March and Fiesta in Hollywood

A crowd of mostly immigrants marched through the heart of “tourist” Hollywood on Sunday to urge Congress to pass legislation that would expeditiously grant immigrants legal residency. Over and over marchers and speakers emphasized that undocumented immigrants have been working hard and mightily contributing to the U.S. economy for years and years, and only wished to be treated fairly, to be able to come out of the shadows and enjoy the basic human rights most of us take for granted. They say it is not acceptable, humane, or practical to wait another 10 years, as is proposed in the current legislation supported by Bush and most Democrats.

The relatively small crowd, which appeared to be 3-5 thousand, was shouting classic slogans like “Sí se puede”, “Arriba, abajo, la migra al carajo”, “El Pueblo, Unido, jamás será vencido”, and others as a couple guys banged out a cacophonous beat on a rolling drum. People marched despite the heat, and even chose to forego watching the “big game”: the championship match between the U.S. and Mexican soccer teams in the final of the Gold Cup tournament. By the way we badly need a more scientific method of y estimating crowd size to end the insane disparities that allow the news media to ignore, discredit, or dismiss the importance of a street protest by undercounting the crowd, and conversely, to avoid the tendency of organizers to sometimes exaggerate the crowd size to create the illusion of a great turnout: Estimates of the crowd at Sunday’s march ranged from 1,100 (quoted by TV reporters) to 15,000 (by activists). Must the crowd estimate be determined only by political ideology?

Marchers walked down to Sunset for a couple blocks then turned back up toward tourist-heaven Hollywood Blvd. and its “walk of fame”, “historic” Chinese theater, wax museum, “Believe it or Not” museum, and dozens of ephemeral souvenir shops. Visitors from afar stopped their sight-seeing for a few minutes and witnessed a scene from the modern-day civil rights movement: a river of pro-legalization signs and banners, and USA flags slowly flow past. Only the most hardened xenophobe could fail to be moved by the polite, but determined immigrant workers waving U.S. flags and proclaiming that they too, probably more than most citizens, appreciate the economic opportunity found in USA and ask only for the right to live “legally” and fully participate in society.

The march ended at a rally staged on Hollywood Blvd. right in front of the massive Virgin Records Store and other gleaming castles of commerce. The rally was mostly a party with live Mexican “bandas” rocking the boulevard and treating all to thunderously loud norteña music. For an hour or two the heart of Hollywood became a Mexican pueblo on fiesta day: live music, and plenty of “helados”, “hot dogs with jalapeños” and sodas to nourish mind and body.