This past Sunday the sounds of salsa bounced up the hills surrounding Echo Park Lake and into my window. What's going on down there? We stumbled down, and, oh yes, with little warning, L.A.'s Cuban community had reclaimed the park. The Cuban Music Festival made a come-back, as it should, at the park where Jose Marti is permanently memorialized. People-watching and enjoying the collective hip sways of many, I feasted on croquetas, stuffed potatoes, and guayava and meat cakes. LA Weekly's Mark Mauer was there, too. Here is his dispatch and delicious photo slideshow. Yum, and yum. More photos here.
Events like these tend to draw the fervently patriotic: I asked a friend why she wasn't there and she replied, "Are you kidding? My mom thinks those things are really tacky." A bookish Intersection is in order as well; I am currently reading Joan Didion's "Miami."