Victoria Bernal

Apr 4, 2023 | pbssocal.org | Sandi Hemmerlein |D. J. Waldie |Victoria Bernal

It may have been a long time since you've seen someone wearing an Easter bonnet — with all the frills upon it — but once upon a time in Los Angeles, Easter was an occasion to celebrate all things spring. And, at least in the 1940s through '60s, that meant crazy hats, furry costumes, and bunny-delivered baskets o'plenty.

Mar 14, 2023 | kcet.org | Sandi Hemmerlein |D. J. Waldie |Victoria Bernal

Faith and begorrah! Los Angeles may be more than 5,000 miles west of Dublin, Ireland, but that hasn't kept Angelenos from tipping their green top hats to the old sod — or adopting an honorary Irish heritage — at least for a day. And that day, of course, is St. Patrick's Day.

Feb 24, 2023 | kcet.org | Sandi Hemmerlein |D. J. Waldie |Victoria Bernal

You know that old song that goes, "It never rains in Southern California"? Well, wet winters like the one we're having right now show that's not exactly true. Not only does it rain — at least sometimes, when we're lucky — but it also hails and snows. Yes, even in Los Angeles!Although Angelenos are never that far from a snowy mountainscape in the winter, they haven't always had to travel to Mount Wilson, Big Bear or Lake Arrowhead to experience some of the white stuff and get a little snow play in.

Jan 26, 2023 | kcet.org | D. J. Waldie |Victoria Bernal

Forgetting is famously what Los Angeles does best. Urban historian Norman Klein called it erasure — the active scrubbing away of what must not be remembered. Despite erasure, memories do have a place in Los Angeles. Some are official monuments. Some are in ruins and need critical excavation. Some require the imagination to be seen. That's what I learned as a participant in a year-long examination of how Los Angeles remembers.

Jan 17, 2023 | pbssocal.org | Victoria Bernal |Sandi Hemmerlein |D. J. Waldie

When Alex Padilla was sworn in as California's first Latino elected to the U.S. Senate, it evoked memories of Edward R. Roybal, the trailblazing Mexican American politician who broke barriers as California's first Latino representative in Congress since 1879. Padilla even paid a brief tribute to Roybal in La Opinion shortly before he became the first Latino to win a state-wide Congressional election.