February 2009

We had a really mild winter this year -- until February. Then it rained and rained. Andre finally got a taste of cold, wet weather. Between storms, we rode bikes along West Cliff Drive, one of our favorite things to do together.



Feb. 1 was Xochiquetzal's first birthday. She's Sergio and Griselda's fourth child.

Here's Xochi getting a birthday kiss from their new pup Carmelita. One of the neighbors brought her little baby boy over. Andre couldn't resist asking to hold him.

I spotted their hands together and couldn't resist getting a close-up. We celebrated Valentine's Day by taking Andre bowling for the first time. He scored a decent 79 and 75, with several strikes and gutter balls. I hadn't bowled in a long time either and scored 87 and 96, but I used to average about 120.

Anyone who knows me, knows that Luis Valdez, director of Zoot Suit and La Bamba, is one of my heroes. He's teaching a class at UCSC on Chicano theater with his son Kinan who now runs El Teatro Campesino. The Chicano Latino Resource Center sponsored an informal talk with Luis and Kinan. That's Luis with his wife Lupe and Rosie Cabrera, the director of the Chicano Center.

I've been friends with Erica (above right) since we were housemates in the mid-1980s. She invited Andre and me to watch her hula group, which participated in the Dance Around the World show. I didn't get any photos of Erica's hula dance because I was videotaping, but I did get a few shots of other performers.