On Saturday, Councilmember Kevin de León and his team transformed the portion of Chicago Street outside the Boyle Heights District Office into a Winter festival.
Dozens of community members gather together once a year to watch a large, towering pine tree on the corner of 1st Street and Chicago light up the neighborhood. The tree lighting is a tradition inherited from previous CD 14 councilmembers.
The street was lined with arts and crafts booths, an ice cream truck, and a large stage for musical performances to keep the dozens of attendees busy while they waited for the toy drive and tree lighting. A makeshift sledding area was set up for kids to enjoy and various nonprofits and city departments set up booths for community outreach.
Mrs. Claus and two Santa Clauses even made a special appearance. One Santa Claus was particularly popular with the children because he arrived at the festival not by Sleigh but mounted atop an inflatable, charcoal-colored dragon. “I’m inspired by [the Tim Burton film] ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’,” said Jose Alonzo, honorary Santa. “This is for the kids, I’m just trying to be in the holiday spirit. I was a gingerbread man too for five minutes.”
Mrs. Claus aka Aracelly Cauich was equally excited to interact with the children of Boyle Heights and felt the small Winter festival was needed to lift people’s spirits. “This is a good event for the community especially after the pandemic. It makes the kids happy,” Cauich said.
Kevin de León’s tenure as CD14 Councilmember has been marked by scandal and criticism from some Boyle Heights residents, who say that the neighborhood still struggles to receive basic city services. Still, De Leon has continued to make public appearances and incorporated his unique brand of pomp and circumstance into the event.
DJ Krazy, a young entertainer from El Sereno, introduced the councilmember onto the stage with air horn sounds. “What’s up Boyle Heights,” yelled de León, followed by a flurry of more airhorn sounds.
De Leon’s office did not respond in time to Boyle Heights Beat’s request for an interview about the importance of the tree lighting. The councilmember received a warm welcome from some of his supporters and shared a message about the importance of celebrating diversity during the holidays. “This is a time when we have to come together because that’s who we are. We’re proud of being from LA, we’re proud of being from Boyle Heights, and we’re proud of where we come from,” said de León.
De Leon then did a call and response with the children in attendance eagerly waiting for their free toys. “Who wants Toys,” he asked the crowd. “Me,” yelled dozens of children as they hopped up and down.
Finally, the event concluded with the lighting of the tree. De León led the crow in another chant, this time in a countdown starting from the number 14. The councilmember pushed a button and the large tree instantly shimmered and glistened in the night sky.
The Christmas tree lighting succeeded in making everyone present happy, especially a proud de León who walked over to the tree to snap a picture for himself.
