Ofrenda by Isaac Pelayo, mixed media, 2019 A TRIBUTE IN HONOR OF THE 10TH ANNUAL EL VELORIO DAY OF THE DEAD FIESTA By L.N. Amoratto It’s all about the ofrenda , you know, the trunk-load of plywood cut into uniform shapes. Pelayo has it down. You give an army of artists what passes for a universal canvas that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg and obligates everyone to work with the same piece of wood shaped into a cross or lucha libre mask or something else he’ll dream up soon and which will allow him to include pretty damn near 100 artists in an exhibition which will grace the walls of the Plaza de la Raza Boathouse Gallery at Lincoln Park. And all 100 of them, well, most of them, will be asked to try and sell ten tickets. Few will succeed.  They will, instead, give the tickets away and pay for them out of pocket. A substantial portion of the money goes to keeping the lights on at Plaza de la Raza, and the look of worry off of director María Jimenez’ face, because you wouldn’...

by Abel Salas On May 12th, over 20 artisan beer makers and hundreds of craft beer aficionados will gather in East L.A. to celebrate Latino homebrewers and sample their frosty, thirst-quenching concoctions at COLDCHELA 2018. Organized by the SoCal Cerveceros Homebrew Club , the first-ever homebrew craft beer celebration to be held on L.A.’s Eastside will feature tastings, unlimited pours while supplies last and a range of homebrew samples, a food court, DJs and live music. The participating “cerveceros,” or homebrewers, explains SoCal Cerveceros spokesperson Richard Estrada, will also be competing for two principal honors being awarded at the event. All ticket-holders, he says, will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite craft beer from among the artisanal brews available to guests. A “People’s Choice” trophy will be awarded to the brew crew that collects the most votes from festival-goers. Another trophy will recognize a homebrew based on the total score tallied fro...