uprising of bruja culture as a form of empowerment and reconnection to indigenous roots. Long gone will be the stigma attached to brujerias of huevos and lettuce being placed upon your ailing stomach by an abuela, tia or mom. It made you feel better, didn't it.

Eddie Ayala - PRESENTE!

The Chicano community mourns the loss of its champions for our cause through life celebrations, tributes, memorials and Dia de los Muertos altars. Many notables and non public figures have passed on throughout the fifty plus years since the birth of the ELA Chicano movement and many more will soon follow. Activists, academics, professionals, artists, business owners and community members - young and old - have contributed to the vastness of our cultural collective. Each and every one deserving of recognition and appreciation for their involvement, passion and pride in their Chicano/a/x identity. This time we are gathering to celebrate the life and legacy of Eddie Ayala who passed away at the age of 63 the day after Dia de los Muertos, 2023. I met Eddie Ayala at the tail end of the 1970's East LA backyard party scene where local Chicano music icons rocked cover songs and our socks off for a mere $1 entrance fee. Although entertaining and audience drawing there was a need for...

Griffith Observatory: Face Lift or Slap In the Face?

Don't know about the rest of you but the Griffith Observatory has been a trusted fortress over the years -- a place to retreat when feeling like taking a break from the gridlocked streets below; a place to take first time visitors to L.A. for a spectacular panoramic view of the city from the valley to downtown and out into the ocean; a place to make out like crazy teenagers with a date no matter your age; a place to obsessively stare out wondering where in the hell your mate is on that star glittered night; or a place to reenact the famous knife fight scene from 'Rebel Without A Cause' -- come on Angelenos...you have to know what I'm talking about. I can't tell you how many times I came upon a spontaneous impulse to make a sharp turn up Vermont from Hollywood or Sunset for a visit to the Griffith Observatory. Most of the time it was to clear my head of some dumb situation I was in or it was to get my son out of the house on and off the sofa on a Friday night. Part o...

L.A.: Once Upon A Multicultural Arts Haven

Los Angeles in the 1980's and 90's was a time of multi cultural, multi district, multi sexual orientation creation and collaboration. Art, music, dance, fashion, performance art, theater, graffiti art, murals, indy filmmaking, print media all leaving their mark on the map of this vast LA-LA landscape. These were the pre FundMe days when if you had a project in mind you either applied for an arts grant, found a benefactor or you held fundraisers. A lot of time and effort was donated by artists themselves. There were plenty of arts supporters who gave their time and money as well. Why? Because local arts kept our city authentic and alive with a true sense of how our cultural and ethnic differences were alike in so many ways. That's not to say there weren't outlying areas that didn't wish to participate in the grand scheme of a melting pot theory. They were there in the comfort zones hiding behind curtains and valleys which was just fine for us without a monocultural...

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