lc California’s Mary Jane
Cabo San Lucas Take a trip down, to the little beach town
Chill Out Summer 2017
at The Museum of Ice Cream
INSIDE 3 �������Editorial, letter from the EIC. 6 �������The Cinematic endurance of Spiderman. 8 �������Genes can often be Unforgiving.
30 �����An introspective into the cultural identity of Wonder Woman. 32 ������Local Breweries that make craft beer college friendly.
50 �����California’s Mary Jane. 52 ������Make Summer 2017 Picture Perfect. 54 �����Los Angeles Football Club expands further into LA.
34 �����Music Festivals. 12 ������Take a trip down to the Little Beach Town.
56 �����Fast Fashion. 37 ������California’s Cool Hot Ticket.
58 �����San Diego County Fair.
16 ������Unknown fashion brand becomes online sensation.
40 �����Let’s go to the Hole.
18 ������More than just Bites.
41 ������Top Southern California beaches to visit during the Summer.
62 �����Comic Book Culture Rises.
44 �����La Casita de Mi Gente.
64 �����Voices from Below.
46 �����Summer Happy Hour Recipes.
66 �����La Cima Staff.
60 �����The retro style McDonalds.
20 �����Best of both Worlds. 23 ������Beneath the Water, Behind the Guy. 28 �����All Eyez on Them.
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2 | La Cima Magazine
EDITORIAL Remember that Life is still worth while, if you just smile.
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ESDE QUE SOMOS NIÑOS TODOS SENTIMOS UNA PASIÓN POR DENTRO, QUE MIENTRAS PASA EL TIEMPO Y CRECEMOS SOLEMOS OLVIDAR. EN LA VIDA SON POCAS LAS VECES QUE SE NOS PRESENTAN OPORTUNIDADES PARA SEGUIR CON ESA PASIÓN QUE NOS CONLLEVA A SOÑAR EN GRANDE. PUES HOY YO TENGO LA DICHA DE PODER SEGUIR CON MI PASION.UNA PASION QUE ES ALIMENTADA POR PERSONAS QUE SIEMPRE ME HAN BRINDADO UNA MANO CUANDO HE CAÍDO, PORQUE COMO TODO SER HUMANO TENEMOS BAJADAS Y SUBIDAS EN NUESTRAS VIDAS. QUIERO DARLE LAS GRACIAS EN ESPECIAL A MI PAPA, MI MAMA Y MIS HERMANOS POR APOYARME DIA A DIA. PERO SOBRE TODO POR EL SIMPLE HECHO DE CREER EN MÍ Y POR TENERME PACIENCIA.
EN LA REVISTA QUE EL EQUIPO DE “LA CIMA” PRODUCIMOS NOS HEMOS BASADO EN LAS BASES DE LA CULTURA POP ENTRE ESTUDIANTES DE COLEGIO. HEMOS ABARCADO UNA VARIEDAD DE TEMAS QUE QUIZÁS NO SEAN DEL GUSTO DE TODO NUESTRO PUBLICO , PERO AUN ASI LES PIDO QUE ESCUCHEN NUESTRAS OPINIONES . PORQUE SOLO ESCUCHANDO SE ENTIENDE LA GENTE. COMO SERES HUMANOS TENE-
MOS EL DERECHO A LA LIBERTAD DE EXPRESIÓN Y POR IGUAL PODEMOS ESCUCHAR AL PRÓJIMO. SI HAY ALGO QUE ME GUSTARÍA PEDIRLES A USTEDES
NUESTRO PUBLICO ES ESO QUE NOS ESCUCHEMOS UNOS A OTROS Y DEJEMOS LA SOBERBIA AUN LADO. I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO THANK MY STAFF, WITHOUT THEM THIS WOULDN’T BE POSSIBLE. THANK YOU GUYS FOR THE EFFORT THAT WAS GIVEN TO PRODUCE THIS MAGAZINE IN
ONLY TWO WEEKS. I KNOW WE ALL WANTED TO HAVE THE FIVE WEEKS OF THE SEMESTER, BUT WITH GREATNESS COME RESPONSIBILITY AND WE
HAVE ACCOMPLISHED THAT, BECAUSE THE WORK OF A TEAM IS MUCH MORE VALUABLE THAN THAT OF ANY INDIVIDUAL. Y CÓMO SERÍA POSIBLE SER “LA CIMA” SI NO FUERA POR ESA GRAN PERSONA QUE DIOS NOS MANDO COMO “PROFE”. A USTED LE QUIERO DAR MIL GRACIAS POR
CREER EN MÍ. HACE EXACTAMENTE UN AÑO QUE LA CONOCÍ Y ESTE A SIDO UN AÑO EN DONDE APRENDÍ MUCHAS COSAS DE PARTE SUYA, TALES COMO EL LLEGAR A PRODUCIR UNA REVISTA EN SOLO DOS SEMANAS. PERO ESO NO FUE LO UNICO ; TAMBIEN APRENDI A ODIARLA CUANDO ME PRESIONA, A RESONGARLE CUANDO ME HABLA, Y HASTA A REÍRME DE USTED. AL IGUAL EH APRENDIDO A QUE LA “LEALTAD” Y LA “CONFIANZA” SON COSAS QUE QUE NO SE PUEDEN CONSEGUIR CON NADA MÁS, QUE CON UNA VERDADERA AMISTAD. GRACIAS POR ENSEÑARME A CRECER EN EL CAMPO PROFESIONAL COMO EN MI VIDA PERSONAL. PROFE YO SOLO LE DESEO DOS COSA EN LA VIDA; LE DESEO TODO Y NADA. TODO LO QUE LA HAGA FELIZ, Y NADA QUE LA HAGA SUFRIR. REMEMBER PROFE, LIFE IS STILL WORTHWHILE IF YOU JUST SMILE. PLEASE ALWAYS KEEP THAT MIND. GRACIAS POR TODO WENDY CARRERITA. ESPERO QUE DISFRUTEN DE ESTA REVISTA A LA CUAL ENTREGUE MI ALMA, MENTE CUERPO Y CORAZÓN. ESPERO QUE SEA LA PRIMERA DE MUCHAS . MUCHAS GRACIAS POR TOMARSE EL TIEMPO DE ESCUCHARME. -AARON MARTINEZ
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PHOTOGRAPHY | GRAPHIC DESIGN
www.562CREATIVES.COM 4 | La Cima Magazine
Contact Info:
562.772.5692 sales@cabannafashion.com @cabannafashion._
Location:
10233 Long Beach Blvd. Ste. #C Lynwood Ca. 90262
www.cabannafashion.com La Cima Magazine | 5
The Cinematic Endurance of Spider-Man
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iven the influx of superhero movies over the last two decades, it’s easy to see how our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man can get lost in the shuffle. Not to mention the character has been rebooted at a faster rate than any other superhero in history (three separate series in under two decades). So what makes him so special? After all, this is just a kid from Queens, New York. To understand the character’s enduring traits, we need to look back at the character’s comic roots before touching on the cinematic legacy. Peter Parker is a geek from a lower-class family in New York City. He’s a quality student, never breaks the rules, and is the definition of awkward. How modern movies adopted this trait of adorkable (adorable + dorky) protagonists, characters like Parker practically invented the trope. But most importantly, even as people push him around or degrade him, Parker cares about people. That’s not always easy to do when the world constantly barrages you with inconvenient circumstances. Naturally, when a radioactive spider imbues young Parker with confidence and untold power, who can blame him for wanting to treat himself to some easy money in a wrestling competition? Even with a great power thrust upon him,
After trying out his newfound powers for personal gain, Parker’s selfishness inadvertently leads to his uncle getting gunned down in the streets of New York. Sometimes the most important lessons are the hardest ones to learn. We all get knocked down. It’s how we react in these situations that shows us who we really are. Instead of seeking vengeance, the character follows one simple mantra:
Green Goblin but failing to save the man behind the mask, his surrogate father Norman Osborn, Parker realizes the people in his life will always be in harm’s way. The power and responsibility are his gift, his curse. Parker takes it upon himself to stay away from the people he cares about, owning up to his newfound responsibility. He cuts out ordinary relationships in an attempt to keep people safe, including the most significant
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with great power, comes great responsibility.
Perhaps no movie moment in Spider-Man history understands the mantra better than the ending of Sam Raimi’s original Spider-Man. After stopping the
6 | La Cima Magazine | Story Diego Crespo | Illustration Diego Crespo
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What is referred to as “Parker luck” in the character’s broad history, is essentially another way of looking at Murphy’s law. Anything that can go wrong for Peter Parker/Spider-Man will go wrong. And boy, do things ever go wrong for the kid.
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Peter Parker is not a star pupil or reliable friend. Through both faults of his own and the new responsibility he finds himself wrapped up in, time management is far from Parker’s strong suit.
relationship he’ll ever have with the love of his life, Mary Jane-Watson.
Lo and behold, in true Parker fashion, he still has to learn from his own mistakes. In “Spider-Man 2” the film upends the original film’s ending by putting Peter in the same position to have an avenue of happiness, only to reject it to protect the people he cares about; i.e, Mary Jane. But a real relationship
between two people is about communicating and understanding. It’s about facing obstacles together as one whole. MJ lovingly confronts Parker, asking, “Isn’t it time someone saved your life?” embracing the gifted and cursed identity of our friendly neighborhood hero. That is love and that is the beating heart of the character’s evolution onscreen. Love, platonic and romantic, between the people Spider-Man comes across is what drives the character.
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It’s why any number of reboots will always find some inkling of success. Whether the character is fighting ninjas from the 1970’s (don’t ask), retelling a darker and grittier origin, or joining alongside Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, it’s the empathy of Peter Parker that draws people to them character. In a world with gods, monsters, and billionaire-play-boy-philanthropists, Spider-Man is the everyman. His struggles aren’t world-ending. The lessons he learns aren’t inherently about saving the universe, stopping city-wide destruction, or swinging alongside other superheroes.
All of these things can take place in a Spider-Man story, but the core of them revolves around the identity of a lower-workingclass kid from Queens, New York and what it means to be responsible. Responsibility is helping your fellow citizens. It’s doing good not because there’s a reward in it, but because it’s the right thing to do. More often than not, doing the right thing doesn’t lead to any semblance of immediate understanding. Doing good is its own reward, even when it doesn’t feel like it.
Obviously not in terms of powers but rather in his stories and the purpose behind them. He fails, he learns, he goes on to fight the good fight. That fight doesn’t always involve caped goblins or mind-swapping mad scientists. The good fight is in living, picking yourself up to do the right thing even when it’s least convenient for you. Spider-Man stands the test of time because he is one of us, flaws and all. That is a hero and one worth celebrating.
So why does Spider-Man endure? Because he’s the most human superhero of them all.
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"There was just things in life I couldn't understand, like the way people would behave, the way they treated me or why they wanted to fight me."
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n life, it is simple to make excuses regardless of their validity. Everyday breathes opportunity, likewise every opportunity is met with choice. Yet, there are many things in life one simply cannot control. Life is very unpredictable, genes can often be unforgiving. Waking up in the morning is not a promise, but getting out of bed is a choice. First born son in the family, Antoine Flores Rosas would come as a blessing January 1, 1989 to parents Xochilt Rosas and Marco Flores. Flores Rosas will grow to develop a rare genetic visual condition causing retinal degeneration and eventual vision loss. Present in both parents, the hereditary eye disease soon becomes active in his genes. The earliest memory of realizing his visual impairment is still present on his chest today, as the burn scar he would suffer is living proof of the painful trauma that would serve as the ultimate reason for discovering he has a visual condition. “I got burned on my chest with boiling water when I was about two years old, knocking over a stool that had a pot of [boiling] water on it. That is how doctors found I had a visual condition, after they began to investigate why I fell,” said Flores Rosas. He was ultimately diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, causing his perception of life to change. “Growing up it was tough because it was hard to explain to every
teacher when I couldn’t see, how I could see sometimes and sometimes I couldn’t and I also had to deal with a lot of bullies,” says Flores Rosas. “I just did it on my own, I went day by day. At the time I was very depressed and also very shy. There was just things in life I couldn’t understand, like the way people would behave, the way they treated me or why they wanted to fight me. I didn’t understand it but I would stick through it, and whenever someone wanted to fight me I would fight, there was nothing else I could do,” says Flores Rosas. In the sixth grade, his vision begins to fail and he starts to bump into other students while playing soccer. As his vision worsened, he got to a point where he could no longer see a soccer ball on the field and would have to force himself to stop playing for his own safety. Aside from his everyday struggles, he was now no longer able to play a sport he was truly passionate about, crushing his morale. Flores Rosas says, “I felt horrible. It was the first time I wanted something so bad and I couldn’t have it, and I just had to accept the fact that there was no way around it,” in regards to losing his ability to play a sport that helped him cope with his visual condition. After this, he lost interest in school and began to ask himself, “What is the point?” Losing interest in school, continually being
10 | La Cima Magazine | Story Crystian Mendoza | Photos Aaron Martinez
bullied and misunderstood by teachers led to a lack of motivation, “I wouldn’t try in school, I really didn’t care anymore after that.”
the limit. When training, it is a little different for Flores Rosas because in his fights he has to start in a clinch with his opponent, allowing him to have an understanding of his positioning, so that must always factor into training sessions.
Due to his condition, Flores Rosas grows up to be a shy student. He finds it difficult to make friends and is not too social, choosing not to talk to many people. Of the friends he did make, he believes “I started hanging out with the wrong people, because they were the ones that would talk to me and accept me because they liked the way I fought, so they kept me around.” Even though his friends might not be the greatest, at the the time they are all he has.
"He's doing what he has to do, I mean, he physically can't see, but he's out there showing anything is possible. If you want to achieve something, you do whatever it takes to get it. It's motivational."
Refusing to give up his love for sports, in High School, wrestling would take over as Flores Rosas newest passion and he would go on to win a Suburban League Championship for Schurr High School during his time on the team. After high school and once in college, he begins to accept himself for who he is. Life is certainly not easy, but he chooses not to take the easy way out. The validity of the excuse, “I’m blind,” is certainly an option. Nonetheless, it is never something he would surrender himself to. Now 28 years old, he is happily married to his wife of five years, Scarlette Flores and has two baby boys, Logan and Maximo. Flores Rosas loses his vision before 10 month old Maximo is born, but is positive he will get to see his son’s face in the near future. Flores Rosas introduced Scarlette to MMA, and when asking if she enjoys training with her husband she says “Yes, I love it. He motivates everyone here, he’s the one pushing us.” Outside of the gym, the couple enjoys going to the movies or to the park with their kids who mean everything to them. Flores is currently completely blind and after being introduced to Mixed Martial Arts, he immediately fell in love with the sport and is now training MMA at the “Mini Gym” in Los Angeles. His love for sports has not left his side, and his Coach Juan Beltran who has known him for close to five years describes him as, “Besides being a beast? He’s cool when you get to
-Gustavo Toledo
Besides that, every other aspect of MMA for him is the same. His opponents have eye sight, there is no separate competition for the visually impaired. Out of two fights, Flores Rosas has won one and received a no contest [tie] in the other, leaving him undefeated in his first two fights against fighters with full eyesight.
"Sometimes we roll together and we close our eyes, but it's not the same thing. I know where everything is, I've already seen it. He doesnt have that.” know him, you see he’s really mellow. At first, you might get the impression like ‘Man I don’t want to roll with him because he’s blind,’ but that’s the worst thing you can do. You have to treat him like he’s normal, because he is normal, especially on the mats. Whatever he sets his mind to he’ll get it.” Beltran goes on to say Flores is usually the first one in the gym for training, and that he always pushes himself to
“On a personal level, I always see other people make excuses. ‘Oh I can’t do this, I can’t do that’ but look at him, he’s here [training] what other excuses can you make that are better than his? If he can do it, so can everyone else but it’s more discipline than anything, he loves to train hard,” says Beltran when asking how knowing Flores has affected him on a personal level. When not in the gym, Flores is working at Sobador Wellness Center located at 212 S. Atlantic Blvd in Los Angeles where he works as a massage therapist at a family owned business. Everyone can learn a thing or two from Flores’s experience, hard work and dedication. The choice is yours, or is your excuse valid?
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Take a Trip Down, to the Little Beach Town C
abo San Lucas located at the very tip of Baja California Sur, Mexico, is the perfect vacation spot for all. With beaches lined by the Sea of Cortez, canyons that surround the neighboring desert, a small town with a great shopping experience, and a vibrant night-life that caters to all adults this little beach city attracts people from all over the world. Whether you’re a college student looking to blow off some steam or an A-list celebrity searching for a hideaway from the press this little tropical getaway is the place for you.
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abo San Lucas contains a very unique geography. The area itself is surrounded by the Sonora desert but near the shore it feels like a mediterranean climate. In the south of Cabo you have the hot dry desert climate, and more northwest lies the cool ocean breezes. The two types of weather patterns here create a wide variety of activities for the peninsula to offer. Cabo San Lucas’s geography provides all vacation feels in one with its rare weather patterns, making this travel destination a must on your list. provides all vacation feels in one with its rare weather patterns, making this travel destination a must on your list.
12 | La Cima Magazine | Story Madelyn Gastelum | Photos Madelyn Gastelum
A Look at the Land
The Perfect Vacation Time
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he best time to visit Cabo San Lucas starts mid April and lasts all the way until the middle of July, this is when the weather down at the peninsula is best because it holds the highest temperatures and the lowest number of rainfall. Along with the high temperatures comes great ocean currents and exciting marine life. During this time the Sea of Cortez experiences a cooling current, that accompanied with the calm waters in the bay make the perfect swimming experience. If your hotel pool gets too hot from the sun you can move on down to the sand and get that refresher you need! Cabo is a wonderful vacation spot, but this paradise has a short lived window of opportunity, moving into August marks the beginning of the rainy season soon followed by a number of Hurricanes. So book quickly because the spaces soon fill up in that “perfect vacation� time frame. La Cima Magazine | 13
Ways To Spend Your Time
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he list of things that you can do down in Baja are endless, and it feels like you can’t possibly fit them all into one vacation. At the beaches you have every water sport around: inner tubing, jet skis, snorkeling and scuba diving. the most popular being the boat rides and water taxis. These make trips out to the famous lover’s beach, a cove hidden by the massive iconic rock formations down in Cabo. Along with lover’s beach these water taxis give you the perfect photo opportunity with the Cabo San Lucas arch. The sea life that you can see under the waves is some of the most beautiful around. Reefs vibrant with color, sting rays that fly out of the water, and whale sharks you can swim with side by side, bring tourist from all around the world.
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ith all this you will wish for there to be more hours in the day because they will all be filled with sun, sand, and fun. The time spent down here are memories that will stay with you forever and leave you counting down the days until you can visit the little beach town of Cabo San Lucas down in Baja California Sur, Mexico once again.
o g e u L a t s a ¡ s !H o g i m A
P O T S G WIN E W D N A ! P O T S T ’ N DO
CITY OF INDUSTRY 17501 COLIMA RD. - (626) 839-WING (9464) BALDWIN PARK 3127 BALDWIN PARK BLVD. - (626) 1962-4400 SOUTH EL MONTE 11335 THIENES AVE. - (626) 401-2801 LA PUENTE 1238 N. HACIENDA BLVD. - (626) 919-0709 ROSEMEAD 3612 ROSEMEAD BLVD. - (626) 288-8634 EL MONTE 10619 VALLEY BLVD. - (626) 416-5732
Expires 08/31/2017
Expires 08/31/2017
La Cima Magazine | 15
A
ll the “It-Girls” and “Fashionistas-on-a Budget” are raving about a boutique taking over the fashion industry one instagram post at a time. Fashion Nova is a clothing company that offers trendy, sassy, affordable styles inspired by the instagram feeds of popular socialites and celebrities. The fashion brand has been very successful in making social media a huge part of their marketing platform, reaching fashionistas all around the world.
In 2014, Saghian reached out to his corporate team and decided it was time to take the store to social media. His team started posting all of the stores best selling items using “#FashionNova” and tons of other hashtags to get the name out there. Fashion Nova became known for recreating glamorous looks, becoming apart of a fashion evolution. Women were no longer looking to the runways for fashion inspiration, they were scrolling down their timelines. The Fashion Nova team posted to their feed every 30 minutes, updating their followers with all the hottest looks from the line. And in just two years of the page being up, it now has 4 million followers and plenty more subscribers from all over the globe. Women everywhere were tagging Fashion Nova in pictures from their night out. The unknown fashion brand had become an online sensation.
The popularity the fashion brand has gained helped them to reach out to different celeb-rities and “NovaBabes” everywhere. They now dress celebrities like Kylie Jenner, Blac Chyna, and VH1s reality TV star Nikki Baby. Lets be honest, what girl doesn’t want to look like a star in their everyday ensemble? Its definitely easy to feel like one when you know a famous celebrity has the same outfit in their closet that you do. Fashion Nova has been iconic for recreating the looks you see on reality TV stars and high end fashion lines, all at affordable prices.
When most hear about Fashion Nova they often just link it to their social media platform, not even knowing the company has over five physical store fronts around southern California.
Fashion Nova was founded back in 2006 by Richard Saghian. He wanted to make women feel like a star when wearing his clothes. Although the store is well over 10 years old, it didn’t really start generating a buzz until recently.
The companies original headquarters is location downtown Los Angeles in an 180,000 square foot warehouse, starting with only 10 employees. The company now has over 200 employees working in the corporate office and about 100 working in their physical store fronts.
16 | La Cima Magazine | Story Ajianna Covington
| Photos Courtesy of Fashion Nova
It is safe to say Fashion Nova “started from the bottom now we’re here” as Drake would say. Saghian says that the brand has grown in sales tremendously after its online release, launching 500 new styles every week for their Nova Babes. Their instagram page totals 500,000 new followers every month, and with new styles to always choose from every week they expect to keep growing. So how does it work? How does this company produce so much so fast? The Fashion Nova media team plays fashion police online. They monitor all the styles women post to their feeds, and sends the cute trendy styles to their design team. From there, the design team can create a small product in less than 24 hours in order to send to different factories in the LA area to produce the product. Deepening on the quantity of the order, styles can be created and sold within a week or two of the initial process. Giant companies like Forever 21 or H&M take at least a month to update their styles. Huge companies are taking months to move styles to their shelves while Fashion Nova is refreshed in a matter of a week. However, thats probably due to the fact that they work with about 500 sewing factories around LA.The Fashion Nova company has proven they care about their women balling on a budg-et. Saghian figures if he is creating the products at a good price it is only right that he sells them for a good price. “I don’t think its fare to sell an item for $100 that they made for $20” said Saghian. Shoes from Fashion Nova are usually priced around $30-$50 and a sexy party dress can be priced as low as $27. Women can’t get enough of the way their Fashion Nova jeans look on them or how well a Fashion Nova dress insinuates their curves. In 2017, we have seen the social media businesses come about more often. Fashion Nova has built an entire operation that is capable of turning a viral celebrity photo into clothing that is ready to ship anywhere. They have climbed their way to the top of the fashion industry by posting pictures and using hashtags to go viral. Fashion Nova has definitely evolved with the times, changing the fashion game.
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More Just B Anaheim is not only popular for Disneyland, Angels Baseball, and concert venues, but they are also known for the eatery spots and bites at The Packing District. The Packing District, located in the heart of downtown, includes the restored Packard Building & former Car Showroom, Farmers Park, and the restored citrus Packing House, including Cooks Chapel, a community kitchen private event venue, as well as The Backyard an outdoor event area with a fireplace and orange grove. The Packing House features 20+ eateries with live music on the Mezzanine Stage every weekend. Anaheim residents and local communities are enjoying a new gathering place to both eat and grab a drink at.
While at The Packing House the shop Mini Monster seemed to be very full and the line was extremely long. We had heard great things about this place via Instagram and found out that it is a smaller version of Snow Monster, a larger and popular boba place located in different parts of southern California. It’s a drink shop filled with different refreshments, but with some cool twists to it—one being you can order a reusable glass cup shaped as a light bulb with their monster-looking logo printed on it. The Mini Monster menu is smaller than that of its Snow Monster counterpart being that it has three signature drinks, all of which are topped with cotton candy, and six cold drink options.
18 | La Cima Magazine
Than Bites <
We got the chance to try each of the three drinks and the biggest surprise that I got was how good the Tajin was on the cotton candy. The cotton candy is not your typical sugary treat – it’s not as sweet as you’re probably used to so that may be why the Tajin tastes just perfect as a topping. So when in Orange Country be sure to stop by at Anaheim Packing House, we had such a great time visiting Mini Monster and we’ll definitely be back again. Fashion is everywhere, and while at The Packing House who wouldn’t come in cute outfits? Don’t we all come for the pictures and a good time? This look was inspired by Kendall Jenner's 2017 Coachella look, but topped down for a subtler and more affordable look. The entire outfit is from HauteMess, a popular boutique that is located in Uptown Whittier that has not only the latest trends, but is also affordable.
Style
The model, Sara, is seen in the photo wearing a off the shoulder crop top blouse, a cardigan vest with fringe on the bottom, some cut off jean shorts with holes and a strapped, small heel sandal. The vest is a perfect outfit accessory and you can pair it with a blouse as seen as above for during the day and at night switch it up for a long sleeve crop top. Since it is summer it is best recommended to wear light colored clothing or destroyed denim topped with fringes for this weather.
HauteMess Boutique is a one stop, Junior-Contemporary women’s clothing boutique designed to cater to the confident, stylish, fashion-loving woman. Owned and operated by Gabby Aguilera, HauteMess first opened its doors in the summer of 2013. Quickly gaining a steady and loyal following a store expansion was made in 2014, which now allows the store to carry an array of merchandise for everyone. Skilled and knowledgeable personal shoppers are readily available to attend to those who want a unique and memorable shopping experience. HauteMess personal shoppers create outfits, solve fashion dilemmas and educate clients on current trends. “It is always a pleasure helping our customers on a day-to-day to basis. I look forward to seeing existing and new clients every day. I love my job and everything it entails, by no means was this easy but it is definitely worth it.” –Gabby Aguilera (Haute Mess Boutique owner). Make sure to visit the HauteMess boutique for more cute outfits and trends. Story Rodrigo Coraza & Sara Tabarez | Photos Rodrigo Coraza | La Cima Magazine | 19
Best of Both Worlds If you ever want to feel like you’re just at home in your mother’s kitchen, Horchateria Rio Luna is the place to go. It opened March of 2016 because of owners Ashley Vazquez, her husband David Vazquez, and her sister Amber Bobadilla. It is a small coffee shop with lines sometimes so long that they go out the door and around the building. The coffee shop is located in the Paramount Plaza in the City of Paramount, CA. Traditional mexican flavors infused with American desserts is what makes their coffee shop so unique. The uniqueness in their cafe is what has caused them to gain such popularity within the year and three months that they have been open. They have 90k on instagram and 35k likes on facebook with numbers still rising. The vibe “Ni soy de aqui, Ni soy de alla”(I’m not from here, I’m not from there) is something they hope to give off to every customer that enters their shop and buys their treats. It comes from a feeling of being from two different cultural backgrounds and not feeling like you belong in either one. This is a place where someone with a Mexican or any other Latin American background can feel at home and for those who aren’t can catch a taste of what it feels like. Horchateria Rio Luna has traditional decor that easily catches customers the eye. Their walls are filled with Mexican art and Mexican inspired accessories. This imagery is to represent the Mexican heritage of the owners. Frida Kahlo is one of the many
ice cream only given in their coffee shop, whipped cream, and topped with a drizzle of your choice. A concha ice cream sandwich consist of a traditional mexican concha and ice cream, plus walnuts and a drizzle of your choice. These two desserts are what you call the “best of both worlds” because it includes something that would be considered a Mexican dessert with something commonly referred to an American Dessert. Such as the Churro designed as a sundae and the Concha bread as an ice cream sandwich.
artist portrayed in the shop, her artwork on the walls and accessories are available to purchase. One thing that is immediately noticeable when walking into the cafe is the large mural on the right hand side. It’s Mexican inspired with images like pan dulce bread, luchador masks, Calaveras, churros, Frida Kahlo, and much more. Drinks at Horchateria Rio Luna are unique than most coffee shops, they make Oaxacan horchata, horchata iced coffee, green tea iced horchata, and their frappes. Their frappes come in different flavors like horchata, strawberry paleta, mazapan, green tea horchata, cajeta, choco frappe, and churro sundae frappe. Everything in the shop is freshly made for the customers, no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives. They also have options for those who are vegan. Horchateria Rio Luna has a classic Mexican dessert known as churros and mini churros (that are vegan), but they also have desserts such as churro sundae and concha ice cream sandwich that helped raise their popularity. The churro ice cream and concha ice cream sandwich are the most popular food items at the cafe. A churro sundae consist of churros with homemade horchata
20 | La Cima Magazine | Story Anamaria Aparicio | Photos Anamaria Aparicio
“If I had to pick a favorite it would be both the Horchata Ice Coffee and the Churro Sundae because they are one of the many items I get regularly. If I’m on the go and I want coffee then I stop here for my ice coffee, but if I want something sweet and I have time to eat then the churro sundae is perfect because it has both of my favorite things together, churros and ice cream,”
replied Alexis Mendoza, a customer at Horchateria Rio Luna. When asking another customer why she liked coming here she replied with ,” I like coming here because the items on the menu are something I’m familiar with and aren’t to complicated. It has the sweets and desserts I grew up with, but with a twist,’ said Alicia Gonzalez.
Horchateria Rio Luna hangs artwork around the walls of the cafe from local artist.
California weather in the summer gets really hot so going to Horchateria Rio Luna with eight dollars being the most expensive item on the menu, might be something a person on a budget would be interested in. It’s a perfect place to hang out with friends during the summer and maybe share that eight dollars Churro ice Cream with.
“ I like coming here because the items on the menu are something I’m familiar with and aren’t to complicated. It has the sweets and desserts I grew up with, but with a twist.’ La Cima Magazine | 21
THIS WEEK
The median list price in WHITTIER, CA this week is $535,250. Inventory has been lightening lately and the Market Action Index has been trending up. These are mildly positive indications for the market.
N LOT S DIA I
6,501 8,000 sqft
ZE
ME
R AVE AGE D
$348
S ON MAR AY
85
PERCENT OF PROPERTIES WITH PRICE DECREASE 32%
T (DOM) KE
PER SQU ICE
E FOOT AR
ASKING PR
MEDIAN LIST PRICE $535,250 PERCENT RELEASTED (RESET DOM) 12%
PERCENT FLIP (PRICE INCREASED) 5%
MEDIAN NUMBER OF BEDROOMS
3.0
MEDIAN NUMBER OF BATHROOMS
2.0
MARKET ACTION INDEX • STRONG SELLER’S 47.1
MEDIAN HOUSE SIZE (SQ FT) 1607
No change Strong upward trend Strong downward trend Slight upward trend Slight downward trend
NEIGHBORHOOD TOP/FIRST $895,000
UPPER/SECOND $598,944
Sq.ft - 2,874 Lot size - 0.25-0.50 acre Beds - 4.0 Baths - 3.0 Age - 52 Inventory - 44 New - 3 Absorbed - 5 DOM - 55
Sq.ft - 1,793 Lot size - 6,501-8,000sqft Beds - 3.0 Baths - 2.0 Age - 60 Inventory - 44 New - 3 Absorbed - 7 DOM - 75
LOWER/THIRD $499,900
LOWER/FOURTH $429,900
Sq.ft - 1,452 Lot size - 4,501-6,500sqft Beds - 3.0 Baths - 2.0 Age - 65 Inventory - 45 New - 7 Absorbed - 12 DOM - 55
Sq.ft - 1,124 Lot size - 4,501-6,500sqft Beds - 3.0 Baths - 1.0 Age - 65 Inventory - 45 New - 11 Absorbed - 11 DOM - 65
Characteristics per Quartile Investigate the market in quartiles where each quartile is 25% of homes ordered by price Most expensive 25% of properties Upper-middle 25% of properties Lower-middle 25% of properties Least expensive 25% of properties Cell 562-318-6965 • Fax 562-464-5811 14758 Whittier Blvd. Suite B Whittier CA. 90605 Cynthia Rodriguez
BENEATH THE WATER BEHIND THE GUY
G
rowing up, every athlete wants to go and compete at their sport of choice for as long as they can. They, often times, begin their athletic careers at an early age, but when it ends depends on a lot of factors, including skill, determination, and goals. Some stop in high school, some move on and play in college. The uncertaintanty of not knowing when one’s playing career will end results in these young adults grinding in the classroom and in their respective playing fields. This is the exact spot 20-year-old Rio Hondo student Jacobo Garrido finds himself in. His sport of choice? Water polo. Water polo is a pretty unique sport to be into. The most famous sports among Americans are football, basketball, and baseball. It’s not too often you come across someone who plays the aggressive water sport. It requires a lot of strength, both mentally and physically, to be able to endure the sport’s underwater ruggedness.
The Whittier native Garrido wasn’t amused the first time he played water polo, it wasn’t even his first choice. “Going into my freshman year [of high school] my mom was making me do a sport,” Garrido explained. “She’s like ‘you got three choices: you either got cross country, water polo, or football.’ So, I tried running, I couldn’t run. And then I’m too small for football, so I just tried water polo and I ended up liking it.” When asked if he liked the sport right from the first time he played, Garrido smiles as if memories from his beginning years of water polo just popped into his head, and they did. “Nah, I was getting my a** kicked (laughs) when I first started. People were drowning me and I’m just like ‘F*ck! What is this? What kind of sport is this?’ But I ended up liking it and continued to play it all throughout high school.”
Story Ramon Alvarado | Photos Aaron Martinez | La Cima Magazine | 23
\I
From benchwarmer to water polo star, sophomore Jacobo Garrido trains religiously for the upcoming season hoping to bring wins for Rio Hondo College.
Garrido began playing water polo at age 13 with some friends who had already been into it. He went on to play three years at Whittier High before going to La Serna his senior year to better his chances of winning. “The Whittier team, no one really took it serious and I wanted to go out with a bang my senior year to see how far and how good I can be,” Garrido explained. “All throughout high school at Whittier, we only made it to first round CIF. At La Serna, we won league and then we went third round CIF. It was pretty cool, I thought I was gonna win CIF with that [La Serna] team. We almost did.” After graduating from La Serna, Garrido attended Mt. Sac College and was a member of their team for a year. He has since transferred to Rio Hondo, as it’s in his hometown of Whittier. The 2017/2018 water polo season will be the first time Garrido plays as a Roadrunner after being a red-shirt last year. Garrido red-shirted (took the season off) so he could develop more skill and extend his athletic eligibility. Water polo coach, Stephen Smith, has been impressed with what he’s seen of Garrido so far at Rio Hondo. “We look for him to bring a lot of experience and leadership
to our program,” Coach Smith said about Garrido. “He works really hard. What he lacks in size, he more than makes up for with speed, skill, and tenacity.” Both Coach Smith and Garrido himself expect the redshirt sophomore to have a huge impact on the team’s upcoming season. Garrido has high hopes for himself and the team. “I want to, hopefully, get like top three in conference. Because the water polo program here, it only got reinstated like three or two years ago for the guys, and every year they’ve been slowly getting better,” Garrido said. “I feel like this year we’re gonna be an actual competitor. We got some guys coming in and the freshman class of last year was pretty decent.” Even with his lofty goals, Garrido remains a student first at Rio Hondo. His main objectives for the future ultimately revolve around education. “After next year I’ll be transferring, but depending on how I do athletically, water polo wise, I’ll pick a school. But it’s [water polo] not really my main priority, I’m kind of going with school first.” Going the “school-first” route is never a bad idea. Especially when you exceed in the
classroom, just as the journalism major Garrido does. Right now, he’s aiming for a career as a writer or reporter. He found an interest in it after taking a few classes under journalism advisor Wendy Carrera. “He’s dedicated, punctual and always exceeds the expectations of many. He’s one of those students that acts like a chameleon; he blends in with all, but leads by example,” Carrera said. “His work is always 110% and is always willing to take risks and learn new things.” No matter how things turn out for Garrido and his athletic career at Rio Hondo, his work ethic in the classroom, along with the strong mindset gained from water polo, should keep him in a position to excel at whatever he chooses to do in the future.
26 | La Cima Magazine
Owning a home may be easier than you think with the
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Time and again, when it well into 30 years now,” Steincomes to inner city violence, berg says in reference to AIM rap and hip-hop are seen as the and her trips to San Quentin. “I culprits. The lyrics are constantly started the workshop to create laced with violence, drugs, sex, a platform to address the topics and misogyny, making it difficult that weren’t being spoken about for mass media and the general at schools: politics, religion, public to try to look further than sexuality, and race. But poputhat for the real source of the larity is defined by culture and problem. defines culture. I knew that to get Now, we can sit and argue my message out there, to make a nature versus nurture until we’re difference, I was going to need to blue in the face, but at the end create a popular artist.” of the day Leila Steinberg said it Our drinks arrive then, best, “It takes a village to raise a the restaurant didn’t have raw child and the village is responsisugar so Steinberg pours a lot of ble for what happens.” creamer into her cup to make up I got the chance to sit with the difference. Steinberg and talk about music, “It’s actually how I met pop culture, race, politics, and the elephant in the room, Tupac Shakur. For those unfamiliar with Steinberg, she is an educator, poet, writer, and Shakur’s friend and first manager. But more importantly, she is the founder of the nonprofit organization AIM4TheTupac,” Steinberg reminisces. HeART that helps at-risk youth “And everyone talks about how to become emotionally literate I discovered him, but he discovthrough the arts. ered me. I was a young mother “I work with children who don’t that wanted to make a difference have parents or come from a because I didn’t have my own dysfunctional family, you can’t mother when I was growing up. just blame that for crime and When you’re in that much pain violence,” said Steinberg as you either want to hurt everyone we waited for our coffee at the or help everyone.” Sidewalk Café on the Venice Steinberg dove into helping boardwalk. everyone around her, but as she The setting turns out to be says “Pac coached me. I ended fitting, if a bit loud. Venice is a up becoming the person he saw diverse city, with people from all in me. I would have never been walks of life living beachside. able to do half of the things I Expensive houses line one end have if it weren’t for him. But of the boardwalk while homeless also, I know that I’m privipeople find shade against walls leged because of my last name. of buildings. The smell of weed It doesn’t matter that I have a sits heavy in the air and fights Mexican mother and that I grew patchouli for dominance. up in south central LA. People “I’ve been doing this for 28 | La Cima Magazine | Story Diana Juarez | Photos Diana Juarez
“ Label me as black, so that’s what I ’ m going to be ” ” - Keki Dexter hear my last name and suddenly I’m worth listening to. I didn’t have anyone tell me what I could do, but nobody told me what I couldn’t do.” And that’s the kicker, isn’t it? All you need is to have a white sounding name and suddenly you’re somebody worth listening to. It’s not a point of argument, there have been plenty of social experiments proving
my picture.” It’s an iconic black and white picture of Shakur, his head slightly bowed, hands held in prayer. I had no idea that she had taken that picture, and I’m tempted to ask if he gets any royalties from it but refrain. Instead I ask, “How do you feel society and pop culture affect what you do?” “We live in a society that puts our worth on how many
ALL EYEZ this to be true. For example, the same resume was sent out twice to the same company, one with the name “Joe” and the other with the name “Jose” and Joe will get the call back but not Jose. “If we were all blind, we’d live in a very different world,” Steinberg said in reference to race. “I have a blind friend that kept insisting that I didn’t really see the world because I can see. It’s true, you know? Walk around blindfolded for a week and you get a whole new perspective for life.” Someone with a Shakur shirt walks in then and Steinberg freezes, a huge smile spreads across her face and she nods towards the shirt and says, “That’s
likes we get instead of the work we actually do. How can we raise our daughters in that environment? And let me tell you something else, I’ve worked with at-risk youth for 30 years. Some years ago I was working with girls, 14 to 16 year old girls that got sent to jail for prostitution. No girl at that age wants to be a prostitute. No way. And if they do, they’re even more messed up and should be getting help. Everything is consumer based; it’s why we have this problem.” A reasonable point of view that I full heartedly agree with. Yet it’s not lost on Steinberg that her, Shakur, and the whole industry are all part of this consumer based society. “We became what we said
Leila Steinberg teaches her students to make a brighter future for themselves by turning tragedy into art that they perform.
we were to get what we needed. The kids we wanted to help were slanging so we got involved in that,” Steinberg says, looking a bit uncomfortable but owning up the truth. “You surround yourself with violence and pain to help save others from it. Dealing drugs and violence became a necessity to be able to afford making music…but you can’t do wrong to do right. We all promoted and marketed violence to get where we needed.” It’s easier to see it after the fact. Studio time is expensive and back then you couldn’t just record yourself on your phone and upload it to YouTube to get
drives to San Quentin to help kids there, and sits with journalism students to talk about all this. “This is what I live for, man. I do all this until I go broke and then I go back and work for people that I don’t always want to work for just so I can continue helping,” Steinberg says when I voice my admiration for her work. The weekly Wednesday workshops are full of pure talent. One of the people that goes to these workshops stands out particularly. Kyerra Dexter, aka: Keki, is a photographer, videographer, and a very talented singer and rapper.
a bit. Places lacked diversity, so now these places are hiring what it lacked,” Dexter is quick to add. “I like where we are as a society because people are taking steps to change things.” The music thrums through the open door and we try to speak over it, conversation flowing through different topics but coming back to music. Dexter is a strong and talented woman and she thanks her mother for that, “My mom was a great role model because she realized that the struggle would be hard and taught me to exceed expectations.” It shows in the way Dexter
ON THEM famous. “Tupac was born from desperation and he wrote from desperation,” Steinberg explains. “He wanted to shift the power balance to give back to people. But it was so easy to get swept up and consumed with that energy.” That energy drives Steinberg today. “It’s why I created AIM. Pac and I wanted to reach out,” so they worked and together they started up writing workshops where they would help at-risk youth get their voices out. Steinberg still holds those workshops,
“Being a black woman in America has twice as many obstacles to work against…It’s crazy, we’re in 2017 and we don’t have a lot of women, let alone black women in power,” said Dexter. We’re outside of the House of Armour for Shakur’s birthday celebration. Many of the people from Steinberg’s workshops are performing, Dexter included. “On the other hand, I am aware that I can use my identity to my advantage. Many people will say it’s a bad thing, but it’s just leveling out the playing field
carries herself, the way she speaks, a level of confidence that many don’t have. Except for everyone at the party. The House of Armour sits at the top of a hill overlooking the every growing Los Angeles skyline. It’s fitting to feel like we’re standing at the top of the world when everyone at the party is talented, empowered, and woke. The term “Black Excellence” comes to mind. “I was definitely influenced by Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The whole album was empowering, it helped me in a moment when I
was feeling at my worst because of how I looked and here was Miss Lauryn not being afraid to own her identity. I want to do that for others with my music because I am very much a child of hip-hop,” said Dexter in regards to her musical influences. “Tupac as well. He defended the stories he sang about, especially the stories people stopped caring about. He was dynamic, sang about everything even when he was told not to.” Hip-hop and rap are treated as more than mediums of storytelling; they’re treated like cultural treasures. As Dexter explained, “White people can pass [physical] things down. Black people only have culture to leave behind. Our music was birthed from struggle in a country that stripped black people of everything that made us human.” Dexter’s lyrics reflect her feelings in many ways, with a poignant line that resonated “All lives matter, yes I agree. But I wasn’t the one who gave me my identity. Label me as black, so that’s what I’m going to be” There is no doubt in my mind that Dexter, like Steinberg, feel that the music goes beyond fame and glory. In fact, everyone at the party and at the weekly workshops have shown to feel the same way. It’s about Brenda’s Baby and Hail Mary. It’s about making a difference in the lives of people who feel that they have nothing. AIM opens the door to talent that would have otherwise stayed hidden.
“
When you’ re in that much pain you either want to
hurt everyone or help everyone”
- Leila Steinberg La Cima Magazine | 29
WONDER An Introspective Into The Cultural Identity Of WonderWoman The people we celebrate in society, that represent our everyday heroes, are idealized version of ourselves. Those who try their place to make the world a better place; they are figures that we (as a society) can aspire to. Fictitious heroes are ones that are not only constant, but everlasting. With Wonder Woman recently resurfacing in the public consciousness, many people focusing on what she stands for. The personal interpretation this character,or of any, should be respected; there’s an aspect of her that’s vital to really understanding her. The character is a champion for whatever cause one is trying to support, whether it be immigration, LGTQB+ rights, and feminism etc. At her core, Wonder Woman is a figure who is always trying to understand and appreciate the differences and feelings of other people, all the while constantly trying to do better. There have been many different variations of the character throughout our
culture but the essence of understanding and the willingness to try to be better is the core of the character. Arguably the most well-known interpretation of the figure, the 2017 film adaptation with Gal Gadot, gets the character right. A film that was expected to be so many different things to so many groups of people succeeded where it needed to the most: in its story. The movie showed worldwide audiences that a female protagonist can succeed even within standard superhero tropes by representing the ideals of the character: one’s compassion can be their strength. In an New York Times Interview, WW Director Patty Jenkins Spoke on the Character aspect she felt she needed to nail for the movie. “I wanted to tell a story about a hero who believes in love, who is filled with love, who believes in change and the betterment of mankind.” Instead of having a passive reaction to events around her, she has a wide
spectrum of emotion that made her incredibly relatable. Moreso, she’s not the same person as when she started; she grows as a character. At the beginning she’s idealized to a fault and her naive viewpoint of mankind had her unaware of the complex reasoning of human beings. She blamed the entirety of the evil of the world on a single problem, but by the end she realizes that people choose who they want to be. The complexities of their circumstances are why they choose to live their life a certain way. While the film certainly champions for female rights and empowerment, the film isn’t particularly a “girl” movie, it’s a movie for all people. Since Films have huge notoriety and widespread cultural influence, the fact that they were able to understand the essence of WW is very respectful to what she stands for. The character is strength, passion, understanding and hope: Wonder Woman is us.
Domestic / Worldwide Box Office Wonder Woman(unadjusted) Date Jun 2–4 Jun 9–11 Jun 16–18
Rank 1 1 2
Weekend $103,251,471 $58,520,672 $41,268,850
Gross-to-Date $24,790 $103,251,471 $14,051 $206,343,175 $10,271 $275,095,580
Week 1 2 3
Domestic Total as of Jun. 19, 2017: $279,903,994+ Foreign: $298,400,000 = Worldwide:$578,303,994
30 | La Cima Magazine | Story Noah Garcia | Photos Courtesy of Warner Brothers
WOMAN Q&A Q
with: Christie Marston (Granddaughter of the creator of wonder woman)
How has Wonder Woman Affected you personally?
WW & my grandmother are one in the same. Gram was an amazing woman and had a very positive effect in my life, particularly in all the years we were very close after I was an adult. Some people you just can't replace... Q
Is there a particular rendition of her that is your favorite ? (Television animated ect.) My favorite will always be the originalcomic book version.
Q
With her current resurgence in the public conscience, WW has been used by many different social groups to represent a variety of social causes, ideas and minority groups. Is there anything specific you feel that Wonder Woman should/ or can represent in society? WW is for everybody. EVERYbody! Any faction who believes in fair play, compassion, human kindness and equality for all is a great match. I don't have favorite factions; I may rally more for some groups who are shown intolerance, but there is no 'favorite' faction.
Q
There were many expectations on the WW movie, have you seen it and/or what do you think what effect it will have on the movie industry as a whole?
I have seen the movie, and love it! I have no doubt that Patty Jenkins has rocked the movie industry back on its heels. I also have no doubt that she opened doors for many talented people who have thus far been overlooked. Q
For those who write the character (whether it be in book, comic, movie, tv etc.) is there a particular aspect of the character you feel that needs to be done in order for the portrayal to be true to the idea of Wonder Woman? Absolutely! WW must have high ethics and very sound and inclusive human values. She needs to be - at all times - a role model and inspiration to all.
La Cima Magazine | 31
Local Breweries That Make C
Beer, the nectar of the gods, a beverage consumed by prince and peasant alike. Beer has always been a large part of college culture, such as the Spring Break party goers getting plastered in places like Cancun and New Orleans, but there has been a new beer culture growing within niche groups of beer drinkers. Craft beer is a beer created for the discerning beer connoisseur, those intent on tasting the finest flavors beer brewers have to offer. Unfortunaly craft beer can be a little pricey in bars and stores. For students at Rio condo college, the craft brewing scene actually surprisingly accessible then and if, after a hard day’s work of learning everything the higher education has to offer, nothing is better than cracking a cold one open with the boys. In the case of Rio Hondo, there are a couple craft breweries that are fairly close to campus.
The front sign of the brewery facing Whittier Blvd with the brewerys burning stable emblem.
Angry Horse Brewing just a hop, skip, and a jump from Rio Hondo College on Whittier Blvd is a nice and quiet place with an enjoyable ambiance. The Brewery has been open for five months and before that the brand began as a home brew, however it was never bottled or canned. Since the brewery opened its doors to thirsty customers Montebello seems to have been very welcoming to this brewery, “We realized quickly there is not a lot of hang out spots or places to chill at. Everybody is looking around to go hang out with their friends here in the city and that is when we opened our doors. We have people from even Venice just coming into our try beers and hang out.” Said Ivonna Mazuik, Brand Manager, “there are all different types of bars, and if you’re just looking for the best bar to appeal to the masses you really lose a lot of the individuality associated with angry horse.
“If you are trying to find a nice ambiance with dark lights and good beer then Angry Horse Brewing is the place for you.“ -Ivonna Mazuik
The Bar area has park style wooden benches, board games, and televisions.
“It is a common question for us to ask what kind of beer you like, and if then, the next question is what do you like in your beer?” Said Mazuik. Angry Horse Brewing is expanding to give drinkers a full experience of the process and they plan on branching into stores where craft beer is available. Students who want to come taste the beer, they will also want to come because there is a strong sense of community here. It can feel as familiar as any place where someone would normally go out and drink with your friends. Besides the delicious beer they have to offer, the abundance of televisions, board games, and laid-back music really makes a person want to put their cellphone away and just get to know someone on a personal level, and this brewery is a great The different beers that Angry Horse has to offer at the bar, place to do that. If some good beer and such as thier take on the classic Indian Pale Ale. great times sound good to you, then go to Angry Horse Brewing located at 603 W. Whittier Blvd. 32 | La Cima Magazine | Story Eric Muñoz | Photos Jake Laurell
Craft Beer College Friendly
A flight of beers consisting of different types of beers made using different recipes and brewing methods.
Tucked away into a small area of south EL Perhaps the most striking difference between monte is Progress brewing. A brewery that progress and the others is the fact that both opened its doors in 2013 with nothing but Benitez and his partners have degrees in their “Blonde” ale. As time passed, the brewchemistry. Thats a big factor when it comes to ery added more beers to their menu, and the brewing beer, “we play a lot with the science community slowly got used to having a neighof the beer. Play a lot with the malts, or water borhood brewery. Progress brewing never really chemistry, brewing chemistry, and creating advertised like many of the larger breweries in our own yeast.” Said Benitez. With their nice Southern California, Progress Brewing became friendly ambience and low prices, it seems that a spot where only people in the “know” would progress brewing really is about making the go to get their hands on some of the most finest of beers accessible to the “average joe six unique beers in Southern California. “Five years pack,” and it shows with their low prices and ago, there where very little breweries surround large selection of available craft brews. So if the San Gabriel valley, now they are starting you want to be able to grab some tasty beers to sprout up.” Said Diego Benitez, one of the with your buddies in a low key atmosphere then Co-owners, “I am from Mexico and I grew up head on down to Progress brewing. enriched and still connected to the Mexican culture and wanted to` bring a little bit of that to hear in El Monte.” He then went on to describe how progress brewing has really become a meeting ground for people who live and grew up in el monte. “we Get anyone from people coming in on their bikes filling up their growlers to the business owner in a Ferrari.” Benitez then told me about the The Different types of available beer brewed by progress,such as blonde and belgium growing brewery ale, along with various prices and sizes. presence in southern California and the ways So if the pressures of class or life have you pulling out your hair, then progress brewing sets take a trip on down to one of these amazing breweries. Remember to itself bring your friends when you do, so they can taste some of the delicious apart from other brewcraft beer these breweries have to offer! eries. La Cima Magazine | 33
E
MUSIC FE
lectric music Festivals are, as of late, playing a very predominate role in entertainment, gathering people from different walks of life, bringing them together with the same motive, goal, and purpose. These festivals of art, music, and food typically have different themes and an array of different artists and DJ’s that, when combined, contain all the ingredients needed to make festival attendees go wild. With every year that passes, more and more young adults worldwide are buying tickets to festivals like Coachella, Electric Daisy Carnival, and Tomorrowland. And every year the excitement and expectations for what to expect thicken and deepens. What DJ’s will be playing and what theme will be selected next? Because these festivals are solely crafted around the creative mind, festival attendees get extremely creative as to what they wear and are
sure to follow the theme. But who is behind this festival madness you ask? Well, besides our large interest in leisure and fun, the demand for festivals like these is constantly growing. Companies like Insomniac productions, Hard productions, and the team behind Coachella, are companies that are satisfying the current festival crave. Other companies alike continue to push the envelope on what to expect and what to anticipate with each growing event. As festivals continue to thrive and dominate the entertainment scene, we must question ourselves on its origin and the overall impact that the culture is associated with it. Although our generation would love
34 | La Cima Magazine | Story Steven Perez & Cynthia Olvera | Photos Steven Perez
to take credit for this cultural movement, truthfully speaking, the act of gathering and bonding over music, food, and entertainment has been happening for centuries. As far back as Roman days, people were gathering and dressing up to celebrate art and life on the same day for the same reason. Pure enjoyment and the celebration of life is the end goal for these events. Photos taken from any of these events can clearly show the sense of creativity and community that comes with attending. However, despite the creative beauty and energy put into these festivals,
ESTIVALS the actual production comes with many negative opinions. Society and the general public have given the music festival culture a bad rep given that this culture is based purely on having fun and enjoying yourself. We must now acknowledge the elephant in the room: yes, electric dance music is widely known for the use of euphoric drugs to enhance the experience. That being said, one can easily say that these festivals are providing a place for drug use and bad behavior. The truth is the scene is becoming so much more mainstream. The crowds attracted are much more diverse and not the typical “raver”
seen at electric dance shows of the past. We are seeing a new type of culture growing from these events, a culture of community, creativity, and love. If we could expect everyone to party responsibly, there are always those few who take it way too far. But when are we going to place the blame on the individuals instead of the festivals themselves? Who are we kidding right? We are the same society blaming access to fast food with obesity. It’s much easier to blame others than change our way of living. Instead of teaching our young adults to know self-restraint and overall awareness we instead
feel that removing the source is better.ut these production companies have caught on to the worries of the public and have been working hard to provide many security measures to ensure a safe place for attendees to enjoy. Measures like medical attention on site and a team of “ground control” are available for any need of attendees. The sum is that these festivals are creating a place for different walks of life to interact and meet. They provide entertainment and experiences that last a lifetime. And if you’ve already attended, you can attest they are doing a damn good job at it. This scene deserves a seat at the table of entertainment for its ability to create moments, experiences, and friendships that last a lifetime.
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VINTAGE VOGUE 2220 W WHITTIER BLVD., LA HABRA, CA 90631 CLOSED SUNDAYS Â 36 | La Cima Magazine
PH;(562) 697-3434
Illustration Aaron Martinez | La Cima Magazine | 37
California’s
Cool Hot Ticket
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here’s no shortage of museums in the Los Angeles area of Southern California. Locals and visitors could find a plethora of must-visits with a single search of the ‘net. A lot of these museums in Los Angeles have been there, and will likely remain there, for a long time to come. That’s where the pop-up sensation Museum of Ice Cream differentiates its unique self. The museum, directed by Maryellis Bunn, aims to “design environments that bring people together and provoke imagination.”
The Museum of Ice
38 | La Cima Magazine
Cream first launched its pop-up spectacle in New York during the 2016 year. The museum has been raved about right from its beginning, selling out all opening dates in just five days while garnering a waitlist of over 200,000 people. The museum worked with International Flavors and Fragrances scientists to come up with scents and flavors inspired by ice cream for a one-of-a-kind experience. After its successful first stop in New York, the Museum of Ice Cream melted its way down west to the Arts District of Los Angeles. The pop-up was originally slated to run through April 22 and May 29, but due to popular demand, the museum will be welcoming in and brightening up Los Angeles visitors through mid-August. Southern California’s pop-up location is four times larger than its New York predecessor and includes 10 different instillations for all to enjoy. Among these installations are a mint grow house, a “banana split” containing 10,000 bananas, a
popsicle jungle that drips to the delight of guests, and a dreamlike pool of sprinkles. One would expect a mint-colored room to stand out, and the grow house does just that in the predominately pinkthemed Museum of Ice Cream. Guests are able to bathe their eyes in the mint walls and have the chance to water the room’s plants. The grow house’s aroma and beautifully constructed display is a sight to see for everybody. With over 10,000 of the yellow fruits sprouted in pink, the “banana-split” offers a unique sight that is (probably) designed to drive a gorilla into a frenzy. The room has bananas hanging and raining from its pink ceiling. If that weren’t enough, the room also features pink and banana wallpaper to flood your eyes. There’s even a swing that allows guests to sway through the banana wonderland. Not being able to take the giant, dripping popsicles out to enjoy in the Southern Califor-
nia sun might be the only problem one could encounter at the Museum of Ice Cream. The popsicle jungle has props of the cold treat in huge sizes and vibrant colors laying on the floor, sticking out the ground, and popping out the walls. The room’s ice cream display provides (some) guests to live out a little something they might’ve dreamed about. Another one of the unique installations the museum offers is their “iconic swimmable sprinkle pool.” The pool is filled with 100 million sprinkles that were specially designed and produced by those at the Museum of Ice Cream themselves. The pool is accompanied by pink beach balls and swim tubes, while surrounded by pink-tiled walls.There’s also a diving board implemented in the display that is perfect to sit or stand on for a picture. Along with the dreamy installations, the Museum of Ice Cream showcases some of the best ice cream shops in the surrounding area. Every week a different ice cream is highlighted
from creameries of the likes of McConnell’s, Salt & Straw, and CREAM. There’s also a special tasting of a mochi ice cream brought together by My/Mo and DOVE. The two got together to make a “silky smooth, golden chocolate” ice cream with a must-try rich flavor for those able to visit. The Museum of Ice Cream has been one of the hottest tickets in Southern California and will continue to be a hot ticket no matter where they decide to pop up after their stint in Los Angeles. They’ll be visiting more cities the rest of the year and in 2018, though the next locations have yet to be announced. Those lucky enough to get inside the museum are in for a treat; for their eyes and their stomachs. With the visual and edible wonders present at their pop-ups, there is sure to be people everywhere aching for the chance to get a taste of the Museum of Ice Cream.
Museum of Ice Cream 2018 E 7th Pl Los Angeles, CA 90021 Wednesday - Monday 11 AM - 10 PM
Story Ramon Alvarado | Photos Courtesy of Museum of Ice Cream/Katie Gibbs & Adobe Stock/© viennetta14 | La Cima Magazine | 39
LETS G T THE H LE W
hat can we say about the Donut Hole? The shop is a bakery and a landmark in La Puente, California. The number one thing that it’s known for is for the two giant shape donuts that you can drive through. There is a donut split in two halves with a driveway in the middle. The driveway allows customers to drive through to place and pick up their orders, on the right we can see the donuts being made and on the left we see a variety of fluffy donuts just waiting for you. The building was constructed in 1968 and is the second of five Donut Hole locations, but this is the only location that’s building is shaped as a donut that dates to the original construction range from 1947 to 1958 to 1962. What we do know is that in 1979 the donut chain went out of business and only the La Puente location is the only still operating bakery. It is a tradition for newlyweds to drive through the donut and believe it is good luck, others view it a sexual symbol. The shop is one of the most photographed locations with such an iconic structure there is no surprise that it has appeared on the big screen. It made an appearance in a 1985 comedy, “Moving Violation”, in a 1993 movie, “Calendar Girl”. The location has some pretty distinct donut toppings, some that you wouldn’t expect to have on a donut. For example, s’mores, fruit loops, cinnamon toast crunch, fruity pebbles and many more. One that caught my attention was the fruit loop since that is my favorite cereal I was excited to see how great it was. It is something that I would definitely go back and get many times. This location is opened from four in the morning to two in the morning, yes can you believe it is close for just two hours. I went around noon and there wasn’t a long line so I was able to take my time when choosing my donuts, but in the evening until late at night they get busy and as a first time customer you will get rushed and you will feel pressured to rush when ordering. Don’t get
me wrong the service is great and they will help you with any questions that you might have. As your driving in the first window you place your order, but if its your first time there just let then know and they will let you drive up to the next window to place your order that way you get to see the many options you have or if you want to try them all you can choose one of each and that can include the recently new Hot Cheetos donuts. Yes, you read right, Hot Cheetos, it is actually surprisingly good the sweetness of the donut and the spice of the chip make a great combination. Many people are just discovering this location because of social media the donut topping are the ones that grab the people’s attention. They are unusual, some that you would have never thought about. Who would have thought of putting bacon on a donut or Hot Cheetos, also the structure grabs people’s attention If you call ahead you can even customize your own donuts if it’s for a birthday, graduation or just for a love that would make a great surprise for anyone. If you would like to have a delicious and unique breakfast or desert definitely stop by and enjoy some amazing donuts. The Donut Hole is located at 15300 Amar Rd, LA Puente, CA 91744, which is about fifteen minutes away from campus. At least you know where to go if you want to surprise your taste buds.
40 | La Cima Magazine | Story Eileen Gaeta | Photos & Illustrations Eileen Gaeta
a i n r o f i l a C n r e h t u o t i S s i p V o T o t s e r e Beach m m u S e h t g n i r u D
Southern California is known for the sun, waves, and beaches. Are you on a budget or looking for a mini roadtrip?Looknofurther!We narroweddownthetopthree beaches to visit this summer with your friends and family!
LAUSENS BEACH SAN CLEMENTE
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ausens Beach, known as Lost Winds Beach, is a hidden beach located in the small coastal town of San Clemente. Located in North San Diego County, this beach offers a calm summer getaway for family and friends. The entrance is hidden between beautiful multimillion dollar homes on Calle De Los Alamos Street and parking is free year-long in the residential area. Beach volleyball courts are available to those who want to have a pickup game with friends. You are able to swim, surf, and absorb the Southern California sun at this wonderful spot! Unfortunately, there is no bathroom access nearby, so you will have to walk about a quarter mile north towards the pier where public bathrooms are available. Swimming and surfing are popular at Lausens Beach and attracts visitors from afar. Inflatable pool toys are welcome! Dozens of people are seen out in the ocean with their inflatable flamingos, riding the waves to shore. When swimming, remember to watch out for flamingos and surfboards on the loose. Lausens is nestled in between T-Street Beach, and Calafia State Beach. These beaches attract professional and intermediate surfers, while Lausens Beach is perfect for those who want to try out surfing for the first time! This hidden San Clemente surf and swim spot is the perfect place to spend your summer days. Story Sara Harding | Photos Sandra Reyes | La Cima Magazine | 41
CRESCENT BAY LAGUNA BEACH
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rescent Bay, located in Northern Laguna Beach is a hidden gem in Southern California. Only a quarter mile long, this pristine beach has crystal clear waters and beautiful landscapes. At low tide, crabs and other forms of marine life are visible in tide-pools that are accessible on either side of the cove. Popular scuba diving spots, Seal Rock and Dead Man’s Reef, are both located offshore from Crescent Bay. After a long day at the beach, you can hop on the trolley and get a ride to downtown Laguna. In downtown, boutiques, shops, and restaurants are nestled up and down Pacific Coast Highway. Here you can dine at high-end restaurants or at an American classic, Johnny Rockets. Downtown Laguna Beach culturally and artistically brings friends and family together to create memories that can last a lifetime. A local park that attracts visitors during the summer is Crescent Bay Point Park. Point Park is located above the west side of the beach off Crescent Bay Drive on a bluff. At Point Park, you can enjoy a picnic in the park, or get a sunset picture for your Instagram.
42 | La Cima Magazine
HUNTINGTON BEACH
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each goers from all over the world flock to Surf City U.S.A. to get a taste of the Southern California culture. Huntington Beach is the perfect place to go with family and friends to get the full California experience. You can enjoy your day at the beach with dozens of beach volleyball courts and bathrooms accessible right off the sand. Bike and surfboard rentals are available near the pier, where you can tandem bicycle ride with friends or learn how to surf with a loved one. At the end of the day, you can make your way to the pier where Ruby’s diner and Duke’s restau-
rants are located. Across from the pier, Huntington Beach has world class hotels, restaurants, and shopping for any visitor’s budget. All summer long, Huntington Beach offers events for locals and tourists to enjoy. Every Tuesday night the city hosts a street fair just steps away from the ocean. Food and art vendors fill main street and appeal to people with any style and appetite! For a week during July and August, they host the U.S. Open of Surfing, a surf competition and lifestyle event for all ages. This week-long event draws dozens of professional surfers from all over the world and the Southside of the pier becomes an outdoor arena, with bleachers and ADA seating available.
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La casita De Mi Gente When you think of Mexican American culture, what is the first thing you think of? Is it Selena? Is it Frida Kahlo? Is it pan dulce? Or maybe it’s a sugar skull inspired makeup tutorial? Our roots, the roots of our parents, are buried so deep in the ground that they’ve reached hell; I hear that that’s the only way a tree can grow to heaven. But that’s neither here nor there. No, the question is, what is Mexican American Culture and why is it trending? I could have gone anywhere to find the answer to that question, I could have spoken to anyone. But when I think of the Mexican American culture trend I think of bright colors, Mariachi music, and prints that are usually only reserved for sarapes. So I headed to uptown Whittier and spoke to Yolanda Garcia. Casita del Pueblo, owned by Garcia, is located on the corner of Philadelphia St. and Bright Ave. Garcia used to teach elementary school but now spends her days planning gallery shows among other things. Her store has everything: Flaming hearts, crosses in every style, size, and color, an altar dedicated to Frida Kahlo, a Blue Demon Dodgers mask, an art gallery in the back room, and Mickey Mouse ears made of conchas. That’s right, delicious conchas were used in the design of some Mickey Mouse ears headband. As a backdrop, Casita del Pueblo makes for a colorful location for all your hipster photo shoot needs, what with its blue walls and multicolored, 44 | La Cima Magazine | Story Diana Juarez | Photos Diana Juarez
one of a kind merchandise. It’s any Mexican American hipster’s paradise. #fridaforlife “We liked Frida before she was hipster,” Garcia laughs. The plans for the yearly Frida Kahlo show are underway, even as the backroom gallery is in between shows. The remnants of the last installment strewn around in careful but precarious stacks, while pieces for the next show are waiting to be put up. Garcia’s younger daughter is at the cashier and she happily, if a bit anxiously, waits to help any customer. That’s part of the allure for me, the family feel of the store reminds me of how my family conducts business. Garcia explains the upcoming art show while she has an eye in the front room to greet any customer. She greets anyone that walks through the door whether they buy something or not and strikes up easy conversation with everyone. “It wasn’t just about retail or even being an art gallery. It was about creating a community space that didn’t exist before. Our Dia de los Muertos celebration is one of the biggest in the city, and nobody was celebrating Frida Kahlo before either.” Hard to believe, considering that Whittier has such a big Hispanic community in general, but she achieved what she had set out to do. The sense of community is strong at Casita del Pueblo, with its workshops run by the very artists that Garcia showcases, shows that promote expression, kid’s art show, live music, and much more. “I think [the need to reconnect with roots] a culmination of things. Before this administration, we had this bump in pride for being a person of color. We had our first black president and that made us all proud, we needed to celebrate culture and diversity. With this current administration we [Mexicans] need to mobilize because we are more than tacos and burritos.”
And we do need this. We need it like we need a cafesito de olla with a concha, the way we need a good Vicente Fernandez or Juan Gabriel song after a breakup. Because, bottom line, Mexicans have had their identity dragged through the mud. We need empowerment. “We’ve been here a long time,” Garcia says and for a second I’m not sure if she refers to the store or us as a community. Both, as it turns out. “A big percentage of business owners here are Latino. We are an influential guidance in Whittier.” It’s hard to argue when you look at current trends. We Millenials are embracing our roots in a time when the powers that run this country are trying to tear us down. Whatever those roots may be, they are important to us all. “It’s our obligation to instill a sense of community in our cities. It’s empowering and the best way to combat hate is through community. It’s our legacy, and one of our biggest values is family. But even that dynamic is changing because young people are breaking the norm,” said Garcia. Garcia went on to list the things we young people are changing. Most of us are getting married older, not having children, not becoming homeowners, and living with our parents longer. All things that are closely related to finance. “Not everyone can afford a $500 painting, but you can afford a $6 magnet with the same
print,” Garcia explained to me, pointing in the direction of those magnets. They’re nicer than the plastic fruit magnets my grandmother preferred, but with the same nostalgic feel. “Art should be accessible to everyone, and I help artists do that. Not just to make them money, but the best way to diversify and share culture is through music, fine arts, food, and fashion,” said Garcia. “Diversity is important, especially in America. It’s a hyphenated country, so many of us are more than just American, you can’t isolate our identities. It’s not good for the community.” Truer words were never spoken. We all are more than the sum of our parts. There’s more to Mexican American culture than Selena and tacos from la lonchera. Our identity is as multifaceted as the individuals that make it up, and Casita del Pueblo represents the every changing dynamic of our ever evolving community. The art showcases both old and new seamlessly intertwining. There’s a Vicenter Fernadez Dodger blue t-shirt that has the famous singer with an LA embossed sombrero, there’s a drawing of two men in sugar skull face paint and it’s clear that they’re not just friends, cell phone cases decorated with Kahlo’s unique face. You need a present for your new ahijado? There are adorable mini guayaberas for the new tiny tot. “My favorite thing about my culture and this store is the diversity and inclusion of queer and trans people. People tend to have a preconceived idea of what being Mexican American means and it’s too confining. You can’t step a toe out of their box or you’re considered a sellout or white washed. But our culture is changing, like all cultures do, because younger generations learn and evolve,” said Marcia Serrano, a patron of Casita del Pueblo. A solid echo to what Garcia had mentioned. Every corner of the store has something unexpected yet familiar. If you want the full experience that the store has to offer, head down on July 8 for the Frida Kahlo show where anyone and everyone can show their love for the prolific artist through all mediums imaginable. Merchandise and art found at Casita del Pueble has an undertone of traditionally and culturally based subjects but with a modern twist. The artists and creators are local, helping the community grow and celebrate the talent that exists among its citizens.
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Summer Happy Hour RECIPES
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ou find yourself week-after-week fighting off the summer heat. Before you know it it’s Monday again, and you’re finally unwinding putting your feet up after an exhausting day. A cold, ice blended drink sounds not only tempting but also refreshing for a mid-afternoon wind down. Whip up a batch of refreshing cocktails for everyone old enough to drink at home and enjoy. You will find the recipes are nearly effortless, and without weighing heavily on your wallet. Investing in top-shelf liquor bottles pays off, in terms of, quality of taste and less excruciating hangovers. Get into the habit of passing by the liquor isle to look for markdowns while grocery shopping. Limited edition bottles get markdown rather quickly as well as seasonal flavors. Before heading down to the grocery store, keep in mind how many guests will arrive, as well as location, and weather. Be conscious of your guests’ liquor preferences and opt for appropriate drinks for the occasion. Have fun with the recipes and make it your own. As you experiment with the recipes, feel free to modify the ingredients to best fit your preference, whether it may be with more alcohol, or less. If the acidity of the citrus empowers the overall taste, use half.
The Perks of Staying In:
Avoiding Hangovers:
0The most obvious perk is not running the risk of driving while under the influence. Tipsy driving is drunk driving and not only is your life in danger when you decide to drive under the influence, but you also risk the lives of every motorist and cyclist around you. Avoid a DUI altogether and enjoy a carefree evening at home. There are opportunities to save money by preparing your own drinks at home as well. A mix drink at the bar after happy hour can range upwards from $12, and you’re probably getting an unpalatable, unbalanced mix with way too much sweet and sour, topped with a stale lime.
To best avoid an awful hangover it is recommended to have plenty of rest, consume adequate amounts of water and supplements containing electrolytes, and most importantly not skipping any meals before drinking.
Sometimes you want to skip putting pants on and applying makeup just to have a drink at the bar with friends. Instead, invite your friends over for a casual night — makeup is strictly optional. Here’s to creating new memories with a margarita in hand, cheers.
46 | La Cima Magazine | Story Blanca Martin | Photos Blanca Martin
There are numerous ways to prevent a hangover, but not all social engagements are planned, and for those spontaneous moments we often times pay the price. We suffer the consequences the next day with a raging headache, fatigue and what seems like a never-ending thirst. If you find yourself with more hangovers than you could endure, then stocking up on hangover prevention products is a must. There are products like Electrolit, a flavored 21-ounce electrolyte beverage available at supermarkets for about $3. The infamous Never Too Hungover is a sugar-free 3.5-ounce supplement containing vitamins that neutralize toxins, they can be found at BevMo for about $5.
MOJITO
Watermelon Wine Spritzer
Glassware: 12-ounce Highball Glass
Glassware: Pitcher and 4 short tumblers
INGREDIENTS: 2 shots rum 1 lime quartered 1 teaspoon sugar 6-ounces Pellegrino sparkling water 5 mint sprigs ice
INGREDIENTS: 1 chilled bottle of sweet white wine or sweet red wine 1 bottle of chilled Pellegrino sparkling mineral water 1 small seedless watermelon cut into cubes 4 lime slices for garnish ice
TOOLS: knife cutting board hand-held lemon squeezer tablespoon shot glass muddler or rolling pin stirrer optional: strainer
TOOLS: knife cutting board wine opener large pitcher straw
METHOD: Before muddling all ingredients together, start off by extracting the juice using a hand-held lemon squeezer. Squeeze the fresh lime juice from wedges and throw each lime wedge onto tall glass. Add sugar, mint leaves and begin muddling. Tip: bruise mint leaves to release essentials oils, and avoid tearing. Combine all ingredients over ice into tall glass and stir.
Long Island Iced Tea – Fri-yay! Glassware: 12-ounce Highball Glass INGREDIENTS: .5 ounce gin .5 ounce vodka .5 ounce rum .5 ounce tequila .5 ounce triple sec 1 ounce sweet and sour cola lemon slice for garnish ice TOOLS: Knife Cutting board straw METHOD: Pour ingredients over ice into tall glass. Top glass with cola and garnish with a lemon.
METHOD: Pour bottle of wine into pitcher. To the wine, gently add watermelon cubes. Then, fill each glass with ice and pour Âź cup of Pellegrino sparkling mineral water. Fill the rest of the glass with wine, stir and garnish with a slice of lime.
CLASSIC MARGARITA Glassware: 6-ounce Glass INGREDIENTS: 2 shots of one-hundred percent agave tequila 1-ounce orange liquer, such as cointreau .5-ounce of fresh lime juice coarse salt or tajin ice TOOLS: knife cutting board METHOD: Salt the rim of the glass using coarse salt or substitute with tajin. Combine ingredients over ice onto glass and stir.
La Cima Magazine | 47
With this coupon in hand, Tender Loving Care Animal Hospital will provide you a $20 discount on your first office consultation.
Tender Loving Care Animal Hospital Veterinary Hospital, Tender Loving Care Animal Hospital located in Baldwin Park, CA. provides complete medical and surgical care to all pets. Veterinarian Dr. Juan Casillas II founded TLC Animal Hospital in 2002. Vaccinations, general wellness visits to major medical care and services available. Address:
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All pet lovers welcome! Only the best and affordable care for your pets! 48 | La Cima Magazine
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La Cima Magazine | 49
M
arijuana, weed, reefer madness; it is as prevalent as the smell it leaves onto everything it touches, as its effects throughout our society in the Southland. With Prop 215 passing in 1996 any Californian of the age of 18 that passed the medical requirements could medicate with marijuana, with the drug being used for decades in The Golden State before that. Now, with Prop 64 being passed allowing anyone in the state of the age of 21 can purchase recreational marijuana. With California estimated too have over 1200 clinics in the state, according to the LA Times, and is standing to make between hundreds millions and one billion dollars. When marijuana is expected to be purchasable, on Jan 1, 2018 according to California Legislative Analyst’s Drew Soderborg, marijuana has no plans to be all of being uprooted in the near future. Marijuana has had a complicated, enigmatic past. It first received its schedule 1 classification under the Substance Control Act enacted by the Nixon Administration in 1971. Regardless of the Shafer Commission ordered by Nixon in 1973 recommending marijuana be decriminalized according to the Huffington Post. John Ehrlichman, former aid to the Nixon Administration said according to the Huffington Post, “Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.”
Despite marijuana still being schedule 1 drug, in an article published in 2015 by TIME Magazine listed the medical benefits: relieve a range of symptoms including nausea from chemotherapy, loss of appetite among HIV positive patients, multiple sclerosis spasms, depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, psychosis and Tourette syndrome. “I Like smoking because I feel anxious like 95% of the time and it just relaxes me, I don’t smoke to get high all the time just at least to calm me.” Cynthia Olivera said when asked on why she smokes marijuana. Olivera 21 year old journalism major student going to Rio Hondo College for a year and has been smoking weed since her freshmen year of High School. She first tried it during the seventh grade but didn’t really enjoy it. But after rediscovering marijuana during high school Olivera has not looked back. “The relief and remedies weed gave me allowed me to be less stressed about things. I was less tense, less aggravated when I would smoke. The best part was though it helped me sleep.” Nick Robles stated when asked what weed did for him.
Robles a 22 year old freelance photographer used to smoke marijuana habitually for a year. He tried it with his sister a two years beforehand but never really enjoyed it because it was too harsh for In California alone between 2006 to 2015 him. But after trying here and there a reported by the Drug Policy Alliance more frequently said that nearly 500,000 people have Kameron (who only wanted to disclose been arrested for marijuana reported by his first name) ,co owner along with his The Washington Times. cousin of Urban Medicinal Incorporated, 50 | La Cima Magazine | Story Jake Laurell | Photos Eric Muñoz
started this dispensary as means of opportunity and wanting to enterprise and branch out within the marijuana industry here in California. “When all’s said and done this weed enterprise, this industry here in California is going to be worth a billion or over right? The way I look at it is that that is a enough of a piece of a pie for everybody.” Kameron said during an interview about his intentions for opening up a dispensary. Platinum Jack a Sativa dominant hybrid meant to leave you in a happy or energetic mood. Best suited treating chronic fatigue, depression, insomnia, and stress.
“When all’s said and done this weed enterprise, this industry here in California is going to be worth a billion or over right? The way I look at it is that is a enough of a piece of a pie for everybody.” -Kameron Qui Smith, a manager from the east coast at Urban Medicinals Incorporated(a medicinal marijuana shop), has been smoking marijuana for 10 years to relieve herself of menstrual cramps and injuries from a car accident. “The doctors told me would you rather smoke weed or take pills, and I said honestly I would rather smoke weed.” Smith is responsible for guiding the patients on how to best medicate themselves with or restock their supplies. Since it opened two months ago in Inglewood, it has accumulated a steady amount of over 500 patients. Smith stated how the shop’s patients vary from all walks of life asking for all different kinds of strains or products. Smith also stated how she constantly receives phones calls or has people from other states expressing their enthusiasm for the “California Bud.” Smith stated that since Prop 64 passed marijuana or weed, there has been a little change and has become more socially acceptable. “I feel like it should be legal, and it comes from the creator. And it helps people with cancer, seizures; Weed is medicine.” Smith replied when asked if she believes if there is any medicinal properties ` Weed doesn’t come without any fallbacks however. Although no serious side effects are seen with marijuana (unless you are using K2 Spice which is physically harmful) other than getting sick from ingesting too many edibles there is still so little amount of research around marijuana and negative side effects have been found. There is still so
much we don’t about the drug due to the permits acquired to study said substance is very difficult to get. A study done by JAMA (The Journal of the American Medical Association), over a 25 year period testing the effects of smoking weed on short term memory reported by the Seattle Times. The study found that people who smoked marijuana on a daily basis for over five years suffered a deficiency when it came verbal memory in middle age than people who didn’t smoke, or who smoked less. The studied showed that out of a group of 10 people, those who smoked marijuana had people remember 15 words within a short time period remember on average 8.5 words out of 15 compared to the on average of non smokers of nine out of 15 words.
Andrew Garcia, a cook at Empanada Shop in Santa Monica stopped smoking weed due certain drawbacks that have often been noted stereotypes and stigma attached to the drug. He first tried it with Caesar back in the 6th grade and got really heavy into the habit his senior year of high school. “I stopped because I would always kick it with the my friend Michael and we would always do the same old same old, but with no money and no future really. Every Time it was dumb; collect every scrap of change we got and find a way to get high. I just got tired of it and wanted to advance my life instead of just being stuck.” Urban Medicinals offers many strains on a spectrum of needs for a customized personal experience for the patients.
Another study done by the University of Chicago, with 42 volunteers varying in age between 18 to 40, proved that marijuana does, in fact, actually relieve stress according to Medical News Today, but only in smaller doses. The study had the volunteers perform certain tasks after taking the capsules observing how the volunteers interact. Patients given the smaller dose capsules 7.5 milligrams of THC did not feel any negative moods during and after the task they had to complete that morning compared to the higher capsule doses of 12.5 milligrams of THC, and the placebo capsules. Meaning smoking a few puffs of marijuana does actually relieve stress, but smoking anymore of it doesn’t. The volunteers who took took the higher doses also had to pause more during the task compared to those that took the placebo capsule.
La Cima Magazine | 51
Make Summer 2017 Picture Perfect
W
hen you were a kid, planning family adventures for the summer was always exciting. What was even better about it all was not worrying about paying a dime and still having the summer of your life. However now, you are an adult. This can be looked at in two different ways, both good and bad. The perk of being an adult is having freedom. Although every good has to have a bad and in this case it’s being on a tight college budget and the confliction of having free time. Adulthood means handling your responsibilities and finding a balance between your priorities and social life. But that shouldn't mean that we have to give up all the good and fun things in life because we have entered “adulthood�. Only issue now is plotting that ideal picture perfect summer only gets pricier. This is a good time to question, how well you know your hometown. California, in this case, has several sightings that are perfect for those with a college budget. For starters, getting in tune with Los Angeles Mexican culture can be educational and interesting. Placita Olvera, also known as Olvera Street, is known for vendors and amazing restaurants within the plaza. The beauty about this plaza is the people and culture that one can experience while walking down Olvera street. Walking through the aisles of Placita Olvera can be fascinating for a few reasons. One, it can introduce a whole different style to a person, starting with the chanclas and sarapes. Next is the music, there is nothing better than walking up to a mariachi band and leaving with a nice music beat stuck in your head and a skip in every step. Finally the food, the legendary mexican food. There are a handful of restaurants in this plaza and every one serves traditional Mexican food that can make anyone drool up to their knees. Overall, it is the Mexican culture that is being introduced to the people that makes this location so important, interesting and let's not forget, affordable.
Enjoy nature? The Botanical Garden is not only an amazing place to take Instagram photos, but it is also one of the most peaceful and relaxing places in Arcadia, California. The Botanical Garden is acres and acres of beautiful scenery filled with all sorts of flowers, trees, animals and different grounds to get a feel for nature all around. Best part is, these grounds are great to go for a nice peaceful jog, have a pleasant picnic, or getting the chance to get to know someone for the first time while enjoying the scenery. This is where being a college student has its perks. Students get a discount so entrance is only six dollars, here is another affordable adventure to enjoy. The famous LACMA lights. This venue is one of the top five most visited places in California. This famous landmark is more than just posts of lights, there is a giant art museum behind it. LACMA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, has all sorts of art starting from a life size car built from legos to paintings that took place in the renaissance, very unique. Behind the lights and the museum itself lies this amazing and giant boulder. This rock is called the Levitated Mass but has earned several nicknames but mostly gets them all
52 | La Cima Magazine | Story Malena Lopez & Mia Perez | Photos Malena Lopez & Mia Perez
due to the fact that it is a 35 x 456 x 21 â…”ft concrete sculpture that weighs 340 pounds. Having access to both the LACMA lights and the levitated mass does not cost a dime, however the museum does. Once again, being a college student has an advantage, showing your school id at the ticket window knocks a few dollars off the
art pieces from local up and coming artists. It is the perfect place to go if you want to simply just chill or get that great instagram shot everybody yearns for. As a matter of fact most of these places are exactly that, they are the ideal instagram shot. What is better than having a restaurant with a great variety of
a date, friends or family to enjoy a meal and the vibes in the Anaheim Packing House. These places each hold their own unique characteristics, whether it being the culture of the location, event or history it holds itself. Each spot holds their own vibe and feel, you just have to know where to find them and
The Last Bookstore, LACMA and Placita Olvera are some of Los Angeles most captivating sights. entrance fee leaving you to pay only five dollars. The Last Bookstore is one of La’s freshest and most trendy spots at the moment. As soon as you walk in you feel the urban vibe radiate through the room. It’s a place filled with books top to bottom, every genre, from classics to history to horror to romance and everything in between. The thing that makes this spot even more incredible is that not only is it a giant bookstore, but it is a record shop, that also holds some great
food? Having several restaurants with several more varieties of food! The Anaheim Packing House is known for their unique style and unique choice of food options. The menu starts as simple as getting a pan of pizza, to chicken and waffles, then gets crazy with a mac n cheese grilled cheese or a seven cheese tomato soup. They have options for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert (alcohol is also served for those of legal age). Everyone, and I mean everyone, are people friendly and it is such a fun place to come with
some of them might be closer than you think. L.A is a vibrant city that holds so much culture and always has something fresh and new to check out. People hear California and think beaches, Hollywood and Disneyland. Although these are also amazing sightings in California, they are also really common. Which is why this can be the summer where you become a tourist in your own hometown! La Cima Magazine | 53
Los Angeles Football Club
From the ground up, a new soccer team is coming to Los Angeles with the introduction of the Los Angeles Football Club.
W
ith every summer comes soccer and with the FIFA Confederations Cup commencing and the CONCACAF Gold Cup starting in July, the most popular sport in the world, soccer, will now be host to a new soccer team called the Los Angeles Football Club that will be part of the Major League Soccer in March 2018. While their stadium, which will be located in Los Angeles next to the campus of the University of Southern California, will not be finished until the start of the upcoming 2018 MLS season, the club recently announced their plans to begin work on a practice facility for the LAFC on the campus of California State University, Los Angeles.
The Cal State University board of trustees voted on May 24 and approved LAFC’s proposal on building a training complex that will be worth $30 million. Along 54 | La Cima Magazine | Story Victor Lozano | Photos Courtesy of LAFC & Michael Carranza
with the training complex, it will also be where the team’s soccer operations headquarters will be stationed. Although the vote may have passed for the new LAFC practice field, there is no set date to when it will be built. After the board of trustees approved the proposal, the Cal State L.A University President, William A. Covino said the project will “create a great deal of excitement on our campus and will connect Cal State L.A. to partners who share a commitment to our students.” “The benefits of this partnership to Cal State LA and the region we serve will surely multiply over time.” The LAFC chose to station their headquarters at CSULA after previously using their campus to host training bases for the LAFC youth teams since January 2016. As a token of appreciation for
expands further into L.A Cal State L.A letting them use their campus, the club donated $100,000 to the school’s athletic department last fall. The team will have their new facilities at the northern gateway of the CSULA campus and will be designed by Gensler Sports. Gensler is a design firm with offices located in North America, Europe and in Asia. The company is also in charge of the making of the LAFC stadium that is set for completion for the start of the 2018 MLS season in March. The cost of the whole proposal will be entirely covered by the LAFC and the construction company that will be in charge of building the facility is Hunt Construction Group. Cal State LA Executive Vice President Jose Gomez also released a statement that Cal State LA looked for a long time to improve the vacant space at the northern portion of its campus. Gomez also mentioned how LAFC is their educational partner and not just a professional soccer team saying that “they’ve shown a commitment to the heart of the city, and Cal State LA’s students will benefit.”
A projection of what the finished practice facility would look like for the Los Angeles Football Club in the northern part of the California State University, Los Angeles campus.
how the building will incorporate innovative indooroutdoor spaces and is unlike anything he has seen.
“Cal State L.A. is the perfect As a token of appreciation, LAFC donated “We are proud to be making this investment $1.5 million to Cal State L.A, adding on home for our team, and this to benefit both the students of Cal State LA from their previous donation of $100,000 plan affirms our commitment and the future of LAFC.” the year prior. CSULA will use the money to building our future with the to upgrade the track and field along with As the popularity of soccer continues the lighting. Most of the work will be done youth of Los Angeles.” throughout the country and the United by the fall of 2017 and will also go towards States, in particular Los Angeles, the future giving the field a new synthetic grass called will indeed look bright for the Los Angeles fieldturf to give the players a feel of what type Football Club next year as their new facilities will of field they will have when they begin play at be built in the near future and their new stadium will the Banc of California Stadium. be completed for the start of the new MLS season. The LAFC was founded in October of 2014 by 27 owners but are headed by venture capitalist Henry Nguyen, entrepreneur Peter Guber, and former executive of the National Basketball Association, Tom Penn. The team also has notable investors like actor Will Ferrell and former professional athletes like Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Nomar Garciaparra and Mia Hamm.
The popularity of soccer is rising in the United States with major soccer tournaments in the summer and with the help of Major League Soccer garthering star players from Europe and around the world.
Coming from a statement after the deal was made, the president and co-owner of the LAFC Tom Penn said “Cal State L.A. is the perfect home for our team, and this plan affirms our commitment to building our future with the youth of Los Angeles. We look forward to developing worldclass players and talent for decades to come at Cal State L.A.” The team’s general manager and executive vicepresident of soccer operations, John Thorrington also released a statement regarding the decision and said the training facility is “unparalleled and uniquely Los Angeles.” Thorrington mentioned La Cima Magazine | 55
Summer is finally here which means sun, relaxing, late nights, and most importantly, the clothes! This year alone we have seen new fashion trends fail, old trends come back, and old and new trends being combined. What a year. Luckily for us, summer is one of the easiest, most comfortable seasons to dress for and these new trends only make it easier. All prints are in this season, especially floral. Almost any piece of clothing will look good with some type of floral print. What’s in the most right now? Rose embroidered anything. Denim jeans, shorts, jackets, tee’s, it goes with everything, and not to mention it can make a simple outfit really pop. Sheer mesh tops can be paired with virtually anything and they’re great to show off a bralette of your choice and not to mention they can be worn for almost any occasion! A day out with your friends can easily be turned into a night out with your friends and when you wear a mesh top with shorts it’s easy to make it an outfit for the same night with a pair of high heels.
Rompers are a huge deal especially over the summer. They are spacious, they are fresh, and they are stylish, what more could we want? Comfortable and nice shoes, that’s what. Chunky heel shoes are here and they’re here to stay. They are cute, comfortable, you can find them at affordable prices online and in stores, and they complete any outfit. What’s better than a chunky heel? A strappy chunky heel! Strappy heels are in, and they add a special kind of look to your outfit that will make it unnecessary for you to use any other accessories! But not to worry if heels aren’t for you, sandals and flats are here to stay. Bodysuits are also a big yes for the summer. Any bodysuit can be worn with a pair of shorts, some sneakers, and you’re set! You can switch out the shorts and sneakers for jeans and heels and you have yourself a whole new outfit in a matter of seconds. Anything off the shoulder or shoulderless can be a huge win for your summer style. For any day to run errands you can always go with a simple tee, a pair of shorts, your most com-
56 | La Cima Magazine | Story Sandra Reyes | Photos Aaron Martinez
fortable sneakers, and a high ponytail, and you’re all set to start your day! Clothes that can be used as a day and night outfit are a must this summer. Crop-tops, bralettes, bodysuits, choker shirts, sheer mesh tops, you name it. A nice pair of shoes and a pair of your favorite denim jeans can go with them all and you will have a variety of outfits to make! Remember to accessorize, small jewelry will do. Small rings, necklaces, chokers, and the old back-in-style hoop earrings, let’s face it, they never really went away. What’s also great about some of this clothes is that it can be passed along to the Fall! What a money and time saver. Bodysuits, crop tops, and even bralettes can be worn in the fall with a jacket of your choice and shoes of your choice. Staying fresh and stylish is going to be simple this summer, and summer is here, get out your hair ties, your sandals, and your sunscreen because this is going to be a good one!
Print shorts paired with solid colored tops and sneakers for a casual trip to the beach. The tops can be paired with jeans and heels to start a night. shorts -Vintage Vogue
La Cima Magazine | 57
Where the West is Fun
58 | La Cima Magazine | Story Alex Rodriguez | Photos Alex Rodriguez
Throngs of fairgoers dashed through the front gates of the
San Diego County Fair on June 10, 2017. The first week of the “Where the West is Fun ” extravaganza went off without a hitch . The western theme appeared throughout the entirety of the fairgrounds .
Directly behind the entrance gates , a makeshift barn
The booths created an intense sensory overload. B etween the popping
ically designed for that event.
one who wished to stay anonymous
described the event as a “safe place to
pits creating a
be yourself in a time of uncertainty in
mist through the air , it was nearly impossible to
There was
excited to feed and pet the baby livestock .
The building emptied
into the main corridor of the fair and thus began the real journey of the day.
The food stands
stretched along the main corridor as far as the eye could see .
At the end of the drag, the rides and games made themselves present through never ending twists and turns . It was almost like a maze created to enthrall the crowds with flashing lights and vibrant music .
Beyond the labyrinth of rides and games , cul-
tural festivities were on display.
There were even a few stations
set up sporadically throughout
one thing .
A cowboy and his trusted steed meandered through the crowd. Slim, played by B ob Mc M eans, only attends the San D iego County fair when the theme is right, and the theme being “Where the West is Fun ” created the perfect setting for the cowboy to attend the fair .
“We
do the fairs all over the country,
C anada , and A laska” Said Mc M eans. “P eople ask me where I’m from, I say the best western.” Mc M ean ’s sense of humor entices the crowd so he can be ap proached for a photo and a quick conversation.
A s the day raged on, crowds of people battled each other to get in front of the fair’s food lines .
theme it is .
Everyone is welcomed with
Throughout the hustle and bustle that was the fair , there was a quaint
erything
little country tavern that weary
able .
out of practice piano sat in the corner
imagin-
fairgoers could stop and rest in.
On
the right,
just beyond the tables .
Korean bar-
An
A n old timer ,
escorted by fair officials , took a seat
beque made
on the bench and began to play.
ance .
ed to introduce his act as “geriatric
its appear-
O n the Australian Battered Potatoes drew in a crowd. O ne left,
could argue that the culinary world itself had come center stage right
on the main stretch . food choice of the
horse .
with hospitality no matter what
and ev-
The most popular
saddle placed on a giant rocking
This specific cultural
event is always are always embraced
anything
participants to hone in on their
O ne station had a lasso contest, another had a
the community.”
love and compassion.
a few corridors of the fair for country skills .
S ome-
from the barbeque
into the structure , a petting
zoo entertained small children,
There were also
stalls set up to buy souvenirs specif-
and the smoke
focus on just
Further
community outreach .
of frying foods
housed farm animals ranging from goats to potbellied pigs .
throughout the plaza providing
day was the curly fries that stacked an entire plastic plate , which
were impossible to eat
A fter
wrapping up his first song , he proceed country.”
Rob D ezonia effortlessly
covered dozens of classic country hits from before the change of the millennia .
D ezonia had everyone hooked on
the catchy tunes that he sang out to the patrons behind him .
H e encouraged
crowd participation and song requests from his audience .
With a fiery sense of
humor that nobody expected, he kept
his crowd on their toes wanting more .
“My parents were resourceful enough to find a piano teacher that worked
D ezonia . H e San Diego state
with blind students ” said was a music major in
because the overwhelm-
but did not graduate at the end of his
ing size of food placed
A s the sun began to set by the beach ,
on the plate .
The price of
everything at the fair was absurd.
C raft beers prices
were over the top ranging to
10 dollars.
A lthough it did not fit into the western theme , one significant cultural event that took
San Diego Fair was “O ut at the Fair ,” which celebrated the LGBTQ+ community in San D iego. The event is the only recognized LGBTQ+ place at the called
celebration at any county fair in
United States. There were “coming out stories ” and bands playing live music . There was the entire
college career .
the lights of the rides dominated the darkness of the sky and lit up the entire fair .
Thrilled screams continued
to penetrate the fresh air late into the night.
The end of the night was marked
by the welcome sign being turned off.
A ll that was left was the beacon of the “H appy Trails ” sign that led to the parking lot. At the end of the day the C ounty fair started wrapping up at midnight everyone rushed back to
their vehicles to beat the traffic , which didn ’ t play in their favor .
Getting out
was a hellhole , but everyone got out safely .
also information booths dispersed
La Cima Magazine | 59
Mcdonalds antique sign still stands tall attracting and inviting visitors from every corner.
The museum, including restrooms in that same building are temporary under construction due to a drive thru in the making. 60 | La Cima Magazine
s w thi of ho e to y r o St cam nalds of Ray o d c y M e stor dee be, th and Spee t. Kroc the masco
An old cash re displayed in gister window allowing cu stomers to take a tr ip into the past and ex perience what was u sed back in the 1950 ’s.
Many questioned the reason behind the kept out-of-date framework that was perfected by a man named Roy Kroc, founder of McDonald’s Corporation and franchised - as Downey’s third stand - by the McDonald’s Brothers, Maurice and Richard. Plans of destroying building due to low sales, a Northridge earthquake in 1994, and lack of attraction were set in stone, until feedback from Downey community asked to save the location as a historic landmark. Opened in 1953 by Roger Williams and Burdette “Bud” Landon, McDonald’s restaurant on the busy corner intersection of Lakewood and Florence Ave. in Downey, CA begins new remodeling additions, such as a drive-thru and museum to site. As of right now, being Downey’s main tourist attraction, the walk up hamburger stand lacks a business burst due to economical changes; with McDonald’s asking Downey’s Planning Commission for approval, a drive thru process is taken place. With that idea kept, this old fashioned McDonald’s added a gift shop and museum in 1988 that is attached to right side of restaurant. Here, once customers receive their food, seating areas are provided in company to an operating museum showing significant artifacts used such as happy
meal boxes, packagings, fountain drinks, old advertisements and toys. Mannequins are set up in the museum revealing the 1950 to 1960s uniform look. A video is also played throughout the museum that talks about the start of McDonald’s and Roy Kroc. “75 percent of food related businesses have an operating drive-thru attraction. Construction of a drive thru and remodeling of museum should take 3 to 4 weeks of work” Council Member Ron Piazza, Lakewood’s resident and McDonald’s owner/operator said “The building itself will be kept the same for the feel of history that community and also visitors from all over like to experience.” Familiar with the Lakewood area, Council Member Ron Piazza is a franchise owner of 11 McDonald’s restaurants. At the age of 15, Piazza started his journey of work on the fryers and worked his way up for an opportunity from position experience - to purchase the Downey landmark by the age of 29. A man who witnessed much history, Ron Piazza still remembers milestones such as the Beanie Baby Happy Meal craze, the introduction of Big Mac’s and everything in between. Displayed 60ft from the ground is
the McDonald’s restaurant sign hosting an unusual flat moon faced chef, Speedee - at the top winking down pulling customers off from streets. Speedee created in 1948 by the McDonald Brothers, Maurice and Richard who brought “Speedee Service System”. The idea behind the mascot was to represent fast and efficient service to customers. In 1962, McDonald’s Corporation replaced mascot Speedee to mascot Ronald McDonald due to any possible confusion to Alka-Seltzer’s mascot, Speedy. Ronald McDonald is a clown with red hair that wears a yellow jumpsuit with a red and white striped long sleeve under shirt and big red clown shoes. The mascot presents a character from a made up fantasy place called McDonaldland where Ronald ventures off with friends. Food preparations are exactly the same from any other McDonalds around the world. Packaging styles for food items are different since price ranges have changed rapidly. Back in the day, hamburgers were sold for 15 cents and french fries for 12 cents.
Piazza “But with time and economic shift it just got harder to supply”. Walking up to the window, a sign above shows a comparison of how much certain things cost from 1955 to approximately those of today. For example, gas used to cost like 20 cents and today gas cost 2.99. McDonalds 15 cent hamburgers cost like a dollar something today. “One thing that keeps this McDonald’s restaurant unique is the original deep fried apple pies (other restaurants switched their pies to baked)” Piazza stated over the phone interview.
The change from fried to baked was to appeal to customers preference and dining trends. With the approval from McDonald’s Corporation, fried apple pies are still sold at the Downey location. After 64 years of nostalgic feel to the community of Downey and new visitors, the historic landmark is still functioning at this point in time during construction. No remodeling of the building will be made. Don’t let history fade away, this historic landmark is opened seven days a week, with various hours posted - Sunday through Thursday “When it was McDonald’s 7am to 10pm and Friday and Saturday 7am to 11pm. The Anniversary we would go back to selling 15 cent adding of a drive-thru and hamburgers to the to the new styled museum would be public,” said a great asset to business and hopefully a good call for future expansions.
Iconic billboard announcing the history filled museum and gift shop.
Story Nicole Garcia | Photos Nicole Garcia | La Cima Magazine | 61
Growing up as a kid I always had a passion for comics and video games. Comic book culture was simple compared to how it is now even with a Superman,Spiderman, and Batman movie all being out around the same time. Reading comics was amazing it was a great way for me to escape the everyday life and see how it is to live in my favorite superheros life, just as video games helped expand my creativity. But then everything changed once Iron Man came out. The impact it had on society was huge and everyone began to love comics. Within the last couple of years a new trend has been born. The trend is having a new found love in comic books and geek culture all together. All sorts of people are interested in what back in the 90’s and 80’s would be considered lame and nerdy now. You’ll see the biggest dude at the gym rocking a star wars tee, and someone you’d never expect have an Avengers phone case. Why is geek culture so popular, with such a huge following now as opposed to previous years when many others have tried to accomplish what has been done now? It was breathtaking when Iron Man came out because everyone wanted to know everything about him, going out of their way
to pick up the latest Iron Man issues. Reading the latest Ultimate Iron Man, trying to figure out what his true motives are, and why he’s always so cocky. All of a sudden everyone was a geek and it was simply awesome. I could talk about superheroes with pretty much everyone. All of a sudden all sorts of people would be talking about Iron Man and the Avengers. Every other week I’d go to my local comic book shop, I’d see a bunch of fresh faces. With every new movie that Marvel would announce people would get that much more excited. Just like when Captain America was announced the same thing that happened with Iron man happened to it, it was a beautiful cycle. But it wasn’t just movies that this culture was expanding in. It sparked a huge growth for comic conventions all around. People more and more wanted to be exposed to this lifestyle. To quote a Colin Kenneth Bass an actor and cosplayer with a following of 7,000+ stated “Geek culture was going mainstream was when (San Diego Comic Con) SDCC started selling out. I went for years and never had a problem getting passes, but then all of a sudden it was so packed.” Bass stated “Each year these
62 | La Cima Magazine | Story Luis Gutierrez | Photos Alex Rodriguez
cons in Southern California gets bigger and bigger”. It was no secret that this was a trend that everyone wanted to hop on no matter who they were.
other franchises they’re probably immediately interested simply because they recognize that character.”
Even going to conventions has a lifestyle of it’s own. Most if not all people will go to conventions and dress up as their favorite characters. The name of this is called “Cosplay.” People go out of their way to dress as accurate as possible to whatever character they choose to cosplay as. A huge chunk of them will even try keep the attitude of whatever character they dress as. It’s a great way for lots of people to come out of their shells and express themselves. An example of this is if you run into a Tony Stark more than likely he’ll act as cocky as humanly possible. Or if you run into a Captain America he’ll act all surprised when you pull out your phone to take a picture, and ask all sorts of random questions on how it works.
But there’s more comics have to offer as well. They serve as an icon to people everywhere, if it’s not Captain America with his beliefs, Superman with his ideas, or even the Flash with his moral compass. They all have key traits that everyday people should hold dearly to them. A few examples of this was when “Captain America Civil War” came out. Black Panther was finally introduced on the big screen. What he represents is being praised highly in black america. They’re treasuring him because of how he is portrayed, being an intelligent, strong, iconic black figure to aspire to. Not to mention the latest hit Wonder Woman, her appearance was huge for women everywhere. She taught women everywhere how to be strong, and independent. The more relatable super heroes are, the more people will tend to like them. Both characters have been familiar to comic fans but received newfound fame thanks to their breakthrough roles in their cinematic unviverse .
Flash forward to now there’s all types of superhero movies and shows! With TV companies such as Fox and the CW doubling down on the whole superhero genre. With shows like “Gotham”, “Arrow”, “Agents of Shield” they’re everywhere now. The numbers started to speak for themselves with “Arrow” being the forefront for modern day comic book tv shows. Debuting far back as 2012, arguably inspiring others like “Agents of Shield” to debuting back in 2013 only one year after “Arrow.” The beauty of those shows is that that they grounded the whole super hero aspect. To quote Bass, “They brought these kinda cheesy spandex-wearing heroes to life in a semi-realistic way.” Something I firmly believe help jump start the geek trend were games like “Spider Man” that came out in 2000, “Ultimate Alliance” that was debuted in 2006, and “Batman Arkham Asylum” that came out in 2009. All of these games helped introduce many kids and adults in to superheroes they’d never bother looking into. Even with younger kids with Lego makes tons of superhero games for them. Jared Kotoff, a Twitch streamer with a following of 700+, said “ When they see the superheroes in
The marketing behind comic book culture is amazing. They found a way to make comic book characters more human to everyday people, breaking away from the whole super human aspect and telling their story. More and more people are finding a new found love in comic books all together. Like Bass saying “I have loved DC since I was a toddler. My mom says my first words were the Adam West Batman themesong”, or some kid walking away from the latest avenger movie. This is a culture that isn’t going to die anytime soon because the more people look into these characters, the more they find out how awesome they really are. If it’s not from T.V. shows, comics, movies, even conventions people more and more are getting exposed to this lifestyle. In the immortal words of the man that started it all Stan Lee “Nuff Said.”
La Cima Magazine | 63
“Don’t give up on what makes you happy,” Medina says, “If music makes you happy…don’t give up on that, ever.”
:VOICES FROM BELOW:
Hollier gives the same advice: “Don’t give up, it’s always worth it,” he says with the same devotion Medina did days earlier, “Definitely don’t let anybody tell you sh*t…”
Music from within the Walls of the Underground
With the glitz and glam of mainstream music, it can be difficult to find something meaningful to blast through speakers. The true roots of music can’t be found inside the mainstream bubble. It lies within the tunnels before the bright light where genuine raw talent lies: the underground. And even though this sub-culture may not have the allure of major labels, the music is gritty, real and relatable. Though the struggle of keeping on top of the underground scene is strenuous, it only makes the musicians work harder, which is the case for rockers Storm House and hip-hop artist Bryce Hollier (known as “Saint” to his fans). “I always took an interest in music as a child,” Isaac Larios explains as he sits in Max Bloom’s Café Noir, a small coffee shop in Fullerton, CA. “I kinda utilized…music in general as a form of therapy,” Larios admits with his arms crossed and leaning on the table. He takes a sip of his coffee every now and then. On his left sitting slightly next to him is Markie Medina. The pair make up 2/4 of the OC-based rock band Storm House, a project that only came into existence a short six months prior when drummer Larios and guitarist Noel Becerra began writing songs together. Medina, the lead vocalist, was against the idea of joining when Larios originally approached her and turned him down. It wasn’t until a second time when Larios sent Medina the songs he and Becerra had been working on that she reconsidered and told bassist Joseph Mitchell. “He [Larios] was like, ‘we have a guitarist and a drummer, we’re looking for a vocalist and a bassist. You guys are looking for a drummer and guitarist, why don’t we just… start the band?’ Medina explained, “I approached Joey about it and he listened to the music and we both agreed that, yeah, this could work.” 64 | La Cima Magazine
Finally a complete band, Larios, Medina, Becerra, and Mitchell were faced with a challenge: recording actual material together. For any musician, recording can be an expensive process, and the challenge no doubt doubles for those just starting out in the music industry. But the members of Storm House turned their creative dials to level 10 and recorded a demo entirely on an iPad – no microphones required. “I would have to sing into with headphones on,” Medina smiles, “I [had] never done that before.” Neither had Larios, who uses Apple program GarageBand to work as temporary engineer for the band. “It was all an experiment,” he chimes in, “I was like, ‘You know, I think I could get some decent recordings with this IPad. Let’s try to pull a demo without having to pay anything for it.” In true underground fashion, the four members birthed 4 songs released in early May: Salton Sea, Savages, Breaching Nothing, and Left. The tracks offer a favorable taste as to what underground artists are ca-
pable of creating in a small period of time and with minimal recording tools, sans fancy recording studios and studio rates. Medina’s vocal’s have all the range and attitude to make Karen-O proud, while the instrumental arrangements not only incorporate classic garage rock sounds (think The Sonics-esque), but also carry dark undertones a-la Queens of the Stone Age. This is only one step in the band’s start, though. Staying on top of the music scene as an independent artist takes relentless marketing in order to make a lasting impression with listeners. In order to make this happen, the band plans to network with fellow musicians and is relying heavily on social media. Today there are numerous ways in which musicians can stream their music online for free, a tool that wasn’t available to older artists. The technological advances and the internet are major ways how Storm House is breaking into the underground music scene. Even in the underground hip-hop scene, the pattern of fighting to stay visible amongst the crowd exists. Whit-
tier rapper Bryce Hollier faces the same challenges with his group LimeLight. But his strategy somewhat differs from the OC-rock band’s. Though he does take part in some social media, his identity isn’t as easy to access online. “I’m a firm believer in a hand shake,” Hollier says confidently, “An in-person meeting goes a lot further than a phone call or Facebook message.” It’s this belief that made him the successful underground artist that he is today. In his backyard stands a tall, white box-like fixture made out of plywood. Just next to the entrance painted is a large lime, complete with a smiling face and a microphone in one hand, joint in the other. This is LimeLight Studios – Hollier’s very own recording paradise. There’s a couch, a table with a laptop on top, and a microphone in the corner. It’s in this room where Hollier creates everything on his own. Even when it comes to the merchandise he sells, all of it is printed in his backyard. “I do it myself, I do everything myself. We make it all,” he says as he sits within his handmade studio, “Every design is original and thought of by us, it’s not something that you just cropped an image out from.” No doubt there must also be money involved in order to pay for his equipment. In order to pay for everything while still recording, Hollier runs his own handyman business by day. Unlike mainstream musicians who have the luxury of focusing solely on their music, Hollier says he has no time
between being the boss at work and recording at home. “Finding the time to make music is probably just late at night,” he explains with beer in hand, Lime Light printed on his shirt and embroidered on his hat. “You know, you get home from work or you get a day off…I’ll come in here and if I can run for like a straight 5 hour sesh…I’ll bang out two full song.” Recording is made a littler easier for Hollier however, since he records entirely on his own and doesn’t have to rely on bandmates to produce full tracks. For him, being in band didn’t work as it was too difficult to get all members in the same room at the same time. Now, Hollier tours relentlessly, playing up to 200 shows a year with established underground artists such as E40 and Living Legends. This is what he accredits the majority of his success to playing shows and trading bills with different artists. Out of all the many ways in which creators of the underground can go about making their art, they all share the same dedication and self-discipline. Even with the harsh realities of pushing the limits to make this happen, the reason why they continue is easy: passion. “Don’t give up on what makes you happy,” Medina says, “If music makes you happy…don’t give up on that, ever.” Hollier gives the same advice: “Don’t give up, it’s always worth it,” he says with the same devotion Medina did days earlier, “Definitely don’t let anybody tell you sh*t…”
Story Megan De Lara | Photos Megan De Lara | La Cima Magazine | 65
La Cima Staff –Editor-In-Chief– Aaron Martinez
–Adviser–
Wendy Carrera Ramon Alvarado
Anamaria Aparicio
–Managing Editor– Eric Muñoz
Nicole Garcia
Noah Garcia
Madelyn Gastelum
Luis Gutierrez
Diana Juarez
Jake Laurell
Victor Lozano
Vanessa Luna
–Art Directors– Diego Crespo Victor Lozano Noah Garcia Aaron Martinez
Armando Beltran
Rodrigo Coraza
–Copy Editors– Ramon Alvarado Diego Crespo Noah Garcia Luis Gutierrez Jake Laurell
–Photo Editor– Aaron Martinez
Ajianna Covington
Diego Crespo
Megan De Lara
Eileen Gaeta
Crystian Mendoza
Cynthia Olvera
Eric Muñoz
66 | La Cima Magazine
–FULL STAFF–
Ramon Alvarado Anamaria Aparicio Armando Beltran Rodrigo Coraza Ajianna Covington Diego Crespo Megan De Lara Eileen Gaeta Nicole Garcia Noah Garcia Madelyn Gastelum Luis Gutierrez Sara Harding Diana Juarez Jake Laurell Malena Lopez Victor Lozano Vanessa Luna Blanca Martin Aaron Martinez Crystian Mendoza Jonathan Monzon Eric Muñoz Cynthia Olvera Steven Perez Sandra Reyes Alex Rodriguez Sara Tabarez
Alex Rodriguez
Sara Tabarez
Sandra Reyes