Weekend Guide: An Aztec Opera, Taste Jalisco in Huntington Park, Go Full ‘Coco’ On Olvera Street ~ GTFO LA!

It's Day of the Dead month but you're not dead so here's a list of things to do in Los Angeles this weekend. So get out of the f***ing house!

Friday, October 5

Eat Jalisco in HP

[dropcap size=big]I[/dropcap]n honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, La Pacific will play host to the Sabor De Mexico Lindo Festival. This year's event honors Jalisco. It’s on Pacific Boulevard, so you know there’s food! Great food! It also features arts and crafts pavilions from the Jalisco municipios of Tlaquepaque, Tonala, Yahualica and Tlajomulco. The festival runs all weekend and starts at 5 pm. More info here.

Get Empowered in Downey

[dropcap size=big]H[/dropcap]ispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE) is hosting Latina Empowerment Day Friday. It’s “a one day intensive workshop series created to empower Latinas to increase their community impact and strengthen their skills and knowledge on a variety issues,” according to the website. The event starts at 8:30 am and will feature, among other things, a financial planning session. Tickets here.

See a Baseball Play on Melrose

[dropcap size=big]W[/dropcap]ritten by Dennis Danziger, a retired LAUSD teacher who also wrote for 80s hit sitcoms Taxi and Kate & Allie, Homeplate is a one-act play that takes place at the crack of dawn in front of an old baseball stadium. But Danziger told L.A. Taco it’s less about the sport and more about the human condition. “It is really about two loners,” he said.

The play is act two to Danziger’s serialized bill Double Play. Act one, Pennant Fever, of which was originally produced in 1980 by the Los Angeles Actors Theatre to positive reviews. Thirty-eight years later, Home Plate, completes this romantic comedy which follows two lonely people who meet through the course of their courtship and a 28-year marriage.

The play starts its run Friday at 8 pm at the Stephanie Feury Studio Theater on Melrose and goes weekends all month long, hopefully as the Dodgers chase and clinch the pennant. Tickets here.

Saturday, October 6

Go Full ‘Coco’ on Olvera Street

[dropcap size=big]T[/dropcap]he 5th annual Olvera Street Muertos Artwalk is Saturday featuring 40 local artists selling original artwork, clothing, jewelry, and all kinds of Day of the Dead stuff. There’s also face painting and a bunch of other kid friendly activities for all the little Miguelitos. Best of all the event is free. It starts at 10 am. More info here.

Let Boys Be in Pasadena

[dropcap size=big]A[/dropcap]rtist Fabiola Lopez will questions gender roles and toxic masculinity through her photographic chronicle Let Boys Be. Fabiola says her portraits “capture those intimate moments” where people are “inviting you to smile with them, to feel with them and to praise them for who they are - their authentic selves.” More info here.

Take in an Aztec Opera in Downtown

[dropcap size=big]T[/dropcap]he opera, El Circo Anahuac, is a “multi-media classical music and theater production,” says Brown Fist Productions, who are putting on the bill. It’s a modern take on the legend of the twin volcanoes Popocaltepetl and Ixtlacihuatl outside Mexico City acted out by a circus troupe. The opera features designs by L.A. Taco friend and artist Lalo Alcaraz, choreography by Janelle Gonzales, tri-lingual lyrics by Librettist Nahuatl poets, music by David Reyes, and libretto by Maria Elena Yepes. The event starts at 7 pm at La Plaza de Cultura y Artes. Tickets are selling fast, we are told, but the show also goes on next weekend. Get your tickets now.

Sunday, October 7

Eat Mole in Grand Park

[dropcap size=big]L[/dropcap]a Feria de Los Moles is back for its 11th go around, featuring mole, mole, and more mole. Don’t worry, if you don’t like mole … actually, do worry because I’m sincerely worried about you. But there will be plenty of food and entertainment at this festival that celebrates Mexico’s national dish. There will also be mole workshops and a new Miss Mole crowned. The free event runs from 10 am to 6 pm in Grand Park right across from City Hall. More info here.

Go Get Scared on the Queen Mary

[dropcap size=big]I[/dropcap]f you’re tired of seeing actual ghouls from Yale Law on C-Span or your Twitter feed, go check out some gnarly fake ones at the Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor. The big boat on the Long Beach Harbor is supposedly haunted as it is. One thing’s for sure, it’s a pretty fun time and they go all out. The event runs all month and tickets start at $20 but they have a discounted Sunday Oct. 7 special here.

Take Your Shot at USC Film School

[dropcap size=big]S[/dropcap]ubmissions are now open for the 5th annual AT&T Film Awards competition and this year AT&T created a category specifically for films in Spanish by college students. The winner of the Best Spanish Language Short will receive a scholarship to attend the USC School of Cinematic Arts program during the summer of 2019. It includes travel and housing, and a daily salary during the summer course. If that’s not enough, the winner will also get a meeting with CAA and have their award-winning corte air on TV. More info here.