Near Northsider – Houston

The Davis High School Marching Band at the naming Ceremony for the Leonel Castillo Community Center

Last weekend, we thought we heard a parade in the distance. Once it got closer, we figured there was a parade on some major street near by. Nope, it was a parade into our little neighborhood down one of the old, tiny streets. It turns out that there was a small pardade with the Davis High School Marching Band, Cheerleaders, and Pantherettes (sp?) for a ceremony to officially name the Leonel Castillo Community Center. It looks like this community center will be in the old, abandoned Robert E Lee Elementary School building.
I have always loved that building. It’s right on the bank of the White Oak Bayou and you can see it when you drive on I-45 near Quitman. I have never been inside, but I heard that it was torn up by Tropical Storm Allison.
So far, I haven’t been able to find anything online regarding Harris County’s plans for this community center. I don’t know if the building will be renovated or what. The rendering on the sign on the lot makes it look like they will keep the building, but you never know. If anyone happens to know anything, please feel free to post a comment.

I was in Philadalphia, PA for the Americans For The Arts (AFTA) Conference. It was my first time at a professional conference and my first time away from my little family. Being away form my family was the hardest.

When I left Houston for School in Chicago years ago, I couldn’t wait to get outta here. I kinda missed my parents and brothers, but everything was so exciting that I didn’t dwell on it very much. This time, I have a wife and son and nothing in Philadelphia or at the conference could make me forget how much I missed them.

That said, the conference was still very interesting and I learned an enormous amount about my profession. I got the chance to find out about current trends and concerns in the field (public art) and I got to explore Philadelphia, a city I had never been to before. I ate my cheese steak and soft pretzel and drank some beer called Yuengling.

The thing that I really took away from the conference was how appreciative (and a little surprised) the established art professionals were to see so many young people like myself involved in arts administration and especially arts advocacy. One woman even mentioned to me that she wondered if there would ever be any young folks that would be willing to get involved the way she had almost 30 years ago. One thing you have to know about arts administration is that it’s like any other non-profit work. It can be tireless, thankless work for a modest salary. But the money is not what motivates us. I think the majority of us are in this line of work because we not only enjoy it, but feel that we are doing something vital for society. Many of us are artists ourselves and have taken on this job with the hope that we are making a difference in our communities for the better.

I came back from this conference energized to continue doing what I do.  It always helps to know that there are other people around the country making the same mistakes, struggling with the same problems, and celebrating the same triumphs.

It was a hot day

Originally uploaded by Leelunies

It’s getting hot again. Actually, it has been hot for quite some time. Now that Summer’s here it’s going to get even hotter. This is the Squee’s first real summer where he’s spending a lot of time outside. Last here he was still so little that we kept him in a lot during the summer. Now we take him out more and sit on the porch and he’s not too impressed with the weather.

He looks like he’s very uncomfortable in the heat. He sweats a lot and his face gets so red. He doesn’t really like the bright sun and he gets especially upset when he’s hot AND sleepy.

Sarah and I are both more or less ok in the heat. Sarah more so than me. In fact, we don’t like it when indoor AC is too cold (which is pretty much everywhere you go in Houston). However, now we have to keep our house colder than we would for ourselves so that the little boy can be comfortable. Sometimes we sit on the couch with a blanket over us while Squeeli is asleep in just a diaper and no blanket, sweating!

Pan Dulce at breakfast on Sunday Morning

Originally uploaded by Leelunies.

We woke up early today and I got some pan at the Houston Bakery. I got the usual empanadas, cuernos, and pan de huevo (conchas). I also got something that’s like a round yellow cake with raisins inside and sugar on top. It was very, very good. I love yellow cake. I don’t know what this thing is called.

The bakery doesn’t have anything labeled on the trays and I didn’t think to ask. Actually, the only way you know how much things cost at the Bakery is that there is a chart to the side of the cases that lists each thing, “empanadas – 35 cents, cuernos – 35 cents…” and so on. Of course, if you don’t know the name of something, then you can’t find the price. It’s one of those places that’s in the hood where almost everyone speaks both English and Spanish, so some things are written in both English and spanish, while other things are written in only Spanish. It’s a business where the clientele know the product and there is very little need to introduce something new since they patronize the establishment specifically for familiarity.

This weekend is the Bayou City Art Festival at Memorial Park where I will be volunteering for Lawndale Art Center in a Creative Zone booth. so far the weather ain’t looking so great. Looks like rain on Saturday and Sunday. I guess we’ll see. I was volunteering at the last BCAF in Downtown and it rained on the last day of the festival. The whole time. The festival had to be canceled and lost an entire day. Horrible. Hopefully it won’t be so bad this year.

If you’re out this weekend looking for something to do, come to the festival. If you’re in the mood to volunteer you can sign up here – Lawndale sign up link or call Lawndale, 713-528-5858.