By Brian Dunlap

There is a new open mic in El Sereno. It’s on Wednesdays at 7:30pm at MOBAR, located on Huntington Drive South. This past Wednesday was the first edition.

I arrived five minutes late. A speaker outside blasted feature David A. Romero’s voice across the sidewalk. A poem about an ode to the Burrito, discussing the cultural appropriation of Mexican food, specifically with the invention of the wrap. “I spit you out and reject you/As they reject us/Those who want [to] cash in on the popularity of the burrito/But deny Spanish from the menu.”

I stopped, hands in pockets, and remained outside, listening to the remainder of Romero’s set. Inside MOBAR, mostly brown bodies filled nearly every folding chair and vendors selling jewelry and mini cactuses, etc. filled the perimeter and back portion of the establishment. Outside, to the left of the entrance, a food cart sold authentic Mexican food, Spanish often flowing between customer and employee. Words emitting from the speaker would often catch the attention of passers-by and they’d pause for a moment to listen.

I’d notice later how the publications of all three features—Romero, Matt Sedillo and Viva Padilla—were displayed around the store, for sale. MOBAR also displayed the memoirs, novels and poetry of other local scribes on shelves near the front.

When Romero finished, I entered and stood towards the back, behind the rows of folding chairs, as the features were broken up by open mic readers who read poetry or played music. Many were Latinx’s from the El Sereno community. One young, 20-something Latina took the mic with her guitar and sang two funny songs—one about finding love on dating apps and having a sweet spot for guys who look like John Turturro.

The second feature was political poet and El Sereno native Matt Sedillo.  Originally coming from the spoken word scene, he spoke with passion and fire. The atmosphere shifted a bit, became more serious. Sedillo spoke about racism in terms of the issues affecting all Chicanx communities in the context of their history. In one, “Pilgrim,” he recited:

‘Cause I was raised just like you
Misunderstood in some of those
Very same schools
Off lessons and legends
Of honest injuns and Christian pilgrims
And a nation of immigrants
All united in freedom.

Then, Sedillo read “El Sereno,” a poem about growing up in this neighborhood, one of his most personal poems. The audience was engaged in his words, and especially this poem, from that deep vital need for their community to truthfully tell their own stories. To see themselves authentically portrayed in society.

After more open mic readers read their poems, poet and publisher Viva Padilla capped off the night’s features. Her son sat in the front row of folding chairs, as she fished in her backpack for specific printed poems. She read poems in both English and Spanish, with the English poems about her time growing up and living in the traumatic streets of South Central. Though I could not understand her Spanish poems, I was able to feel the emotions behind her words, as Padilla read. I felt and understood the powerful reasons she chose to write those poems in Spanish—to undo the generational trauma of having her native tongue taken from her, making it at one point, illegal to speak in school;  to avoid using the colonizers tongue; to reclaim a part of her heritage. Hopefully these poems will make it into Padilla’s upcoming poetry collection.

Later, at 9:10pm, after I read a poem and a Latinx man played a professional level Spanish guitar, the evening ended. The features, open mic performers and their supporters, hung around to socialize and make any last purchases before the vendors closed shop.The food cart outside the front entrance continued to sell authentic Mexican food.

The host at the Open Mic @ MOBAR, had kept a relatively low profile. He spoke to introduce the features, to call up the open mic readers and to briefly remind everyone to patronize the vendors and support the authors. As I arrived just after he opened the open mic, he only spoke about himself momentarily as he closed out the night, about how he had hosted events like this open mic in the past and knew how important they are to the community. To thank everyone for their support and to remind everyone of the importance of their continued support. The first edition of the Open Mic @ MOBAR was, for the most part, a typical open mic. It was made better on the strength of the features, the open mic readers and the vital need for communities of color to have venues like this one, where they’re able to tell their own stories, their own truths, in a safe, understanding environment.