Los Angeles Downtown News 04/01/2023

Hotel

LAUSD Strike SEIU Local 99 workers ask for better pay and working conditions

After executing a three-day strike that closed schools throughout Los Angeles, LAUSD and SEIU Local 99 have reached a tentative agreement.

If approved, the union will have secured 30% wage increases, $4,000 to $8,000 back pay depending on job classification, $1,000 bonuses for all union employees, average annual salary increases to $33,000, fully paid health care benefits and more. All parties involved have called this a historic agreement, raising some of LAUSD’s most underpaid workers by a third of their original salary.

“This is a multiyear agreement, the likes of which have never been negotiated in this district — the likes of which have never been negotiated across the state or across the country,” LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said. “I can confidently say that this agreement is going to make a lot of

superintendents very nervous, and that’s a good thing. We want to elevate the bar and, in the process, elevate the people.”

The union, SEIU Local 99, consists primarily of nonteaching employees from the second-largest school district in the nation, including bus drivers, cafeteria workers and administrative workers. United Teachers Los Angeles, the union representing teachers in the district, participated in the strike to show solidarity.

Approximately 30,000 LAUSD workers began the strike on March 21 after initial negotiations with LAUSD soured, which began in April 2021. By December, the bargaining team had declared an impasse, bringing in the state to assist in reaching an agreement. In February, the union voted to authorize a strike with 96% approval.

SEIU wanted to clarify it was not in negotiations with the district when the strike be -

DTFEATURE

New Beginnings Silverstein Properties unveils $60M U.S. Bank Tower makeover

Cty officials, community leaders and representatives from real estate development and management firm Silverstein Properties recently came together to celebrate the grand opening of the U.S. Bank Tower’s new lobby and amenity spaces, built as part of a $60 million capital improvement program at the site. The renovation, which took two years to complete, comes at a time when the nature of work in Los Angeles has been called into question as the city’s office market remains in flux.

“The future of work is going to look different, and this is what it looks like,” said Suzanne Holley, president and CEO of the Downtown Center Business Improvement District. “We know in the future work is not where employees have to be but where they want to be. And this is where they’re going to want to be.”

Holley, who worked for previous U.S. Bank Tower owners MPG Office Trust, recalled her excitement when Silverstein Properties took ownership of the building

and expressed their dreams for the site’s future. As someone who “knows what this takes,” Holley referred to the $60 million makeover as “nothing short of miraculous.”

The renovation was born to meet the evolving needs of Downtown’s office-based workforce and includes upgrades across 35,000 square feet of common spaces, a redesigned lobby, new contactless elevators, seating and collaboration areas, as well as a day-to-night juice and cocktail bar and grab-and-go market.

There is also a new “vista” on the 54th floor boasting panoramic views of the LA skyline with event, meeting, presentation and lounge spaces open to the building’s tenants.

“I can tell you that, having been here for seven years now, this building was very formal. … Today, it’s been transformed,” said Rudy Medina, senior vice president at U.S. Bank. “It’s more inviting; it’s much more comfortable. And I was observing today when I came back here from lunch that the facility was packed. There was a bunch of people that were here eating lunch, just talking and gathering. And so it’s become

that kind of a place for us now. It’s a gathering place.”

In 2022, Silverstein Properties invited 25 street and visual artists to paint murals on the U.S. Bank Tower’s top floor, making them the highest murals in California.

“Our company has always believed that creative people are the lifeblood of a healthy community,” Silverstein Properties CEO Marty Burger said. “They painted the walls, the floors, the elevators and even the windows. In many cases, they painted subjects and people from this neighborhood, elevating them to the highest point in the city.”

The group included LA street art legend Man One, who dedicated his mural to the late artist and activist Noni Olabisi and donated the piece to the AltaMed Foundation, which works to increase access to health care. He also curated a series of eight murals by local artists outside the building’s Fifth Street entrance.

“I want to really honor Noni … so the mural you see there is my homage,” Man One said. “What’s amazing is that, although we painted on the 72nd floor, the paint-

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ings weren’t done directly on the wall. They were done on canvas that was attached to the wall so that if the floor got leased out … they could move the artwork.

“The whole idea was to bring the people from LA up to the 72nd floor, so we accomplished that. But now I wanted this mural to live so that the people of LA could see it, and so I wanted to donate it to some kind of institution or foundation. … We’ve teamed up with the AltaMed Foundation, and this piece is going to be part of their collection. They have one of the largest Chicano art collections pretty much in all the world, and they’re opening up a new museum. So this mural is going to be seen by all the people of LA thanks to them and through their foundation.”

In addition to local artists, Silverstein Properties also recently welcomed five new lease signings by tenants like engineering consultant Walter P. Moore, which signed a 10-year, 9,364-square-foot lease; investment bank Lincoln International, which signed a 10-year, 27,117-square-foot lease expansion; financial services group Rothschild & Co, which signed a 8,544-squarefoot lease; and injury law firm Morgan & Morgan, which signed a 7,612-square-foot lease.

“(The renovation) has enhanced the city of LA as we look at these facilities and prove what we have here,” said Robert Lewis, chairman and founding partner at Lewis Brisbois. “We’re very proud to be a tenant. We occupy about 300,000 feet. We have

about 900 employees here, so they’re very happy to be here to see the renovation that’s taken place. … It’s a joy to be here.”

From a Silverstein Properties perspective, Burger explained that the idea behind the makeover was to reimagine the role of an office building as the center of a community, particularly in a time when much of the city is still recovering from the tolls of the pandemic.

“A lot of naysayers wrote off this office building all together, along with the Downtown neighborhood,” Burger said. “We heard the same thing after 9/11 in New York City. The naysayers said that Downtown Manhattan was finished as a business district. … We recognized the wonderful history and great potential of the Downtown neighborhood. We designed and built some of the most advanced and sustainable buildings in the country, and then we welcomed into them some of the most successful companies in the world. We also partnered with our local elected officials, community leaders, civic and business groups … to create a better version of Downtown Manhattan, one where people live, work, shop, eat, visit and entertain.

“I see the same thing happening here in Downtown LA. When I look around, I see some of the most incredible, diverse, resilient and creative people in the country. Not only is it important for us to be good neighbors, we want to work with this community to elevate Downtown to be the best place in the city to work, live and visit.”

Covered California will help DT CONSIDER THIS Hi, My Name is…

Shaking up the status quo is a trip

The sun was finally shining as we sat on our front porch in Altadena. The recent near-torrential rains had resulted in a plethora of flowers. Our little faces, like the blooms, also turned toward the sun. “Ken, do you remember learning that Bill W., a co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, got insights into managing alcoholism via psychedelic trips he’d taken?”

“That was in Michael Pollan’s ‘How to Change Your Mind’ Netflix docuseries, wasn’t it?” Ken asked. “Yup. He felt that a spiritual experience was crucial to conquering any addiction. Bill also believed that hierarchies had no place in addiction recovery. Hmm … can tripping end any addiction? Maybe.”

Another little-known fact about AA: It was also co-founded by women. Dr. Bob, commonly credited as the other co-founder, is only one-quarter of the team. Lois W. and “Mrs. Dr. Bob,” Anne Ripley Smith, disappeared from the history of AA, which is emblematic of our addiction to patriarchy. How could two people who helped start a movement become so invisible? I assert that it’s because of the devaluation of females and our addiction to male supremacy.

I have heard Gloria Steinem, a paragon of the human rights movement, say on many occasions that her fondest wish for the gender equality revolution is for them to follow the AA example: small groups in leaderless meetings held in church basements or similar spaces all over the world. Since the 1930s, 12-step meetings have been famously egalitarian and democratic. Gloria believes — and I wholeheartedly agree — that if they used this model, the “women’s” movement could grow like crazy. I put

“women’s” in quotes because it’s a movement for all of us. We are all shackled by and addicted to rigid gender norms.

For the three readers of this column who aren’t addicted to something, there is AlAnon that supports the loved ones of addicts. For everyone else, there are 12-step meetings for the following compulsions: alcohol, drugs, gambling, co-dependency, overeating, debt accrual, shopping, hoarding, bingeing, purging and list making. I’m kidding about the list making, but you get my drift. Anything that causes suffering can be a compulsion or addiction that harms a general sense of well-being.

Regarding our slavish adherence to the male-dominated status quo, Ms. Steinem said, “The definition of a co-dependent is a well-socialized woman.” Hear, hear! Let’s peek in on what a gender-centered Patriarchists Anonymous (PA) 12-step meeting might look like:

Me: “Hi, I’m Ellen S., and I’m a recovering

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Patri-holic.”

All: “Hi, Ellen!”

I continue: “I was in line at Costco the other day with one item. A man about 10 years younger than me also had one item and asked if he could go in front of me. I said no, and then he called me a (expletive).” Nods of recognition from the women and the men in the room.

“I noticed that I was ready to compulsively say ‘I’m sorry’ and let him go ahead. However, he was in a position to say, ‘I’m sorry,’ not me. Instead, I said, ‘It’s inappropriate to call me a (expletive) for saying no to you. You can wait your turn.’ Thank you for letting me share.” Lots of applause. General nodding again, as there is no “cross-talk” in 12-step meetings, meaning that the person sharing has the floor.

Johnny says, “Who else would like to share?” He sees Kenny B. with his hand up and calls on him. “Kenny?”

Kenny: “Hi, my name is Kenny, and I’m a recovering Patri-holic.”

All: “Hi, Kenny!”

“I was on the phone yesterday with my mother, who was berating me for not being man enough to have a ‘real’ job. She doesn’t understand why I want to stay home with the kids. I told her that being a homemaker is a real job! She wants me to be like my dad, even though he was desperately sad for many years, although he never let on. At the end of his life, Dad told me he was proud of me for finding a wife I like and re-

spect. So, rather than yelling at Mom and arguing, I took a deep breath and told her my wife was happy with our arrangement. My taking care of hearth and home is helping her to fulfill her dreams and mine, too. Our marriage may not look normal to her, but it’s what works for us. Before these meetings, I would have felt guilty and ashamed. That’s all I have to say. Thanks for being here.”

Historically, gender readjustment has been going on for centuries. Mary Wollstonecraft was a feminist foremother in the 1790s and was accused of “waywardness” by proffering that male domination wasn’t a divine right. Gadzooks! Rebecca West, a famous English author and journalist in the first half of the 20th century, said, “I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat or a prostitute.”

Maybe ending pernicious sexism and racism could be accomplished by people doing more psychedelics. … Hey, it’s possible!

Hi, I’m Ellen, and I’m a recovering Patriholic. Are you addicted to the status quo? Only you can say.

2023 marks the 30th year that Ellen Snortland has written this column. She also teaches creative writing online and can be reached at ellen@beautybitesbeast.com. Her award-winning film “Beauty Bites Beast” is available for download or streaming at vimeo.com/ ondemand/beautybitesbeast.

Covered California will helpDT ARTS & CULTURE Long Live the Arts Los Angeles Visual Arts Coalition funds reach $2.66M

The Los Angeles Visual Arts (LAVA) Coalition has raised a total of $2,660,000 following catalyzing grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Teiger Foundation. The coalition serves 34 diverse neighborhoods across the city by representing 33 contemporary visual arts organizations, including Downtown destinations like the Los Angeles Contemporary Archive, Los Angeles Poverty Department, Self Help Graphics, NAVEL, LA Artcore, JOAN, GYOPO and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

LAVA will now provide each member organization with $50,000 in unrestricted funds to support general operations, giving executive directors the freedom to determine how best to use the funds. The coalition will then issue a report to funders on the specific ways each organization used the deposits to expand their work and impact.

“It cannot be underestimated how impactful this coalition is not only for the immediate partner organizations but also for the larger cultural landscape of Los Angeles,” said Yoon Ju Ellie Lee, executive director

at GYOPO, who is using the deposits to fund full-time positions, a first for the organization. “Small groups like ours struggle with the ability to employ staff due to the scarcity of funding opportunities for core operating support and unrestricted investment to grow and scale. LAVA’s trust in coalition members is trust in the potential of our evolving cultural landscape.”

LAVA was founded in 2020 to restructure the city’s ecosystem of artists, institutions and philanthropy by building a fundraising model that distributes resources across a collective. In 2022, the coalition’s membership body presented over 100 exhibitions and 1,240 public programs and welcomed over 350,000 visitors.

“What began as casual conversations during an unprecedented moment has transformed into a sustainable, scalable and nourishing coalition of mutual support and care,” said Anne Ellegood, executive director at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. “This is an opportunity for our entire chain, from arts workers to philanthropists, to redefine how we think about the Los Angeles arts and culture community.

“The existing models of fundraising often put us in competition with one another

and can unwittingly create an atmosphere of scarcity. We are arguing for the value of all our organizations with the belief that there is ample capacity among a range of advocates and patrons to enable all of us to thrive. With LAVA, we are offering funders an unprecedented opportunity to work with us to create a new model and make their impact felt across Los Angeles, impacting diverse communities that truly represent the demographics of the county.”

Alongside the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Teiger Foundation, LAVA contributors include the Jerry and Terri Kohl Family Foundation, Krupp Family Foundation, Ruth Foundation for the Arts, Metabolic Studios and Betsy Greenberg.

As LA continues to endure the financial impacts of the pandemic and wanders through an uncertain economic environment, LAVA’s mutually supportive ecosystem stands as a financial safeguard helping to ensure the health of the city’s visual arts sector.

“At the heart of LAVA is the shared feeling that by elevating the value of mutual aid and deep collaboration, we can work together to create a transformative, radically transparent and intergenerational eco -

nomic model that benefits us all,” said Laura Hyatt, executive director at Los Angeles Nomadic Division. “It really shifts the thinking away from organizations as competitive entities and supports efforts to change the field.”

In the past two years, the number of public program collaborations and cross-pollination of audiences among LAVA organizations has more than tripled. The coalition has also engaged in dialogues with the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, Arts for LA and Contemporary Art League to learn more about the contemporary art environment in LA County and build equity.

LAVA’s goal for the future is to provide health insurance to all 180 full-time and part-time employees working for the 33 member organizations by the end of 2023.

“We are proud to support a group that took matters into their own hands and saw how together was better for tackling the issues — exacerbated by but definitely predating COVID — shared by practically all small visual art nonprofits,” said Larissa Harris, executive director at the Teiger Foundation. “May the LAVA model spread far and wide!”

Covered California will helpDT ARTS & CULTURE Embracing Primal Feminine Energy

Hotel Figueroa unveils its newest collection, ‘In Her Image’

Hotel

has long been a safe haven for women and feminine expression. In 1926, when women needed male chaperones to check into hotels, Hotel Figueroa opened its doors to solo female travelers keen on adventure. Founded by the YWCA, the exclusive women’s hotel was the largest project of its kind to be fully funded, owned and operated by women.

Nearly a century later, the hotel continues as a space dedicated to the feminine, with women-made art integrated throughout. This includes the hotel’s featured artist Erica Everage’s new show, “In Her Image,” which is currently on display in the hotel’s Artist Alley gallery. The exhibit opened this month and will run until the end of February 2024.

The collection consists of 23 paintings and explores the female form and unabashed primal feminine energy, drawing inspiration from archaeomythology and forgotten feminine mythological deities and iconography.

Everage’s art will also be displayed in the forthcoming Featured Artist Suite, a specially curated room designed alongside her mother, Krista.

Growing up in Los Angeles with an interior designer mother and a father who is a classically trained painter, Everage was surrounded by art.

“Beauty and color were always a part of my upbringing,” Everage said.

At 13, Everage began drawing the nude figure, requiring special permission from her mother to join classes. She went on to win the Los Angeles Music Center Spotlight Award for her drawing in 2005 and is currently working toward her MFA in fine art from Otis College of Art and Design.

On her fascination with the human form, Everage explained, “The body is a source of wisdom. My whole life, as a person and artist, is really about following the body. Even the way I make paintings, not only are they of bodies, but as I’m making them, I’m following my bodily impulses, my intuition as I do it, and I often paint myself dancing.”

Toeing the line between figurative and abstract, Everage’s femme figures come alive on the canvas, extending to the outmost reaches of the canvas and occupying space with resolute power.

“I think that a lot of femme bodies in

our culture are told to shrink, to control themselves and not do certain movements or wear certain clothes,” Everage noted.

Two prominent figures and inspirations in Everage’s work are the mythological Irish Sheela na gig and Baubo, a minor Greek goddess. Both engage in apotropaic anasyrma, the act of exposing one’s genitals (usually referring to the vulva).

For Everage, the two iconic archetypes represent an essential message: “My body is safe; my body is not shameful.”

One of the largest pieces in the collection, “Creatrix (Divine Hag),” hangs in a

prominent spot in the lobby. Everage explained that the painting “encapsulates” the show: “It’s a made-up icon and an abstraction, but you can still see a figure and get a sense.” The painting, which started as an interior self-portrait, morphed into an amalgamation of Everage, a Sheela na gig, and Baubo.

In a space founded for and by women, it was important for Everage to engage in and continue a dialogue with the feminine history of the hotel. She said of her art, “I like to imagine that they’re guarding over the space and holding a safe space from their place on the wall.”

Hotel Figueroa

hotelfigueroa.com

gan. Midway through, the union agreed to mediation led by Mayor Karen Bass, whose 100th day in office also marked the first day of the strike. Bass called it “a disappointment.”

SEIU’s demands from the district included a 30% wage increase plus a $2-per-hour equity adjustment for all workers, more fulltime hours, expanded health care, additional staffing and more. For some, though, the decision to strike was more about showing the district they won’t be intimidated than yielding a better contract.

“I’m going on strike to show LAUSD that I refuse to be intimidated by the district’s unfair bargaining tactics,” said Yolanda Reed, a special education assistant. “Whether we keep schools clean and safe, make sure students don’t go hungry, or support classroom instruction, every school worker deserves respect.”

LAUSD made arrangements for students to stay home from classes for the duration of the strike. With more than 75% of stu-

dents receiving free or reduced lunch, they set up teams to distribute sack lunches to students in need of food. Likewise, for parents who could not arrange for child care, the district arranged for student supervision at select school locations.

After the strike had concluded, union members returned to their regular work schedules as Bass, LAUSD and union representatives worked around the clock to reach a satisfactory deal. On March 24, SEIU Local 99 and LAUSD reached a tentative agreement.

“On behalf of all SEIU 99 members including the 30,000 members who we represent at LAUSD, we appreciate Mayor Bass for stepping in and allowing us to find a pathway to communicate and finally reach an agreement that is historic with LAUSD,” said Max Arias, executive director of SEIU Local 99, in a joint press conference with LAUSD and Bass.

Now that a tentative deal has been reached between all parties, the final decision to accept or deny LAUSD’s offer will be voted on by SEIU Local 99 members.

Covered California will helpDT ARTS & CULTURE Abstraction and Identity

Ed Marcelin debuts at UNREPD art gallery

Starting a nine-month residency at The Grand LA, Los Angeles artist Edwin Marcelin has unveiled his debut solo exhibition at contemporary art gallery UNREPD. The exhibition, titled “Elevation: Abstract Meditations on Iconic Black Discipline,” explores Black identity and iconography through abstract paintings.

“It’s one thing to see photos of (the paintings), but in person, they’re just so incredibly beautiful,” said Dr. Sarah Mantilla Griffin, co-founder of UNREPD. “Art can mean lots of things nowadays, and to have pieces that aren’t just visually beautiful but also have a lot of meaning and tell a story … that are reflective of a culture, I think, is an amazing combination. We’re just so proud.”

In a series of 14 oil paintings on canvas, Marcelin deconstructs the icon of Black Jesus and discusses what it means to place a Black man at the pinnacle of morality and love in contrast to the dehumanization and discrimination that has been directed at Blackness.

Griffin explained that the exhibition’s origins came from the world of sports and abstracting Black athletes.

“It got us out of talking about Black bodies and into thinking about all of the other things that go into sports,” Griffin said. “Ed is, at his core, an abstract artist, and he really believes in the importance and the power of abstraction. And what you see in this show is that by abstracting a figure from its humanity, you can get to a place where you can talk about all kinds of other things … (like) discipline, which is in the title of the show, but you can also talk about fatigue. You can talk about work ethic. You can talk about inspiration. You can talk about perfection and perception, too.

“It leads you into this very intellectual place, and I think that’s what’s really at the heart of Ed’s work, a deep desire to speak to the ideas, behind what it might mean for someone to be called Black Jesus, for example.”

UNREPD co-founder Trisha Benitez Beanum described Marcelin as a “quintessential LA-born and -raised” artist who painted nearly 90% of the pieces in the show within five minutes from the exhibition space, where he would ride his bike through Downtown to visit.

For the past 30 years, he has been

an icon of LA’s art and fashion industries, working with the founders of Supreme, Stussy and the Fugees while having his work collected by the likes of Ryan Reynolds and Bruce Weber.

Marcelin’s exhibition at UNREPD is his newest meditation on Black being and awareness. On the canvas, he uses a repetitive color palette to invoke the appearance of a stained-glass window. By seeking to abstract the human form into emotions, Marcelin allows each viewer to see their own memories reflected back at them in the work based on their personal experience.

“Edwin spent so much time in the space thinking about how it is that people are going to approach the paintings,” Griffin said. “Because the space itself is so large and it’s so new and it’s so beautiful, it has a certain feeling itself. We really wanted to make sure that as people approach the paintings, that they’re able to still feel comfortable, still feel like that the paintings still feel approachable.”

The exhibition will also include a video installation made 20 years before the collection of paintings. The video serves as a self-portrait that recounts the times Marcelin has felt like the only Black person in a room.

“As people of color or underrepre -

sented people come into a space where you are the only one, there is, I would say, five to 10 seconds of overcompensation, breathing, perception; there’s just a lot of stuff that happens,” Beanum explained. “Especially, I would say, for Black folks, that feeling is a very prominent feeling of being the only one. And also just in terms of safety, what does that mean and how does that feel?

“What happens when you put the video and the paintings together is that you get this really interesting conversation around abstracting from humanity. … I think typically when you talk about Black people being abstracted from their humanity in any way, it’s very negative. I think that Edwin wants to think about, ‘What is the good that we are making, that we are creating as Black people in those moments?’ I think that there’s an optimism and a positivity there that’s very specific to him and

very beautiful. And it becomes really apparent when you put the video and the paintings together.”

Marcelin’s exhibition opens at UNREPD on Saturday, April 8. The gallery was founded by Griffin and Beanum as a space that brings a new curatorial perspective to the contemporary art market in Downtown LA while removing barriers of entry for both artists and collectors with exhibitions like “Elevation: Abstract Meditations on Iconic Black Discipline.”

“I hope that it makes people feel seen,” Griffin said. “I hope that people feel like the beauty and the complexity of their experiences are being represented in a way that feels true, that feels really honest, because I think that there are so many important conversations that can be had if people are able to engage with these works in a way that’s personal.”

“Elevation: Abstract Meditations on Iconic Black Discipline” by

WHERE: The Grand LA, 100 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles

WHEN: Exhibition opens on Saturday, April 8

COST: Free

INFO: unrepd.com UNREPD/Submitted

Covered California will help DTSPORTS Building a Community

The Expo Originals bring LAFC fans together

On a flare-filled night at BMO Stadium, a wall of black and gold shirts and scarves sing arm in arm as their club silences another opponent in the league. There’s no place the Expo Originals would rather be.

“It’s like a family,” Expo Originals member Sergio Vasquez Jr. said. “The feeling of actually being in the stadium, I think it’s … electric. You feel the energy and the power. And there’s actually moments where I can honestly say that we’ve had a hand in making something happen in the stadium, and it’s always been in the critical times. I think just having that power, it’s something that you can’t feel in any other sport.”

The Expo Originals were founded on May 20, 2015, by 17-year-old Fernando Varela before LA’s newest MLS club had played a single match. They held the name “LAFC Supporters Group” as the first original supporter group (SG) in The 3252, LAFC’s independent supporters’ union, before later taking on the identity of the Expo Originals.

“Way back in the day, there was a lot of demand for a supporters’ group at LAFC that was not related to Chivas USA, because at the time the two Chivas USA SGs had transferred over, but there was no LAFC-original SG,” Varela explained. “I had a Facebook group that was just meant to be a community to share news and updates and discuss player signings, that sort of thing. And it started growing really quickly because the team started getting a lot of steam, the stadium got announced. … I started getting in my DMs, ‘Hey, is this a supporters’ group? Is this just a fan club? What is this?’ And the lightbulb went off in my head.”

What began as a group chat of 15 fans has since grown into one of the dominant forces in the north end.

“It’s just a big ball of energy,” member Monty Stevenson said. “When you see The 3252 from an outsider’s perspective, you totally get it once you see it.”

For Varela, one of the best parts of attending an LAFC game is the community. He described walking down the rails and greeting people from his own and other SGs, seeing faces he’s known for years through the club.

“That’s just a very special feeling,” he described. “Where else can you go every week or two and run into 50 or 60 of your

“With The 3252, what we all agreed on was that if we want to go somewhere, we have to go together,” Stevenson said. “I would say the relationship between us and the other SGs is a really good and healthy relationship. But there are your moments, just like in any family. There’s dynamics. There’s a sibling you don’t get along with sometimes, but since you’re all family, you just make it work.”

When they’re not cheering on the team from inside BMO Stadium, the Expo Originals host themed tailgates with DJs and watch parties at Boyle Heights’ Distrito Catorce, where they try to emulate the atmosphere of the north end. They also hold two annual fundraisers: a walk to support people born with congenital heart disease and a toy drive in Boyle Heights that has grown to include support from the rest of The 3252.

“Being in a supporter group, you’re always doing a service to either the club, the city, the SG itself or to the community,” Vasquez Jr. explained. “(In Boyle Heights,) people donate toys and then we invite other SGs to join us and we all distribute them to the community directly. So it’s a very personal connection that people have with that.”

friends and have a great time and sing all the same songs and go crazy and hug each other after the goal? And especially those insane moments like the Bale goal (in the last minute of the MLS Cup Final against Philadelphia Union).

“Being in that pocket of space with these people that you care about and that have that same passion as you do, and then to celebrate those moments, those are moments that live forever and ever. … There’s really nothing like it until you experience it.”

The sense of belonging that the members described at home games is also felt when they travel away from LA, whether it’s a trip to Seattle for a match against the Sounders or León, Mexico, for the CONCACAF Champions League.

“We’ll rent a big Airbnb together and we’ll cram as many people as we can in there. And then those houses become just full of different memories and different stories and craziness,” Varela said.

“I think of the first Airbnb in Seattle for

our first-ever match. … They were sleeping on the floor, on couches; Monty was dragging a mattress upstairs because he couldn’t sleep and people are snoring and just having a good time.

“It’s just little moments like that where everybody’s together, and sometimes it’s not even about the football, it’s about the community. … Telling stories and being fools together, those are some of my fondest memories.”

Back at home, Stevenson described the wider LAFC supporter ecosystem as one of healthy competition between SGs, not always the case for MLS clubs of a similar size.

Stevenson described the group as diverse and multicultural, while Vasquez Jr. expressed pride at the bounty of creative talent present in the group as well, from musicians to graphic designers and photographers.

Varela, Vasquez Jr. and Stevenson’s hope for the future is that the Expo Originals will continue to attract new fans of the sport to their home, Section 104 of the north end.

“As a father myself of an 8-year-old … we never had something like this in Los Angeles at their age, and I just wanted to build something personally that I could leave to my children or the next generation that they could carry the torch and go with,” Stevenson said. “I want to leave a legacy behind, especially with Expo Originals, but also our impact with LAFC and across the league as a whole.”

LAFC vs. Austin FC

WHEN: 4:30 p.m. Saturday, April 8

WHERE: BMO Stadium, 3939 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles

COST: Tickets start at $56

INFO: ticketmaster.com

Covered California will help DTSPORTS

Overcoming Adversity

Need for leader on Dodgers and LA community is Taylor Made

For Chris Taylor, the 2023 baseball season is familiar and foreign.

Now in his seventh full season and eighth overall with the Dodgers, Taylor has earned the veteran status that comes with the experience he has garnered. This season he is expected to play in his 1,000th career game. He owns a World Series ring, has been an All-Star, and was the Most Valuable Player of the National League Championship Series.

It’s a far cry from his earlier days in Major League Baseball when he struggled and was shipped to Los Angeles in a trade that didn’t make major headlines.

But in the time since he first donned Dodger Blue, he has established a whole new identity in a new city. He’s married, and he calls LA home year-round.

“It was a busy offseason for us,” Taylor said. “We got married in December. We traveled more than usual. We now live in Manhattan Beach full time.”

He also recently held his first charity event in the area, with his CT3 Foundation delivering on its promise to help kids with cancer.

“A few years ago, a group of my closest childhood friends from Virginia Beach flew out to Houston to watch me play in the 2017 World Series against the Astros,” Taylor wrote on his foundation’s website. “One of those friends was Kyle Profilet. I didn’t know it yet, but Kyle had recently been diagnosed with osteosarcoma, better known as ‘Sarcoma,’ a bone cancer in his right leg. He said he didn’t want to tell me about it while I was playing in the postseason. Kyle never wanted anyone’s sympathy.

“Throughout his two-and-a-half-year battle, he repeatedly spared me and our friends the constant exacerbating news from the doctors. News that the chemo treatments were not working. News that he was going to lose his right leg. News that the cancer had spread to his lungs and then to his brain. Despite it all, Kyle never lost hope. He was the toughest guy I’ve ever known, and he fought till the very end.”

At the start of the new year, Taylor hosted the Driving for Hope charity tournament. The event in El Segundo featured a special evening of golf and food and drinks with an array of Dodger teammates and celebrity friends.

The goal, according to Taylor, was simple: raise a lot of money for his foundation and for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles to help

support children battling cancer and other life-altering conditions.

“Five years ago, I had never heard of sarcoma. Now, it has affected my life on many different levels,” he described. “Last year, I had to watch my girlfriend get the same phone call I had received just a year earlier. I knew right away. Mary’s childhood friend, Brian, had also lost his fight with sarcoma. As she was sobbing in my arms, I couldn’t fathom how this seemingly ‘rare’ disease constantly kept crawling back into my life.

“My neighbor and friend, Dalton Fox, recently served as an inspiration in his own right as he battled Ewing sarcoma. Dalton lived on the same street as my parents and, like Kyle, also lost his leg in his fight. My parents would always see Dalton riding his arm bike in the neighborhood wearing his Dodgers gear with a big smile on his face. Even though we lost Kyle, Dalton and many others, there are still so many kids that can be saved from this devastating disease. Maybe it’s not sarcoma, but some form of cancer has had an impact on all of us. I’m determined to not let anyone else go through this fight alone. Together, we can

save lives.”

For Taylor, the event was not his first work of this kind. He had hosted his first two golf events in his hometown of Virginia Beach. This one, however, was extra special due to its location.

“I was excited that we could finally do something here with all the Dodger fans that taps into this market,” Taylor said. “I have known we wanted to do something here in LA for a little while. It’s just a matter getting our feet under us and figuring out specifically what we wanted to do. We had worked a little with Children’s Hospital Los Angeles with a virtual visit last winter. I just really, really like what they do.”

The fact that Taylor is a star athlete in LA is a bigger surprise than his great work in any community he calls home. As a young pro, despite winning several awards in the minor leagues, he hit just .240 during his time with Seattle over parts of three seasons.

In 2016 he was traded to the Dodgers. Upon joining LA, he was sent to the minors three days later. But he persevered with the organization and ultimately proved to be a revelation. Commanding the spotlight, Tay-

lor has played in as many as 155 games in a season and hit 20 homers in a year.

In the field, “Have Glove, Will Travel.” Mostly seeing time in left field last season, Taylor’s versatility is another great plus, as he played in six spots in 2022 alone.

Additionally, the team has made the playoffs each year during his tenure, though it is also a club in transition as familiar names like Justin Turner and Cody Bellinger left over the winter.

“We obviously are going to miss those guys,” he said. “Sad to see those guys go on, not only like my teammates but my really close friends. I wish them nothing but the best. That’s the nature of the business.

“I also believe we have some really talented young players and it’s their opportunity now and long overdue. They’ve been having a lot of success in the minor leagues, and some of them already at the big league level. I think they’re due for their shot.”

Does the 32-year-old Taylor, who took full advantage of his opportunity in LA, feel like his place on the team can help fill a leadership void?

“I feel a little more established and will

maybe take on a little bit more of a veteran presence just because I’ve been here longer than other guys,” Taylor said. “But I really don’t think of myself as a vet player or anything like that. I don’t like to think of myself as somebody on the back end of their career, you know?”

Taylor is clearly not on the back end of his baseball career. And despite hosting a number of charity golf events in recent years, do

not spend a lot of time looking for him on the back nine at a golf course here in his adopted hometown.

“I actually don’t golf,” he said. “I go for fun with my teammates or friends just to have a good time, but I do not have the time to offer as much as I would like. It’s a full-day affair, and maybe I will try more once I retire.”

For more information on Taylor and his CT3 Foundation, visit ct3foundation.org.

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The Inventory will

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