Do this today: Take in Fiesta Broadway and explore quack medicine

Hello, readers.
My goodness, it is seriously toasty out there. Were we not in a climate-controlled newsroom blogging about all the awesome stuff on The Guide, we'd be enjoying a plate of delicious tacos at Fiesta Broadway and sweating profusely like everyone else.

This Cinco de Mayo fiesta is huge. Really huge -- covering 30-some blocks of downtown L.A., but all the bands (the major festival draw) will perform at 7th and Hill. Lots of big names in reggaeton, Latin pop and Kumbia pop will be on the scene. For a full schedule, see the website here.

There's also a cool exhibit that should interest those who enjoy small, quirky museums and local history. The Southern California Medical Museum in Riverside is having an open house today, offering an installation on "Medical Quackery." The show looks at the history of weird and wacky cure-alls, assorted snake oils, potions and electro-devices popular during the 19th and early 20th centuries, designed to cure a vast array of ailments. 

Pass the Tylenol, please.

--Bettie Rinehart

Comments

[Wassup]

The website says Fiesta Broadway is supported by State Farm and it's called "AT&T Fiesta" so they must be paying, too. Yet, this event got a $160,000 fee waiver from the city, plus we're picking up the tab for street cleaning, cops/ security and other social services which would bring the tab much, much higher.

Why doesn't anyone from the Times question this, add up the costs? We're in the worst financial crisis in recent city history, they're raising trash fees on homeowners AGAIN, from $11.oo to $36.00 in a year or so, plus we passed Prop S, they're wanting to raise parking meter rates sky-high and even breathing our smoggy air won't be free for long. Yet this event merits all those city fees?

What IS it, anyway? If this is the City's Cinco de Mayo Celebration, why not say so, or is there going to be another one? Councilman Huizar also had a "Huizar's Winter Wonderland" event on top of the expensive and controversial (as a city expense) Santa Parade. Huizar also sponsored El Grito at city expense, among other Hispanic events like Blessing of the Animals. Lots of people are grousing about how many such events are in Huizar's district alone, even at this time.

And isn't the timing of it on the weekend of the Festival of Books rather poor? Wouldn't it have been nice if the Hispanic community were encouraged to attend something involving literacy and cultural commonality instead? Yes, I think the book Festival is getting some fee waivers too, but not as much, and with private sponsors picking up the tab, everything was clean within an hour after it was over tonight, unlike the mess left on Broadway for City Services.

Your heading made it sound like the Museum of Quackery was part of the Fiesta -- now, that might have been a draw for the non-Hispanic population looking for something different.