Hundreds of lowriders up and down the boulevard. Not a few, hundreds… cruising, parked along the curb, and filling the parking lots between Vine and the 101. Show-quality cars with lots of chrome glowing under streetlights. At first glance it looked like a hard crowd, but it was nothing but smiles and pride. Families in lawn chairs. Kids running around. Gray hair, young parents, everyone out just enjoying themselves. And is there anything better than street tacos? The whole thing felt like an organized festival.
And then every
thing turned on a dime. LAPD rolled in with multiple units, including two helicopters spinning overhead with spotlights hitting the cars and loudspeakers telling everyone to disperse or face impounds.
Five minutes later, we were sitting in velvet seats in the Pantages watching a musical about the fight for the 19th Amendment. Only in LA do you jump from a giant lowrider cruise to a Broadway musical in one evening. Two different versions of America just feet from each other.
We may lack a few things here, but culture isn’t one of them!
The shift in atmosphere was instant and stark… but not unpredictable. As we walked the boulevard and watched people blocking traffic and cars driving on the wrong side of the road, I remember thinking, “Where is law enforcement?”
A few officers on foot, simply present and visible, could have kept the energy positive and the rules intact. An investment like this, that involves so much effort and time, would have benefited from early guidance to keep everyone safe and the night enjoyable.