Category Archives: Birmingham

Fiesta Night with Los Barons – Part 2

Students from Samford University Latin American Studies take to Regions Field for the parade of Latin American flags at Fiesta Night with Los Barons on August 27.

It was a beautiful afternoon…the weather was great, sun shining and a slight breeze found its way through the park every so often. I thought I was arriving at the park early to help Fiesta’s event manager extraordinaire, Denise Koch, put Fiesta flyers in all the cup holders at Regions Park. I should have known better. Denise had been hard at work since early that morning on Fiesta Night with Los Barons and had everything under control. I “did” manage to wrestle a small stack of the flyers away from her and finish up one section so she could take a break.

These Fiesta flyers were placed in every cup holder at Regions Field.

Fiesta and the Birmingham Barons partnered for a second year to bring a Latin flair to the ballpark this past August. Our thanks go out to the wonderful people at the Birmingham Barons, in particular, John Cook, Director of Sales, and Don Leo, Corporate Sales Manager, with the Corporate Partnerships Department, for all they did to make our time there so enjoyable.

Mike Suco, one of Fiesta’s founding board members poses with his son Mikey, and Barons Staff Members John Cook and Don Leo.

Once again, we had students from Samford University’s Latin American Studies participate in the parade of Latin American flags. We even had a few sponsors get into the act which thrilled us! Our sponsors from BB&T and Regions Bank both grabbed flags and made their way around the infield with the students and Fiesta board members. It was such a beautiful sight!

Students from Samford University Latin American Studies take to Regions Field for the parade of Latin American flags at Fiesta Night with Los Barons on August 27.

Next, Don Leo introduced Fiesta and a short video of last year’s event was shown on the big screen. The video was produced by board member Orlando Rosa with La Jefa Radio Station. Ever the perfectionist, Orlando mentioned later that he wasn’t completely happy with the video but the rest of us LOVED it! It definitely got the crowd going and gave them a taste of what to expect on October 3rd!

Fiesta board member, Orlando Rosa helps Don Leo of The Barons open up the game festivities in Spanish!

Mike Suco, one of Fiesta’s founding board members was on hand with his son Mikey, to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Mike didn’t miss a beat and never lingered on the pitcher’s mound. He threw out the perfect pitch so fast we almost missed it! Reminded me of the early days of Fiesta when Mike would just get things done! It thrilled us to have Mike and his family with us that night to celebrate and reminisce about Fiesta, especially for some of the newer board members and sponsors who had never met him but heard a few of us talk about him with such admiration over the years.

Mike Suco, throws out the ceremonial first pitch as his son watches beside him.

As always, we had the opportunity to talk to interested people attending the Barons game about Fiesta and encourage them to get advance tickets to the event. Ronald McDonald came by to represent our Title Sponsor, McDonalds, and had pictures made with kids young and old. I always love it when adults want their picture made with Ronald! I had mine made with him last year!

One of the many photos Ronald McDonald took with Barons Baseball game attendees.

Don’t forget…Fiesta is Saturday, October 3rd from noon to 8 p.m. in downtown Linn Park! Meanwhile, here are a few more pics from our night with Los Barons!

Mike Suco and his son pose with the baseball before the ceremonial first pitch is thrown.

We had to get our photo with Ronald too! Left to right – Ronald, me, Vanesa Vargas and Freddy Rubio.

Orlando pulled double duty at the game with a live remote, along with his wife and co-worker, Maria – better known on air as La Chikis!

Parting shot of the Regions Field Birmingham sign as I was walking to my car after the game. This is such a beautiful facility. If you’ve never been, you have to check it out!

The parade of Latin American flags begins and is lead by the Stars and Stripes of the USA! That’s Fiesta Board member, Vanesa Vargas with the Fiesta sign in front!

Fiesta Night with Los Barons – Part 1

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Regions Field and the Birmingham Barons partnered with Fiesta to have Fiesta Night with Los Barons last year. We are gearing up for another fun event this week!

Last year, Fiesta was fortunate to partner with the Birmingham Barons for a night of baseball with a Latin flair! Fiesta Night with Los Barons was the perfect prelude to Fiesta 2014 and was so much fun to pull together and attend!

Ronald McDonald posed for pictures with fans and The Home Depot mascot made an appearance too!

Fiesta board members and volunteers arrived early that evening to fill the drink cups with flyers about that year’s event. Later, they staffed a table to pre-sell tickets to Fiesta and answer any questions about the festival. Our presenting sponsor, McDonalds was on hand to participate in that night and brought along Ronald McDonald who joked with the crowd and posed for pictures with everyone.

Samford Students participated in the Parade of Latino Country Flags before the beginning of the game.

Before the first pitch was thrown out, we arranged to have students from Samford University walk onto the field in a parade of flags representing about 15 Latino countries. So colorful! The students were later on hand for a check presentation photo when Fiesta awarded $5,000 to Samford University for Hispanic student scholarships. Carlos Aleman, Professor of History accepted the check along with students from the newly formed Samford University Latino Student Organization. It was so exciting to see the students and have them participate! And I have to say that just a few short months later, the Fiesta board asked Carlos to become a board member and he graciously accepted! We are fortunate to have him on board with us!

McDonald’s Owner and Fiesta Title Sponsor, Santiago Negre did the honors by throwing out the first pitch at the game.

After the parade of flags, it was time for the first pitch. Fiesta asked Santiago Negre, local McDonalds store owner and Title Sponsor of Fiesta, to do the honors. Santiago and his brother, Russell, have been wonderful to Fiesta and they are back this year (2015) as Title Sponsor once again! We are so fortunate to have them in Birmingham, not only for their Fiesta sponsorship but also for all the wonderful things they are doing for our community and city and always with such enthusiasm.

Santiago joked about his form and how he would throw the baseball as he went to the mound and then proceeded to throw out the most perfect pitch! It was great to be on the field when this was happening and feel the excitement around us. Santiago definitely made us proud with that pitch and we certainly let him know! The traditional race of the mascots was interesting too. From what I hear, the Hot Dog always wins and the Taco is left in the dusk. Well, this year we had Ronald McDonald running a little interference for the Taco and it won!!! That was quite a thrill for us, believe it or not!

Later we all grabbed a beverage – it was Thirsty Thursday after all – and enjoyed the game. The weather was beautiful that night and the crowd was great. Hopefully, we were able to reach some people who didn’t know about Fiesta and encourage them to attend last year.

If you are in town this week, come on out to Fiesta Night with Los Barons THIS Thursday, August 27 – Regions Field at 6 p.m. Fiesta tickets will be on sale and you won’t want to miss the Parade of Flags again. We also have a special guest who will be throwing out the first pitch! More on all this in my next post – Part 2 of Fiesta Night with Los Barons! Hope to see you there!

Fiesta Board and Volunteer Shirts for 2014 – the color definitely made us all stand out in crowds!

Carlos and the students get ready to show off the flags of Latin countries.

Photo opp with Santiago Negre and Fiesta Board Chair – Matt Ennis!

Fiesta Board Members are ready to have a blast at Fiesta Night with Los Barons! From left to right: Vanessa Vargas, Cristina Almanza, Teresa Zuniga Odom, Chris Miller, Matt Ennis and Orlando Rosa. (Missing from the photo: Ashlee Jones and Freddy Rubio)

Fiesta Event Manager, Denise Koch (far right), gives last minute instructions as the gates open.

Tales of HICA Tamale Sales, Partnerships and Missing Fingerprints

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This is a promo photo I took before HICA Exec Director Isabel Rubio and I appeared on Fox 6 News in Birmingham to talk about the tamale sale.

To pick up from my last post and how the HICA tamale sale got started…here are a few memories and stories from the early years.

As the HICA tamale sale began to grow, the search for community partners began. We needed kitchen space where we could make more tamales since we had outgrown the kitchen at Grace Episcopal Church. Word was out about tamales so demand began to grow! In 2005, HICA partnered with The Culinard and we were able to use their facilities to make tamales. We had a successful year despite scorching a rather large pot of pepper tamales! That just about broke my heart because I LOVE pepper tamales!!!

The next year – 2006 – we got really aggressive with our media. I got a call from the Birmingham News one day asking if a reporter could come by my house and watch me make tamales. It was a great opportunity to get the word out about the sale so of course, I said yes! I immediately called my mom and we pulled together all the ingredients and got everything ready. Now when you make tamales, you usually make a “ton” because they are so labor intensive. In fact, in many families tamales are made in an assembly line fashion – as many as 60 dozen at a time! So mom and I got to work to get things in order for the demonstration.

This is a print of one of the articles that appeared in the Birmingham News about the tamale sale. The picture is of me in my kitchen loading tamales my mom and I made into my tamale pot to cook. Photo was taken by Bev Taylor of The Birmingham News. My husband framed this article for me as a Christmas present and it hangs in my kitchen.

Kellie Hewitt-Taylor of The Birmingham News was supposed to come to my house to interview me and take photos. Instead she interviewed me over the phone due to a family emergency and sent photographer Bev Taylor to come by and take pictures. Kellie said the story would run in the Wednesday Hoover Neighborhood section of the news. Isabel Rubio, HICA’s executive director, and I were excited about getting this exposure figuring it would help boost sales a bit from the previous year. Well, be careful what you wish for…

I picked up the Wednesday paper and found a small black and white photo of myself filling my tamale pot with tamales on page 2 or 3. I thought – “this is nice! I’m sure this will help sales…” When I got to work, a co-worker called and said, “Hey! I saw your picture in the newspaper today!” I knew she didn’t live in Hoover so I was a little puzzled as she went on and on about the great color photo of me. I was thinking – wait…the picture was in black and white! Now I was REALLY confused!

Turns out the story now only hit the Hoover neighborhood section that day, it hit ALL of the neighborhood section in Birmingham! WHOA! Our sales that year jumped to over 6K and we weren’t prepared for that. But it gave us an opportunity to partner with some local Mexican restaurants to help fill the gaps in addition to what our volunteers were making.

Freddy Rubio works the tamale numbers on tamale pick up day to make sure HICA stays up to speed with the orders and the restaurants partnering with us to provide tamales.

For tamale pick up day that year I just remember the tamales coming into the HICA office in a steady stream. All of us there volunteering that day spent a lot of time wrapping these piping hot tamales with Saran wrap and foil and labeling them by type. I swear to you…I think my fingerprints burned off that day! At the end of that day we were exhausted but thrilled at the success of the sale. I know I was SO ready for a margarita!!! Surprisingly, I also wanted a tamale!

Pork tamales wait their turn to get saran wrapped and foil wrapped for pick up.

The HICA tamale sale PRE-SALE has been extended until August 31st. So, if you are in the Birmingham area, you can place your order online until that date. Place your order today and when you come to HICA to pick up your order on December 18, let me know if you read about the tamale sale on my blog!

Orders wait to be picked up. This is also a great time for HICA to tell their story to the community so we provide our latest newsletter and brochures of information about programs the tamale sale supports.

A volunteer helps wrap the piping hot tamales with saran wrap – these are tamales that have come straight from one of the partner restaurants. The aroma that day of delivery was heavenly to say the least!!!

This was also the first year HICA rented freezers to store tamales for pick up day. In this picture, volunteers load the freezers with freshly wrapped tamales awaiting pick up.

Birmingham Chinese New Year Festival – Part 3

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This is the third and final of a three-part post about the Birmingham Chinese Festival Association and the annual Chinese New Year Festival.

One of the things I love the best about festivals is getting to photograph them. Cultural events are guaranteed to give you a lot of colorful options and the Chinese New Year festival is no exception. This past year, I arrived at the festival a little late – so I missed the opening ceremony and the dragon dance. I was a little disappointed about that, but as I entered the Boutwell Auditorium the acts on the main stage immediately got my attention and I almost ran up to them to take photos!

During the entertainment breaks, I walked through the exhibits…the first booth that drew my attention was the Confucian Academy. There I spotted not one, but two men dressed as Confucius helping each other with their beards! Adorable! Later one of the men posed with me for a picture while the other one was busy writing names and other phrases for people in Chinese.

A little further down, a long table was set up with books, interesting knickknacks and some watercolor paintings. The chicken got my attention right off the bat. I don’t know what it is about chickens but I could probably be a collector if I’m not careful. I think they look beautiful in a kitchen. So, I quickly grabbed it up for $10 and asked if the artist was nearby because I wanted to meet her and also get her to sign the painting. Her name was Karen, and she also told me her Chinese name. I sure wish I could remember it now but when I repeated it to her, she said I was saying it correctly which made me happy. She then posed for a picture with me along with the painting. Turns out, I was at the Troy University Confucius Institute’s (CIT) table. I know Troy has a very robust international program and it was great to see them in Birmingham for this festival so more people could learn about it.

For the remainder of the time I was there, I stood in front of the elevated sound and light system and took pictures of the stage performances. Everything from yoga dancers to sword dancing to a guy juggling a large chinese vase and finally a guy balancing on numerous stacked chairs. Everyone of these acts so colorful and leaving the crowd anxious for the next. Here are a few of my favorites from this past year. Sometimes, it’s hard to narrow them down!

Birmingham Chinese New Year Festival – Part 2

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Amy Chen and I cut the ribbon to officially open the Chinese New Year festival in 2008.

This is the second of a three-part post about the Birmingham Chinese Festival Association and the annual Chinese New Year Festival.

In 2008, the Birmingham Chinese Festival Association (BCFA) made the big decision to move the Chinese New Year festival into Boutwell Auditorium. This venue gave the festival the opportunity to expand entertainment and use the large stage in the venue. And now, since the second year, the Boutwell has been the home of the festival and the main stage continues to be a focal point.

The tradition of having a ribbon cutting along with greetings from a representative of the City of Birmingham continues each year as well. During the 2nd year, I had the honor of opening the festival along-side BCFA Vice-President, Amy Chen! After we ceremoniously cut the red ribbon, the BCFA Drum and Dragon team performed and then lead a parade of people into the auditorium. It was quite a site! So many people and so many new sponsors came out this year to enjoy the food, fun, activities and the stage performances.

Chinese New Year at The Boutwell Auditorium in Birmingham, Alabama

Once again, Amy led the way in acquiring tradition Chinese costumes to be featured on the stage. Another stage highlight was a Chinese acrobat troupe, direct from China, that performed. They were incredible and the women performers had me wanting to get back to the gym and work on my upper arm strength!!! Other popular booths included kids activities, games and having a phrase or your name written in Chinese characters.

One of the female performers from China at the Chinese New Year Festival. She was simply amazing!

One of the things I loved seeing was the sea of volunteers in coordinated Birmingham Chinese Festival Association t-shirts. Call me a nerd or organization freak, but that really added to the “color” of the event. AND, everyone began asking where they could get one! I may have told someone it was an “ancient Chinese secret!”

It was estimated that over 5,000 people attended the 2nd year. And with the close of year two, it was safe to say the festival was a secret no more!

Part 3 will showcase some of my favorite photos from the past 9 years, especially the festival this past weekend where I got to meet Confucius! Meanwhile, here are some pictures from the first Boutwell event.

This gentleman was writing phrases and people’s names in Chinese characters.

The drum group performed at the opening ceremonies. They are wearing the festival t-shirts that everyone wanted!

Amy and I get ready to cut the ribbon – I believe I was saying to her here – “are you ready?”

The Dragon Dance leads everyone into the festival after the ribbon cutting!

Walked up on a Mahjong game at the festival. My mother had a mahjong set when we lived in Thailand and I always loved playing with her and her friends as a little girl.

The Dragon at the festival always seems so real to me…especially the way he tilts his head.

These sweet children were intrigued by a presentation at the festival. They arrived dressed in Chinese costume.

The amazing Amy Chen introduces the Chinese costume fashion show.

BCFA President, Allan Staib and Vice-President, Amy Chen, speak to the audience after the fashion show.

Chinese acrobat shows off her talent!

Thrifting Treasures

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No matter where I go, I look for thrift stores and these little treasures were waiting for me at a thrift store in Denver, Colorado this past June!

You know the saying…one man’s (or woman’s) trash is another’s treasure…well, it’s just amazing what you can find when you go on the thrift store hunt!

My sister Kanista, who lives in North Carolina, really got me hooked on thrift store shopping. Her normal Saturday routine is to hit her local thrift stores and she definitely has an eye for vintage and unique! When I visited her last year, she took me to her favorite places and we had a blast loading up on great clothing pieces and a few household items. Her home is filled with beautiful finds. Now, since I’ve started my own Saturday morning hunts, we text each other with photos of our latest finds!

In Birmingham, there are a few thrift stores that I frequent. The two Salvation Army stores – one on Green Springs and one on Highway 150 in Hoover – are two of my favorites. I especially love hitting them on Wednesdays when everything is 25% off. On other days, they have a color system and clothing is 50% off. Either way, you get a great bargain! Another favorite is Lovelady Thrift store and I never fail to walk out of this store with something special. I’ve been lucky enough to find a few Groupons too for $40 worth of merchandise for $20!

What I’ve been most surprised about lately is how much Mexican pottery I’ve been finding at these stores. From a previous post, you know about my love of Talavera pottery – well, I’ve been adding to my collection with several smaller items. I also keep an eye out for Fiesta dishes and my latest find was a large yellow platter from around the 1960s. Couldn’t believe my eyes when I stumbled upon it at Lovelady a few months ago!

Another place I love is a little place in Pelham called Treasures. I bought a mink coat there last year – but that’s another story for another post… Meanwhile, I found a really interesting Talavera piece there recently. I wasn’t quite sure what it was until I got home and took a good look at it. Turns out…it’s a soap dish! I placed in my powder room which has quite a few Talavera pieces adorning it.

Some other items I’ve found are Mexican serape blankets that I’ve used quite often at Fiesta events. I found one huge and colorful one at Alabama’s Thrift in Center Point last year. It’s been quite useful for Fiesta promotion events to cover a table and set the scene for TV promos and other media events.

This is the first time I’ve found a Mexican blanket like this one. Usually they are just striped and very colorful.

These plates were found at Alabama’s Thrift in Alabaster. I couldn’t believe my luck when I found not one plate, but three! Very beautiful and the perfect addition to my family room coffee table. A quick note about the Alabama Thrift Stores…they also have a color discount system and so it makes “the hunt’ all the more fun.

Meanwhile…tomorrow is Saturday and I’m itching to get out and see what I can find…so stay tuned!!!

Día de los Muertos…Birmingham style!

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Sunday was Día de los Muertos – Day of the Dead – and Birmingham celebrated in a big way! Barehandsinc.org has been preparing for this 12th celebration all year-long and I do believe this was probably their best year ever!

Eddie and I arrived a little before 4 p.m. (when the gates opened) and normally we pay our $10 and get right in. Not this year…we waited almost 20 minutes to get in this year! Not a bad thing for the event, mind you!

Once we got in, the courtyard – which is generally rather empty – was already quite crowded. I started at one end of the big brick wall and began making my way down the wall taking pictures and just taking it all in. There were many more public altars this year. And there was a huge tribute to Mexican Artists. It would have taken me all night to read all those names…it was simply beautiful.

I remarked to Eddie how there were hardly any people there that we knew. Again, not a bad thing…it was great seeing lots of new faces. it’s a wonderful thing for a festival! We eventually ran into quite a few friends. Eddie captured it with a photo of the group – then a man walked right in front of us, oblivious to us all standing there posing for the camera – and Eddie captured the aftermath…all of us laughing hysterically! Love that photo and all those friends!

Got to see my sweet friend, Cristina Almanza at DOD this year!

I didn’t get to see festival founders Wendy Jarvis nor Tracy Martin this year…but I know they were beaming at the turnout and at the success of this year’s event. So many people remembered and celebrated. And that’s what the event is all about.

I’ve seen so many photos of the event on Facebook this past week. Here are a few of mine to add to the mix…

My friend Miguel with his sweet daughter Gabriella…she was mesmerized by the mariachi playing at the altars.

Preparing for Día de los Muertos

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This year is being called Year of the Mexican Artist at Day of the Dead Birmingham. (Photo from Dia de los Muertos Alabama facebook page.)

This time each year, I receive a number of “chores for the weekend” emails from the Birmingham Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) Festival with great information and lists of ways that volunteers can help each week. Things like puppet painting, sign hand lettering, hang butterflies, work on animal altar, restore old parade umbrellas… I love seeing these emails because it adds to the excitement that DOD is approaching! This little festival has grown into a powerhouse and is in its 12th year. Born the same year as Fiesta Birmingham it is a highlight of the fall for me after Fiesta is over. I get to jump from one colorful event to another and both Latino themed to boot!

As I mentioned, DOD started the same year as Fiesta but I have to confess, I didn’t know about its existence until about year 3 when a story hit the Birmingham News entertainment section about the event and why it was created. I was intrigued…a Day of the Dead Festival in Birmingham, AL??!! I remember thinking – this is so incredible – and I also remember thinking what an education this festival could provide to our community at large – much like what we were trying to do with Fiesta and the different cultures within the Latino community. DOD is another aspect to Latino culture that is not quite understood, but this festival is determined to make it understood!

During the early days of the festival, this alley behind the gallery was filled with remembrances and tributes…so much to see and so many touching photos and artifacts.

At the time, DOD was housed each year inside and around Bare Hands Gallery in downtown Birmingham. One day at lunch (this was in 2006), I decided I had to go by and meet Wendy Jarvis, the Director of the gallery. Turns out, she had wanted to meet me too so we could discuss our mutual festivals and how we might partner! Don’t you love it when a plan comes together?!

Tracy Martin puts some finishing touches to the Spider Martin altar when it was in the alley behind Bare Hands Gallery.

I found out more about DOD and its creation that day. Local artist Tracy Martin wanted to find a way to honor her late father, civil rights photographer James “Spider” Martin, when she and some close friends turned the gallery courtyard into a huge altar and memorial wall. This was in 2002. The celebration was expanded – and “born” – the following year and other artists and members of the community were invited to make their own altars and “ofrendas.” Wendy said as the celebration continued each year, she saw it as an opportunity to expand the gallery culturally, especially with the growing Hispanic community in Birmingham.

So that year – 2006 – was the year Wendy, Isabel Rubio – Executive Director of the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama (HICA), and I met to discuss how we would partner to bring more Latinos to the event. A women’s group from HICA took part in the celebration and built small altars at the event and brought family to celebrate a tradition they would have normally celebrated in Mexico. Since that time, HICA has always had a booth and altar display at DOD and become a true partner of the celebration.

That year, DOD also participated in Fiesta by having a booth in our non-profit village and showcasing some of the art and sugar skulls that would be on display at DOD. It was a great way for Bare Hands Gallery and DOD to get the word out – in English and Spanish – to Fiesta attendees, reaching a huge cross-section of the community.

Oh and one more thing…DOD is a photographers dream…you can’t take a bad photograph at this event. The colors, altars, costumes and entertainment are…do I dare say…to die for!

Here are a few of my own photos from the early days…

Day of the Dead displays behind the gallery. As the event grew this lot behind the gallery became a huge part of the celebration.

Tracy Martin’s tribute altar to her father, Spider Martin.

Thelma and Louise sugar skulls! This was part of a huge display of famous couples – one of my favorites!

One of the most poignant parts of Day of the Dead is the roll call…people can add the names of their loved ones to be read during the celebration.

Enjoying one of the festivals with Wendy Jarvis and my dear friend, Lui Fernandez.

Festival co-founder – Tracy Martin (right) – in one of her many beautiful sugar skull creation costumes.

Always love getting a hug from Festival Co-Founder, Wendy Jarvis at each years event.

Southern Señora

Sharing the Southern Hispanic lifestyle in Birmingham, Alabama!

Category Archives: Birmingham

Fiesta Night with Los Barons – Part 2

Tales of HICA Tamale Sales, Partnerships and Missing Fingerprints

Birmingham Chinese New Year Festival – Part 3

Birmingham Chinese New Year Festival – Part 2

Thrifting Treasures

Día de los Muertos…Birmingham style!

Preparing for Día de los Muertos

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