#neo city in san jose day 2

[bellaloona]

Neo City in San Jose Day 2 Pt. 2

a.k.a the part where I rant about the members and how great they are

Johnny - I’ve never been this sort of stan in the first place but I cannot look at this guy and think that he exudes daddy energy bc all I see is big Dad energy. The guy was throwing finger hearts and winking and cracking funny jokes and he made us all do the wave and the whoa so in conclusion, he is a Cool Dad(TM). Beethoven was shaking when he was playing the keyboard during interlude. He’s really cool when he dances and he has great thighs. Definitely got the loudest screams of the night. 11/10.

Doyoung - I’m....still not over it. Without contest the standout performer of the night. Everyone did amazing at the concert but there’s something really special about the way he sings and you look at his face and just feel everything that he’s singing even if you don’t understand the language.I didn’t realize till now how many times he begins and ends songs so the cameraman has excuses to just zoom in on his face for 10 seconds at the end of a song and just. Leave him there. I have a fancam of him during baby don’t like it and you can just hear me nervously laughing in the background bc wtf was that??? Also I wasn’t even looking at him while they were all giving speeches but @honto-ni sitting next to me was like “omg look at Doyoung’s arms” and he was crossing his arms and you could see his biceps from the balcony where I was.Thanks for that image I guess. I’m never gonna look at Doyoung the same. 11/10.

Taeil - I will be honest, I wasn’t paying as much attention to him early on bc I think the others were more noticeable with their stage presence but he really blossomed after the vocal unit stages! His melanin was popping and he nailed every single note he went for. I think he yawned during one of the ments and Mark and Johnny asked him “yo are you sleepy??” and he was like no no and did that little shimmy dance he always does and I found it really endearing. 11/10

Yuta - one of the bigger surprises of the night??? Like I always knew he was handsome but every time his face came up on the screen I was like wow he PRETTY pretty and he smiles really big too. Also his English pronunciation is surprisingly really clear! And I will say this time and time again -- put Yuta in vocal unit or just let him sing more HE SOUNDS FANTASTIC, 11/10!!

Taeyong - our representative!!! Besides having stellar stage presence as usual  (especially during baby don’t like it) he was really soft and smiley and I could tell he was having a lot of fun. I’m still kind of flattered that he said he liked the Bay Area so much and explored my hometown :’) Whenever the group was performing if you looked for Taeyong he was truly popping off with the choreo every time. I don’t really understand how he does that. Also, Taeyong with a headband. 11/10.

Jaehyun - had pink curly hair again which I’m really happy about bc I love idols with pink hair!! I love his more masculine dancing style, I think it makes him stand out in large group performances and he looked handsome as always in solo shots. Spoke really well during the mental too! Big fan of his sparkly jacket for Superhuman, 11/10.

Jungwoo - MY BABY BOY!!!! Who is surprisingly less baby during performances than you’d think and not in a sensual way but in like a really intense energetic way. I think it’s the hair and also he fact that he gets really hype really easily. During the lightstick part in Replay I thought he was gonna break his bones or something he was the literal embodiment of the GO CRAZY GO STUPID meme like my guy was flailing everywhere. VERY underrated dancer. Super fluffy during ments, 11/10

Haechan - the member with the second loudest cheers!!! I will never shut up about how talented this kid is like he has one of the clearest most unique voices in the industry and is IMO one of the best dancers in NCT and It Shows. He’s real pretty too like he was standing next to Johnny when Johnny was talking and I was staring at him like wow his eyes are so twinkly and his skin is really pretty too :( Also! He read the instructions on our fan banner all by himself I’m so proud of his improvement in English! 11/10

Mark - I’ll never forget mark clowning us for the fan project telling us to put our signs up for welcome to my playground (it’s your guys’s fault for cutting it off the setlist lmao) bc he let out the cutest giggle :( idk what to say about mark except for the fact that he’s very focused during performances, less dramatic like doyoung and taeyong but very stable and very precise dancer. He’s also very very cute. 11/10

[7happylady]

190510 NEO CITY: USA San Jose Day 2 Cr. ori7uru_TY, kunntaeil, sportylorrie, salTYcandy0701, centrici_ty

[aleahadelina-blog]

GO OUT & DISCOVER INTRAMUROS THE WALLED CITY OF MANILA

WHY DO I TRAVEL ALONE?

“I have been travelling alone for quite sometimes now, it is scary to think at first that you are doing things by yourself and being independent away from home. I live far from my parents to study and learn how to walk on my own path. One day when I look back, I will reminisce everything with a happy heart. I will cherish every moment, every place that I went through. Forever.”

Tips for your Intramuros trip:

1.       Plan ahead of time where to go and what to do. (You can visit sites online for fun activities or for any inquires )

2.       Bring your camera with extra battery saver.

3.       Wear comfortable shoes.

4.       Bring your bottled water.

5.       Meet and talk to the incredibly friendly locals.

6.       Enjoy and have fun.

My Intramuros Bucket List 

1.       Fort Santiago

2.       Casa Manila

3.       Manila Cathedral

4.       San Agustin Church

5.       Light And Sound

6.       Bahay Tsino

SAN AGUSTIN CHURCH

I began my journey to SAN AGUSTIN CHURCH

Central terminal station is the nearest station in Intramuros. It is located in Ermita Manila and the popular name for the Station is Arroceros.

“From Central Terminal Station I ride a pedicab because I was honest to myself and I know that I will waste too much time if I will walk down the streets of Intramuros knowing that I do not exactly know where San Agustin Church is located. I decided to go to church first for me to be blessed for the rest of the day and for my safe travels. It was already 1:00 o’clock in the afternoon when I arrived Manila from Makati. It was an hour train ride from Guadalupe Station to Taft Avenue Station and from Taft Avenue station to Central Terminal station.”

“Manong Bert the driver of the pedicab is very talkative but in a nice and mannered way. He is sharing his life in Intramuros about his job and about how much he earns for a living. That is a very heart warming moment for me, knowing the imperfections of the world Manong Bert still managed to do good despite of his situation. It was and still a decent job.”

“It was about 15 good minutes as we pedaled around and arrived to my first stop. So basically, it was a point to point service. 100 pesos is a little bit expensive for a pedicab ride but for me the ride is still worth it. It was fast, easy, and safe.”

 INTERIOR OF SAN AGUSTIN CHURCH

San Agustin Church (or giving its full name, the "Church of the Immaculate Conception of San Augustin") 

“They said that the San Agustin Church survived the American bombardment of Manila in 1945. Of the seven churches inside Intramuros, San Agustin was the only that survived without serious or total destruction.”

“The San Agustin Church is in Manila and more specifically inside Intramuros. You will find it on General Luna Drive. Opening hours of San Agustin Church is daily at 8:00am to 12:00 and then closes and reopens at 1:00pm through to 6:00pm.” Right beside and physically adjoining is the San Agustin Museum.

“I was lucky I was able to visit the church and had a little tour before the wedding ceremony started. The San Agustin Church is known to be the Wedding Capital of the Philippines, there are a lot of weddings each day. In the San Agustin Museum you will get to see the courtyard and it was unbelievably beautiful. The garden is well maintained. Even the room is labelled accordingly with the topic and the rooms are air conditioned, making it a wonderful and pleasant experience to roam around. You can take amazing pictures inside the museum but you cannot take videos said the tour guide.”

CASA MANILA

This beautiful reproduction of a Spanish colonial house offers a window into the opulent lifestyle of the gentry in the 19th century. Imelda Marcos had it built to showcase the architecture and interior design of the late Spanish period, with lavish features throughout and some interesting items such as a double-seated toilet. The house may not be authentic but the stunning antique furniture and artwork are.

BAMBOO BIKE ECOTOURS

Bambike is one of the most popular locally-made bicycle brands in the Philippines. These unique bicycles made from durable and all-natural bamboo and abaca materials are hand-made and crafted by builders from Gawad Kalinga, a Philippine-based community development organization. Bambike aims to be one of the greenest bikes on the planet. 

Rental rates for Adult is 100 pesos per hour and 50 pesos for students with valid ID’s. 

“While I was in the waiting line the girl who is in charge of the reservation for the rental of the bambike approached me. She asked me why I am alone and she was not the first one to ask me that question in that same day. She said it was nice seeing someone out there and having fun alone. Everything about she said makes sense, of course. I answered her that if I tour together with my friends definitely I will really have fun although I will not have the opportunity to really seize the moment and reflect. The only disadvantage was it is hard for me to do the documentation and taking pictures alone. Then we both smiled”

MANILA CATHEDRAL

The present Manila Cathedral, situated at the heart of the walled city of Intramuros has gone several major reconstructions since its inception. The Neo-Romanesque-Byzantine cathedral has long been the seat of archbishop in the Philippines. And it continuous to be one of the most admired churches in the country.

Manila Cathedral also holds religious artworks and sacred relics of popes and saints, and serves as resting place for the remains of former archbishops in Manila

BAHAY TSINOY

Bahay Tsinoy is a museum which presents the story of the Chinese in Philippine history.  The Bahay Tsinoy is located in the historic walled Intramuros area of Manila on Anda Street, making it easy to combine a visit to this museum with several other Intramuros attractions and amenities.

FORT SANTIAGO

One of the most important sites for Philippine history in Manila, Fort Santiago was built by the Spanish conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi as a defensive fortress designed to protect the newly formed city. The fort is a key feature of the famous walled city known as Intramuros — a complex of manicured gardens, fountains, lily ponds, and sunny plazas, as well as the Rizal Shrine museum, located in the building where Dr. Jose Rizal (a Philippines national hero) was incarcerated during the late 19th century.

“Fort Santiago a world class best of the Philippines and it one of most interesting place I dreamed to visit when I was still a kid. I used to see Intramuros only in books and pictures.. Looking to learn more history about our country and  with our culture and  trying new things around Intramuros was something you wanna look at the future of something look at the past.”  

Fort Santiago admission fee is 50 pesos for students and 75 pesos for the regular rates

“Bambiking through Intramuros and cycling around for two hours gave me opportunity to breathe in, I was pedaling around and I can’t even control the stories that are going through my mind. I have been questioning myself a lot. The only thing I can call my own it the bamboo that I am riding. Everything around me is because of the colonization of the different countries the that brought changes in every aspect in our land and our people.”

“What I actually learned from my Intramuros tour is that, we have journeys on own, we do not have to depend on somebody else about what we believed in, we have to discover it on our own. I was like stepping back into time and  I was living my life years and years ago.”

“Travelling alone is not just discovering new places but discovering yourself too.”

[rachwithluv]

nct 127 - 0 mile | neo city - the origin: san jose day 2

[crimethinc]

How Anti-Fascists Won the Battles of Berkeley–2017 in the Bay and Beyond: A Play-by-Play Analysis

The perilous politics of militant anti-fascism defined 2017 for the anarchist movement in the United States. The story in the Bay Area mirrors that of the country at large. It’s a narrative full of tragedies, setbacks, and repression, ultimately concluding with a fragile victory. Yet there was no guarantee it would turn out this way: only a few months ago, it seemed likely we would be starting 2018 amid the nightmare of a rapidly metastasizing fascist street movement. What can anti-fascists around the world learn from what happened in Berkeley? To answer this question, we have to back up and tell the story in full.

Fascists chose Berkeley, California as the center stage for their attempt to get a movement off the ground. The advantage shifted back and forth between fascists and anti-fascists as both sides maneuvered to draw more allies into the fight. Riding on the coattails of Trump’s campaign and exploiting the blind spots of liberal “free speech” politics, fascists gained momentum until anti-fascists were able to use these victories against them, drawing together an unprecedented mobilization. As we begin a new year, anti-fascist networks in the Bay Area are stronger than ever. Participants in anti-fascist struggle enjoy a hard-earned legitimacy in the eyes of many activists and communities targeted by the far right. By contrast, the far-right movement that gained strength throughout 2016 and the first half of 2017 has imploded. For the time being, the popular mobilization they sought to manifest has been thwarted. The events in the Bay Area offer an instructive example of the threat posed by contemporary far-right coalition building—and how we can defend our communities against it.

2016: A New Era Begins

Clashes escalate outside a Trump Rally in San Jose on June 2, 2016.

The clashes between far-right forces and anti-fascists that gripped Berkeley for much of 2017 were the climax of a sequence of events that began a year earlier. On February 27, 2016, Klansmen in the Southern California city of Anaheim stabbed three anti-racists who were protesting a Ku Klux Klan rally against “illegal immigration and Muslims.” The rhetoric of the Klan echoed the same vulgar nationalism that the Trump campaign was broadcasting. Under the banner of the alt-right, many white supremacist and fascist groups began to use the campaign as an umbrella under which to mobilize and recruit. They aimed to build an ideologically diverse social movement that could unite various far-right tendencies within the millions mobilized by Trump. A reactionary wave had steadily grown across the country in the last years of the Obama era. The combination of continued economic stagnation, proliferating anti-police uprisings of Black and Brown people, and rapidly changing norms related to gender identity and sexuality had spawned a violent backlash. This was the wave that Trump rode upon and his campaign had broken open the floodgates.

Trump rallies became increasingly contentious in cities such as Chicago (March 11) and Pittsburgh (April 13) as protesters held counterdemonstrations to confront these open displays of bigotry. On April 28, 2016, small-scale rioting erupted outside a Trump rally in the southern California city of Costa Mesa. The next day, in the city of Burlingame near San Francisco, large crowds disrupted Trump’s appearance at the convention of the California Republican Party, leading to scuffles with police.

Days later, on May 6, a newly-formed fascist youth organization, Identity Evropa (IE) held their first demonstration on the other side of the Bay—an ominous portent of things to come. This initial experiment was organized by IE as a “safe space” on the UC Berkeley campus to promote “white nationalist” ideas and their particular style of business-casual far-right activism. Inspired by European identitarian movements, IE worked to coopt the rhetoric of liberal identity politics and use the contradictions inherent in those politics to build a new white power movement. Their strategy was part of a larger effort across the alt-right to recruit young people and legitimize white supremacist organizing as an acceptable form of public activism. The rally brought together Nathan Damigo, the founder of IE, with members of the Berkeley College Republicans and the alt-right ideologist Richard Spencer, who flew in from out of town to attend. Although the event was barely noticed, the participants declared it a success and a first step towards building a new nationalist street movement.

The most violent clashes outside a Trump campaign rally unfolded in San Jose on June 2. A handful of experienced activists attended the counterdemonstration, but the vast majority of protesters were angry young people of color from the South Bay unaffiliated with any organization. The police response was slow and confused; clashes between the crowds raged into the evening. Photos of people punching and chasing Trump supporters spread online, leading to calls from many on the far right for revenge.

On June 26, over 400 anti-racists and anti-fascists converged on the state capitol in Sacramento to shut down a rally called for by the Traditionalist Workers Party, an Ohio-based neo-Nazi organization. The rally was initially billed as an “anti-antifa” rally organized in response to the protests at recent Trump events. It was also an attempt to build bridges across various far-right tendencies. The majority of the anti-fascists wore black masks; other crews represented various leftist cliques. Together, they successfully prevented the rally from ever starting. Comrades held the capitol steps, chasing off scattered groups of Nazis and alt-right activists.

About three hours after the counterdemonstration began, two dozen members of the Golden State Skins, geared up in bandanas and shields decorated with white power symbols and the Traditionalist Workers Party emblem, suddenly appeared on the far side of the capitol and attacked the crowd from behind. Nine comrades were stabbed, some repeatedly in the neck and torso, while riot police watched impassively. Nearly all those targeted in the attack were either Black or transgendered. Miraculously, all of them survived.

Members of the Golden State Skins attempt to kill anti-fascists in Sacramento on June 26, 2016.

After the bloody clash, many people urgently felt the need for a new politics of militant antifascism. Over the preceding decades, one rarely heard the term antifa among anarchist and anti-capitalist movements in the Bay Area. Previous generations of anti-fascist and Anti-Racist Action (ARA) organizing in Northern California were largely situated within subcultural contexts. Much of the work these activists accomplished in the 1980s and ’90s focused on kicking Nazis out of punk and hardcore scenes.

The events in Sacramento helped usher in rapid transformations of the local anarchist movement. A network of comrades formed Northern California Anti-Racist Action (NOCARA) to research and document increasing fascist activity across the region. Other crews linked up to practice self-defense and hone their analysis in the rapidly shifting political terrain. Antifa symbols—the two flags and the three arrows—quickly became as ubiquitous as the circle A in the Bay Area anarchist milieu. Some lamented this as a retreat from struggles against capitalism and the police into a purely defensive strategy singularly focused on combatting fringe elements of the far right. But the majority understood it as a logical step necessitated by the rising tide of fascist activity around the country and world. They aimed to situate an anti-fascist position as a single component of the larger struggles against capitalism, patriarchy, and white supremacy that comrades had been engaged in for years. Most participants had cut their teeth in various rebellions and movements in the Bay area over the preceding decade, including Occupy Oakland and Black Lives Matter. They saw antifa as a form of community self defense against the violent reaction to those struggles for collective liberation. Many were also eager to use anti-fascism as a means to open a new front against white supremacy and the state.

On November 9, the night after Trump’s electoral victory shook the world, a march of thousands followed by the most intense night of rioting in recent memory took place in downtown Oakland. Fires broke out in the Chamber of Commerce, the Federal Building, and the construction site of the new Uber building. Angry crowds of thousands fought police with bottles, fireworks, and even Molotov cocktails as banks were smashed, barricades blocked major streets, and tear gas filled the air. Other cities across the country also saw significant unrest; rowdy protests in Portland, Oregon lasted for days.

This made 2016 the eighth year in a row that serious rioting took place in Oakland. 2017 would end that pattern. The locus of street conflict in the Bay was about to shift up the road to the neighboring college town of Berkeley.

Starting the Year off with a Bang

Thousands swarm San Francisco International Airport to protest Trump’s “Muslim Ban” on January 28, 2017.

The tone for 2017 was set on the cold morning of January 20 in Washington DC. As mainstream media pundits nervously reiterated the importance of a peaceful transition of power, a black bloc of hundreds chanting “Black Lives Matter!” took the streets to disrupt Trump’s inauguration. In the course of the day, hundreds were arrested, a person in a black mask punched Richard Spencer as he tried to explain alt-right meme Pepe the Frog, and video of the incident went viral.

That same evening in Seattle, Milo Yiannopolous spoke on the University of Washington campus as part of his “Dangerous Faggot” tour. Milo had made a name for himself over the previous year peddling misogyny and Islamophobia in his role as tech editor for Breitbart News under the mentorship of Steve Bannon. He had become a leading spokesperson for the alt-right auxiliary known as the alt-lite. The logic behind his tour was similar to IE’s strategy of targeting liberal university enclaves using a provocative model of far-right activism rebranded for a millennial audience.

[Hundreds turned out(https://www.thestranger.com/open-city/2017/01/23/24818869/what-really-happened-at-the-milo-yiannopoulos-protest-at-uw-on-friday-night) to oppose Milo’s talk in Seattle. As scuffles unfolded outside the building, a Trump supporter drew a concealed handgun and shot Joshua Dukes, a member of the Industrial Workers of the World, in the stomach. Milo continued his talk unconcernedly as the critically injured Dukes was rushed to emergency care. Fortunately, he survived, though he spent weeks in the hospital.

Despite the unprecedented degree of tension in the air, Oakland was quiet on J20. A few small marches, mostly departing from high school walkouts, crossed downtown. But by nightfall, the rainy streets were empty; hundreds of riot police deployed for the anticipated unrest packed up their gear to go home. This new year was not going to play out along familiar lines.

The next day, millions across the country marched against Trump in the Women’s Marches, many of them wearing pink “pussy hats.” Oakland was the location of the main Bay Area march and tens of thousands walked through downtown in a staid and orderly display of disapproval. Later that week, Trump signed executive order 13769 suspending US refugee resettlement programs and banning entry for all citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries, including people with valid visas. By the following afternoon, a spontaneous and unorganized national mobilization was underway as tens of thousands swarmed the international terminals of every major airport in the country to oppose the “Muslim ban.” Loud marches and blockades continued for two days inside San Francisco International Airport.

In many ways, the airport protests marked the high point of the year in terms of mass action that undermined the regime’s ability to carry out its agenda. The mobilization immediately disrupted the implementation of the executive order and provided momentum to challenge it in the courts, where legal maneuvers continued throughout the rest of the year. Nevertheless, the protests did not coalesce into a more sustained sequence.

The Real Dangerous Faggots

Sproul Plaza outside Milo’s cancelled event on February 2.

On February 2, Milo arrived in Berkeley for the final talk of his tour, hosted by the Berkeley College Republicans. Days earlier, his talk in nearby UC Davis had been successfully disrupted by student protesters; all eyes were now on UC Berkeley campus.

Berkeley is an upper-middle-class city of 120,000 bordering Oakland, defined by the prestigious flagship campus of the University of California system that sits adjacent to downtown. The city’s history as a national hub of countercultural movements and far-left political activism stretches back to the early 1960s. In 1964, student radicals returning from the Freedom Summer campaign in Mississippi set up tables on campus to distribute literature about the growing Civil Rights movement. The administration cracked down on their activities, sparking a wave of civil disobedience that came to be known as the Free Speech Movement (FSM). In many ways, it was the beginning of the student activism against racism and imperialism that proliferated across the country throughout the 1960s. Yet by the turn of the new millennium, Berkeley could be more accurately described as a hotbed of liberalism, not radicalism. The legacy of the FSM had been successfully coopted and rewritten by the university administration for their prospective student marketing materials. Students can now sip cappuccinos as they study for exams in the Free Speech Movement Café on campus.

On the south edge of campus sits Sproul Plaza, site of some of the most important demonstrations of the FSM and subsequent waves of activism. As the sun set on Sproul that Thursday evening, between two and three thousand students, faculty, and community members filled the plaza in a rally against Milo, the alt-right, and Trump. Layers of fencing surrounded the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union as platoons of riot police watched the chanting crowd from the balconies of the building and the steps leading down to the plaza.

Milo’s talk was about to start. Despite the large protest, it appeared that the massive police presence would enable it to proceed without a hitch. Then a commotion on neighboring Bancroft Way drew the attention of the crowd. A black bloc of roughly 150, some carrying the anarchist black flag and others carrying the queer anarchist pink and black flag, had just appeared out of the neighborhood and was busy building a barricade across the main entrance to the student union’s parking garage. As the barricade caught fire, the bloc surged forward to join the thousands in Sproul.

The sound of explosions filled the air as fireworks screamed across the plaza at the riot cops, who hunkered down and retreated from their positions. Under cover of this barrage, masked crews attacked the fencing and quickly tore it apart. Thousands cheered. Police on the balconies unloaded rubber bullets and marker rounds into the crowd, but ultimately took cover as fireworks exploded around their heads. With the fencing gone, the crowd laid siege to the building and began smashing out its windows.

Antifascists rip down fences on UC Berkeley campus on February 2.

“The event is cancelled! Please go home!” screamed a desperate police captain over a megaphone as the crowd roared in celebration. A mobile light tower affixed to a generator was knocked over, bursting into flames two stories high. YG’s song “FDT” (Fuck Donald Trump) blasted from a mobile sound system as thousands danced around the burning pyre. Berkeley College Republicans emerging from the cancelled event were nailed with red paint bombs and members of the Proud Boys, the “Western Chauvinist” fraternal organization of the alt-lite, were beaten and chased away. Milo was escorted out a back door by his security detail and fled the city. A victory march spilled into the streets of downtown Berkeley, smashing every bank in its path. Milo’s tour bus was vandalized later that night in the parking lot of a Courtyard Marriot in nearby Fremont.

The cover of the next day’s New York Times read “Anarchists Vow to Halt Far Right’s Rise, With Violence if Needed” below an eerie photo of a hooded, stick-wielding street fighter in Berkeley. “Professional anarchists, thugs and paid protesters are proving the point of the millions of people who voted to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump tweeted that morning before threatening to withdraw federal funds from UC Berkeley if the university could not guarantee “free speech.” Milo had been stopped and militant anti-fascism was now a topic of national conversation.

But a confused controversy over free speech was just beginning. Liberals quickly fell into the trap set by the alt-right. UC Berkeley professor Robert Reich, who had been Secretary of Labor under Clinton, went so far as to embarrass himself by groundlessly claiming that “Yiannopoulos and Brietbart were in cahoots with the agitators, in order to lay the groundwork for a Trump crackdown.”

From organizing “white safe spaces” to pretending to represent a new free speech movement, the ascendant fascists understood that the hollow rhetoric of liberalism utilized by hacks like Reich could be weaponized against anyone opposed to white supremacy and patriarchy. Liberal enclaves were especially vulnerable to this strategy. They had become the chosen terrain on which 21st-century American fascism sought to step out of the internet to build a social movement in the streets.

Meanwhile, Milo’s days were numbered. Despite liberal commentators’ assertions that paying attention to Milo would only make him more powerful, Milo’s career imploded two weeks later. Under the intense scrutiny that followed his spectacular failure in Berkeley, a conservative social media account circulated footage of Milo condoning consensual sex between underage boys and older men. His invitation to speak at the American Conservative Union’s annual conference was quickly rescinded, as was his book deal with a major publisher. The next day, Milo was forced to resign from Breitbart. While emblematic of the rampant homophobia of the right, none of this had anything to do with his views on sex. After Berkeley, Milo appeared to be an increasingly controversial liability that conservatives could no longer risk associating with.

A Repulsive Rainbow of Reaction

Based Stickman (left) leads the goons on March 4.

While many celebrated Milo’s downfall as a blow to the alt-right, various far-right and fascist cliques hastened to take advantage of liberal confusion around the emerging free speech narrative.

On March 4, modest rallies in support of Trump occurred across the country. In the Bay Area, vague fliers appeared calling for a Trump Rally in downtown Berkeley’s Civic Center Park. There was considerable confusion among local anti-racists and anti-fascists over who had called for the rally. Many assumed it was just right-wing trolling that would never materialize in public. Nevertheless, various small crews of anarchists, members of the leftist clique By Any Means Necessary, anti-racist skinheads, and an assortment of unaffiliated young people converged on the park to oppose any attempt to hold the Saturday afternoon rally. They found a bizarre scene that few could have previously imagined.

A grotesque array of far-right forces had assembled from across the region to celebrate Trump and defend their ability to propagate various forms of nationalism, xenophobia, and misogyny. One man in fatigues and wraparound sunglasses carried a III% militia flag. Another man with a motorcycle helmet, tactical leg guards, and a kilt sported a pro-Pinochet shirt depicting leftists being thrown from helicopters to their deaths. Still another right-wing activist happily zipped around on his hoverboard while taking massive vape hits and live-streaming the event via his phone.

Many in the right-wing crowd were not white. The alliances being formed through public activism had brought together a range of fascist tendencies, some more interested in defending violent misogyny or building an ultra-libertarian capitalist future than promoting white power. MAGA hats and American flags were everywhere as the crowd of nearly 200 attempted to march into downtown Berkeley. Fistfights broke out, flags were used as weapons, and pepper spray filled the air as anti-fascists and others intervened to stop the march. A masked crew of queer anti-fascists dressed in pastels, calling themselves the Degenderettes, used bedazzled shields to defend people from the reactionary street fighters of this strange new right-wing social movement. Chaotic scuffles and brawls continued off and on for three hours.

Riot police located around the perimeter of the park made some targeted arrests; yet as in Sacramento, they largely avoided wading into the melee. Ten people were arrested altogether, from both sides of the fight. One of these was alt-right sympathizer and closet white supremacist Kyle Chapman. Chapman had helped form the vanguard of the right-wing brawlers throughout the day. He wore a helmet, goggles, and a respirator while carrying an American flag shield in one hand and a long stick as his weapon in the other. News of his arrest combined with footage of his assaults immediately elevated him to celebrity hero status within the online world of the alt-right and alt-lite. Memes of Chapman went viral under his new nickname, “Based Stick Man.”

Tactically speaking, there were no clear winners in Berkeley on March 4. But the nascent fascist street movement was energized and ready for more. Anti-fascists had underestimated the momentum of this new far-right alliance and were quickly trying to figure out how to play catch up.

On March 8, a group of revolutionary women and queer people in the Bay Area organized a “Gender Strike” action in San Francisco as part of the national “Women’s Strike” planned for International Women’s Day. The strike was called for as a means of moving beyond the liberal feminism of January’s massive Women’s Marches against Trump. From Gamergate trolling to Trump’s gloating over his sexual assaults, from the Proud Boy’s valorization of traditional family values to the bizarre right-wing alliance manifesting in the streets of Berkeley, the rise of neo-fascism was being fueled by misogynists intent on preserving and expanding patriarchal power relationships as much as it was being fueled by white supremacists. The organizers of the strike aimed to connect radical tendencies within the growing feminist movement with various anti-racist and anti-fascist struggles. Nearly a thousand protestors marched on the downtown Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in a demonstration of support for San Francisco’s sanctuary city status and solidarity with those targeted by surging xenophobia. An even larger crowd of Women’s Strike demonstrators marched in the streets of downtown Oakland that evening.

The Alt-Right Strikes Back

DIY Division (left) and other fascist thugs on April 15.

Two weeks later, on Saturday, March 25, over two thousand Trump supporters held a “Make America Great Again March” in the southern California city of Huntington Beach. Marching with the large crowd was an imposing squad of athletic white men clearly looking for a fight. These were members of the openly neo-Nazi group known as the DIY Division or the Rise Above Movement. When a handful of anti-fascists attempted to disrupt the march, this squad assaulted them and beat them into the beach sand. The fight was broken up and the anti-fascists fled as the crowd joined the DIY Division fighters in chanting “Pinochet!” and “You can’t run, you can’t hide, you’re gonna get a ’copter ride!”

To the horror of many in the Bay Area, another alt-right demonstration in Berkeley’s Civic Center Park was announced for April 15. Billed as a “Patriots’ Day Free Speech Rally,” it featured a lineup of speakers flying in from out of town. As the date grew closer, it became clear that every crypto-fascist wingnut, weekend militia member, millennial alt-right internet troll, alt-lite hipster, civic nationalist, and proud neo-Nazi from up and down the West Coast wanted to attend. The growing movement got a critical boost when the Oath Keepers militia announced two weeks ahead of time that they would be mobilizing from across the country under the name “Operation 1st Defenders” to protect the so-called “Free Speech Rally.” The Oath Keepers are a right-wing militia composed of active duty and veteran military and police officers that claims to have 35,000 members. The “operation” was to be led by Missouri chapter leader John Karriman, who oversaw the armed Oath Keeper operation to protect private property during the Ferguson uprising of 2014. Oath Keepers’ founder Stewart Rhodes would also be on the ground.

Bay Area anarchists met regularly during the weeks leading up to April 15 in hopes of developing some kind of strategic response to what was shaping up to be the most important showing yet of this far-right popular movement. Many comrades believed it was necessary to find a new approach in order to avoid spiraling into a violent conflict with an enemy that was better trained and better equipped than anti-fascists and anti-racists could ever be. A general plan was hashed out through meetings and assemblies that prioritized reaching out to the broader left and other activist circles in hopes of mobilizing large numbers of radicals who could drown out the alt-right rally while avoiding the kind of conflict that would strike the general public as a symmetrical clash between two extremist gangs. There was no specific call for a black bloc, which by this time had largely become synonymous with militant antifa tactics. Instead, fliers and posters began to circulate promoting a block party and cookout that could occupy the park at 10 am with large crowds listening to music and speakers before the “Free Speech Rally” started at noon.

Early in the morning of April 15, these plans collapsed disastrously. Dozens of Oath Keepers in tactical helmets and flak jackets established a defensive perimeter before sunrise alongside riot police who sectioned off various zones of the park with fencing and checkpoints. The organizer of the rally, the Oath Keepers, and the police had coordinated for weeks ahead of time.

Riot police surrounded comrades arriving in the park for the counter-demonstration; they confiscated trays of food for the cookout, musical instruments, flags, and signs. Police intervened to stop small scuffles as members of the DIY Division, in town for the rally from southern California, began to exchange taunts with anti-fascists. As noon approached, the 200 or 300 anarchists and anti-fascists who mobilized that day realized with terror that their attempts to reach out to other activists had fallen on deaf ears. They were alone, badly prepared for a fight, and were quickly becoming outnumbered by hundreds and hundreds of right-wing activists led by a street-fighting fascist vanguard and protected by a disciplined patriot militia.

Chaos erupted as the first speakers at the rally began to address the MAGA hat-wearing crowd inside the Oath Keeper perimeter. In a desperate attempt to give momentum to the demoralized and scattered anti-fascists, a crew with a mobile sound system in a street next to the park began blasting “FDT” to the cheers of many counterdemonstrators. People coalesced around the sound system and began moving around the edge of the rally. Some threw M80s into the park; others tried to breach the fencing. Most simply tried to stay together.

Chaos erupts outside the Free Speech Rally in Civic Center Park on April 15.

The police withdrew from the streets as fascist squads of young men emerged from within the rally to go on the offensive. Bloody fights broke out. Kyle Chapman, flanked by similarly geared-up brawlers including one man wearing a Spartan helmet, led a series of forays that split the crowd and left comrades bleeding on the ground. In one such attack, an anti-fascist was beaten by masked white men and dragged behind enemy lines to be stomped out. It was only through the intervention of the Oath Keepers and others functioning as “peace police” for the alt-right rally that the beating was interrupted; the comrade was shoved back across the skirmish line into the hands of friendly street medics. During the short pauses between clashes, fascists chugged milk and screamed as they pumped themselves up for the next assault.

Though outnumbered, anarchists and anti-fascists fought as best they could. Many Nazis and their sympathizers left that day bruised and bloodied. But the counterdemonstrators could barely hold their own against the fascist street fighters, let alone the Oath Keeper presence maintaining the interior perimeter. The rally of hundreds continued uninterrupted. As fatigue set in, the fascists made their move led by Chapman, members of DIY Division wearing their signature skull bandanas, and members of IE including Nathan Damigo. They blitzed the remaining counterdemonstrators and pushed them away from the park through a cloud of smoke bombs and into the side streets of downtown. A cautious retreat became a hasty run as the remaining anti-racists and anti-fascists were chased off the streets by Nazis. The fascists had won the third Battle of Berkeley.

Kyle Chapman, DIY Division (right), and Identity Evropa (far right) prepare for their final offensive of the day on April 15.

The fallout began immediately. Emboldened by the victory on the ground, an army of alt-right internet trolls on 4chan’s /pol thread and elsewhere began a doxxing witch hunt to identify all those who had opposed their shock troops in Berkeley. Within hours, they had used footage to identify a woman who had been brutally beaten by Damigo and others during the final assault of the day. Louise Rosealma had previously worked in porn; a misogynistic campaign of harassment against her began immediately. Oversized posters showing her naked next to Damigo’s smiling face with the words “I’d hit that” soon appeared on the streets of Berkeley.

Eric Clanton, a Diablo Valley College professor, became another doxxing target. Trolls claimed to have identified him as the masked anti-fascist caught on camera hitting a man in the head with a bike lock. The man on the receiving end of this blow wore a “Feminist Tears” button and had been seen attacking people alongside members of DIY Division throughout the battle. Eric received a slew of death threats; his online accounts were hacked and angry calls poured in to his employer that would eventually cost him his job.

On April 23, Kyle Chapman formalized his new role as leader of the militant vanguard of the alt-lite. He announced the formation of the “Fraternal Order of Alt Knights,” which was to function as the “tactical defensive arm of the Proud Boys.” Gavin McInnes, the founder of the Proud Boys and co-founder of Vice Magazine, had helped promote the “Free Speech Rally” and had welcomed Chapman to his show multiple times.

On April 27, McInnes joined another far-right rally in Berkeley’s Civic Center Park. The rally had been organized to coincide with Ann Coulter’s visit to UC Berkeley, which she cancelled at the last minute. Nonetheless, a large crowd of Trump supporters, fascists, and reactionary goons of various stripes flocked to Berkeley that day to get their piece of the action. They found themselves unopposed. Anarchists and anti-fascists were still licking their wounds; they had collectively decided to avoid a confrontation that could lead to another painful defeat like the fiasco of April 15. Later that night, the windows of the Black-owned Alchemy Collective Café were shot out. The café is located just blocks from Civic Center Park and its windows had been displaying posters in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and indigenous struggles.

A bullet hole in the window of the Alchemy Café on April 28, the day after another far-right rally in Berkeley.

Soon after, Eric Clanton was arrested by Berkeley Police in a house raid and charged with four counts of assault with a deadly weapon. During his interview at the police station, the detective expressed appreciation for 4chan’s /pol forum and informed Eric that “the internet did the work for us.” Eric’s case is pending and he faces years in prison.

The Turning Point

Solidarity demonstration with Charlottesville, August 12.

In chess, a player is said to “gain a tempo” when a successful move leaves their units in a more advantageous position while forcing their opponent to take a defensive move that wastes time and derails their strategy. The growing far-right social movement had gained a tempo at the expense of anti-fascists during spring 2017. The February victory against Milo and the alt-right in the first days of the Trump presidency had played an important role in disrupting attempts to normalize a dangerous new form of far-right public activity. Each attempt that fascists made to materialize in public risked extreme conflict. But anti-fascists’ success had helped to spawn an ugly reaction, which anarchists and other militant anti-fascists were unable to handle on their own.

There was nothing normalized or “respectable” about the armored and belligerent fascists who were determined to mobilize in Berkeley. Yet on a tactical level, they had proven they could leverage the necessary resources and foot soldiers to hold the streets in enemy territory. Anti-fascists had been forced into a downward spiral of responding to each new move without a strategy of their own. Paranoia, anxiety, and self-criticism characterized the local anarchist movement during late spring and early summer.

Yet important changes were underway. April 15 had caught the attention of many Bay Area activists who had remained outside the fray thus far. They were not convinced by the “free speech” rhetoric that had confused so many liberals. Militant anti-fascists had no interest in giving the state additional repressive powers to criminalize or censor speech. That was never what this struggle was about. Confronting fascist activity in the streets to stop its normalization and proliferation is a form of community self-defense. Increasing numbers of anti-racists understood this. Bay Area movement organizations such as the prison abolitionist organization Critical Resistance, the Arab Resource Organizing Committee, white ally anti-racist groups such as the Catalyst Project and the local chapter of Standing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), and the Anti-Police Terror Project, who had played a leadership role in the local Black Lives Matter Movement, began to work with those who had been in the streets throughout the first half of the year to build a coordinated response.

Many of these groups had previously been at odds with anarchists. Some of the most bitter disputes revolved around issues of identity and representation within the various social movements of the preceding decade. Many anarchists rejected most forms of identity politics after seeing them used time and again by reformist leaders from marginalized groups to manage and pacify antagonistic movements. Liberal city officials, organizers of non-profits, and some social justice groups had regularly dismissed local anti-police and anti-capitalist rebellions in Oakland and elsewhere as the work of white anarchist “outside agitators” corrupting otherwise respectable movements led by people of color. This paternalistic and counter-insurrectionary narrative intentionally obscured the diversity of participants in these uprisings and erased their agency.

Things had begun to change in 2014 as anti-police rebellions spread across the country and the forces of racist reaction mobilized in response. Despite unresolved tensions, the anarchist movement played an important role in helping sustain struggles against white supremacy and other movements of oppressed people. Increasing numbers of activists and movement organizations supported the uprisings and understood the necessity of working together as part of a united anti-racist front. This convergence helped lay the groundwork for the unprecedented alliances that arose out of anti-fascist organizing.

The urgency of building these coalitions was tragically underscored on May 26, when a white supremacist cut the throats of three people who had intervened to stop him from harassing a young Muslim woman and her friend on a commuter train in Portland, Oregon. Two of the men died. The attacker, Jeremy Christian, had attended Free Speech Rallies organized by the Portland-based alt-lite group Patriot Prayer. At his arraignment, Christian yelled “Get out if you don’t like free speech… Leave this country if you hate our freedom—death to Antifa!”

A few weeks later, on June 10, thousands of anti-racists and anti-fascists in Seattle, Austin, New York, and elsewhere successfully mobilized against a day of anti-Muslim rallies attended by various groupings of neo-Nazis, militia members, alt-lite activists, and alt-right activists. During the Houston rally, scuffles between patriot militia members and an alt-right activist attempting to display openly fascist placards exposed growing cracks within the far-right alliance that had been built up through the spring.

On July 9, the growing anti-fascist network in the Bay Area held a packed forum in the Berkeley Senior Center, blocks from the site of the spring’s clashes. A range of speakers from the coalition helped educate the hundreds in attendance about the rising tide of white supremacist and fascist activity as well as the necessity of organizing for community self-defense. The crowd left the forum energized and eager to mobilize.

Another round of alt-right rallies was on the horizon. Many hoped that this time the response would be different. Patriot Prayer was calling for a rally in San Francisco on August 26 and a “Rally Against Marxism” was planned for the familiar battleground of Berkeley’s Civic Center Park on the following day. As the end of summer approached, fascists across the country made it clear they aimed to double down on their offensive. When a reporter for the New York Times asked Nathan Damigo about IE’s goals for UC Berkeley during the new school year, he laughed and responded, “We’ve got some plans.”

Before any of this could unfold, events on the other side of the country changed the course of history.

The first step of this renewed fascistic offensive was a mobilization in Charlottesville, Virginia promoted throughout the summer as a rally to “Unite the Right.” Building on their successes in targeting liberal enclaves over the previous months, alt-right leaders including Richard Spencer and Nathan Damigo aimed to take their movement-building to the next level by forging an alliance with Southern white supremacists under the banner of their rebranded far-right activism. Charlottesville is a liberal college town that, along with other cities throughout the South, had been planning to remove monuments celebrating the Confederacy. Spencer had previously led a small torch-lit rally in Charlottesville on May 13 to protest the proposed removal of a Robert E. Lee statue. The August 12 rally was supposed to be the turning point that could transform the young movement into an unstoppable reactionary force under the cover of the Trump regime.

On the evening of August 11, a surprise torch-lit demonstration on the University of Virginia campus attended by hundreds of white supremacists gave the impression that this turning point had arrived. Footage of fascists surrounding and attacking outnumbered anti-racist demonstrators at the foot of the statue of Robert E. Lee spread around the country, provoking terror and urgency in equal measure.

Yet the following day turned out to be a historic disaster for the fascists. Anarchists and anti-fascists managed to interrupt the fascist rally, ultimately forcing police to declare it an unlawful assembly. The white supremacists retreating from the streets of Charlottesville knew that they had lost: their rally had been cancelled and the media was turning on them. They had failed to create a situation in which the volatile white resentment they drew on could be gratified by a successful show of force. That is why James Alex Fields, a member of the fascist organization Vanguard America, plowed his car into a crowd of ant-fascists that afternoon, killing Heather Heyer and grievously injuring 19 others.

Fascists had sought to obtain the upper hand in the media narrative by presenting their opponents as enemies of free speech. But after “Unite the Right,” the alt-right was inextricably linked with images of armed Klansmen and Nazis carrying swastika flags. The connection between far-right activism and fascist murder had become too obvious for anyone to deny. Charlottesville immediately became a rallying cry for an emerging broad-based anti-fascist movement that mirrored the microcosm of cross-tendency networking unfolding that summer in the Bay Area.

The heroes of this story are the anarchists and other militant anti-fascists who put their bodies on the line to throw the “Unite the Right” rally into chaos. Grotesque images from the streets of Charlottesville on August 12 showed armored fascist street fighters engaged in combat with outnumbered anti-fascists. These delivered a fatal blow to the alt-right’s stated goal of using the rally to legitimize the popular movement they hoped to build. Anti-fascists had forced the alt-right to show its true face; the results were catastrophic for the movement’s future. If the brutality of April 15 forced the Bay Area to reconsider far-right propaganda about “free speech,” August 12 in Charlottesville did the same thing for the whole country.

Resistance movements in the Bay Area are always strongest when they are not alone. When rebellions in Oakland, Berkeley, or San Francisco are simply militant outliers or exceptions that prove the rule, they are ultimately isolated and neutralized. Comrades in the Bay are most effective when their actions are a reflection of what is happening elsewhere around the country. The events in Charlottesville kicked local anti-fascist coalition-building into high gear. Within hours of Heather’s murder, nearly a thousand anti-racists and anti-fascists gathered in downtown Oakland and marched to the 580 freeway, where they blocked all traffic and set off fireworks in a display of solidarity with comrades in Charlottesville. Many drivers waved and raised fists in support.

Solidarity with Charlottesville demonstration shuts blocks the 580 freeway in Oakland on August 12

Over a hundred solidarity demonstrations took place around the world over the following days. Many targeted Confederate monuments in the South. On August 14, demonstrators in Durham, North Carolina pulled down a statue of a Confederate soldier. Meanwhile, the Three Percenters Militia, which had deployed fully-armed platoons as part of the Unite the Right rally, issued a national stand-down order stating, “We will not align ourselves with any type of racist group.” Infighting between various far-right tendencies blaming each other for the disaster reached a fever pitch.

The national discourse around militant anti-fascism that had begun in response to the events in DC on January 20 and Berkeley on February 2 shifted dramatically. After Charlottesville, anti-fascists were suddenly riding a tidal wave of support from the left and many liberals. Cornel West, who had attended the counterdemonstration with a contingent of clergy, pointedly stated on the August 14 episode of Democracy Now, “We would have been crushed like cockroaches if it were not for the anarchists and the anti-fascists.” Traditional conservative leaders such as Republican senators John McCain and Orin Hatch even lent tacit support to anti-fascists as they went on the offensive against Trump. Mitt Romney weighed in on August 15, tweeting, “One side is racist, bigoted, Nazi. The other opposes racism and bigotry. Morally different universes.” By August 18, Steve Bannon, the most powerful and visible face of neo-fascism within the Trump regime, was forced out of the administration in an apparent act of damage control responding to the growing crisis. Anti-fascists were once again in control of the tempo.

The Final Battle of Berkeley

Black Bloc helps settle the score in Berkeley, August 27.

Far-right activists from the Bay Area who had attended the Unite the Right rally returned home to find they had lost their jobs. Fascist podcast personality Johnny Monoxide was fired from his union electrician job in San Francisco after posters appeared at his workplace outing him as a white supremacist and neo-Nazi sympathizer. Cole White, who had assaulted people in Berkeley alongside Kyle Chapman and others throughout the year, was fired from a Berkeley hot dog stand after being outed by the @YesYoureRacist twitter account for attending the torch march.

By mid-August, a complex network of spokescouncils, coalition meetings, assemblies, and trainings were bringing together a diverse range of activist, left, and anarchist tendencies in the Bay on a nearly daily basis to prepare for the alt-right rallies of August 26 and 27. Honest conversations about how to allow for a diversity of tactics while respecting different risk levels and different vulnerabilities forged an unprecedented level of trust and solidarity. On August 19, in Boston, Massachusetts, over 40,000 counterdemonstrators confronted a few dozen alt-right activists and Trump supporters, including visiting alt-lite celebrity Kyle Chapman, who were attempting to host another “Free Speech Rally.” This was the largest demonstration against fascism and the alt-right in the US throughout 2017. It was another sign of the turning tides. In Laguna Beach, just down the coast from where 2000 Trump Supporters had marched with DIY Division in March, a small “America First” rally against immigration was vastly outnumbered by 2500 anti-fascists and anti-racists.

Morale was high among Bay Area anti-fascists and anti-racists as the weekend rallies approached. Local graffiti crews lent support, spreading a campaign of writing anti-Nazi and anti-Trump messages in cities around the region. Various local businesses announced that they would not serve alt-right rally attendees while opening their doors to offer spaces of refuge for anti-fascists. Calls to action emerged from almost every single Bay Area activist and movement organization. A common thread in many of these calls was a respect for different approaches to confronting fascism and a commitment to “not criminalize or denounce other protesters.”

Saturday’s alt-right demonstration was planned for San Francisco’s Crissy Field with the Golden Gate Bridge as a backdrop. On the eve of the rally, Patriot Prayer organizer Joey Gibson announced the event was cancelled due to safety concerns. Instead, Patriot Prayer planned to hold a press conference across the city in Alamo Square Park.

Despite the apparent change of plans, over a thousand anti-racists and anti-fascists converged on Alamo Square the next day. Among them were members of the ILWU and the IBEW, Johnny Monoxide’s former union. This labor contingent had mobilized to support the counterdemonstration and to make it clear that fascists would not be tolerated in their ranks.

They found the park completely fenced off and occupied by hundreds of riot police, but no sign of Patriot Prayer or other far-right activists. Gibson and others including Kyle Chapman had retreated to an apartment down the coast in the city of Pacifica, from which they issued a statement over Facebook blaming city leaders and antifa for their own failure to hold a rally. It was becoming clear that their movement was imploding and the real obstacle to their rally was the potential of an embarrassingly low turnout. A colorful and celebratory victory march took the streets of San Francisco, making its way towards the Mission district. Throughout the rest of the day, anywhere far-right activists were sighted, counterdemonstrators swarmed the location and chased them off. Late in the day, Gibson and a handful of others made a surprise photo-op appearance in Crissy Field. A large crowd of counterdemonstrators chased them to their cars and they fled.

The “No to Marxism in America” rally planned for Berkeley on Sunday at 1 pm was also cancelled by organizer Amber Cummings. Nevertheless, the anti-racist and anti-fascist mobilization showed no signs of slowing down and Berkeley police were preparing for the worst. Berkeley City Council had passed a series of emergency ordinances giving the police special powers to set up multiple security perimeters around Civic Center Park and to ban items ranging from picket signs to masks. Over 400 police officers stood ready in and around the park on that sunny morning.

Two major rallies against the alt-right and against white supremacy were planned for the day in Berkeley. The first was organized by a coalition including local chapters of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), campus student groups, and a range of unions. It began across downtown on the edge of the UC Berkeley campus at 10:30. By 11, thousands were in attendance.

Other smaller groups went straight to Civic Center Park, where numbers had been growing since early in the day. As noon approached, nearly a thousand anti-racists and anti-fascists milled about between concrete barriers and various layers of fencing as hundreds of riot police monitored the scene under an increasingly hot sun. Screaming and shoving erupted multiple times as scattered Trump supporters and alt-right adherents attempted to enter the park. Some punches were thrown; this time, in contrast to March 4 and April 15, squads of riot police responded immediately to break up the fights and make arrests. The few antifascists who arrived with their faces concealed were tackled by police and arrested for violating the emergency ordinances.

Riot police face off against thousands of anti-fascists in Civic Center Park on August 27.

A few blocks away, in Ohlone Park, the second rally, organized by the local chapter of SURJ along with other anti-racist groups, was just beginning. Thousands were preparing to march. The call to action for this mobilization explicitly asserted the necessity of confronting fascists with a diversity of tactics and asked all attendees to respect those utilizing more confrontational forms of resistance. As a sound truck began leading the crowd towards Civic Center Park, a black bloc of nearly 100, many wearing helmets and protective gear, emerged from a side street ahead lighting off flares and chanting “¡Todos Somos Antifascistas!” The bloc parted for the sound truck and joined the front of the march to the cheers of the crowd. There were now nearly 10,000 antifascists of all stripes on the streets of Berkeley.

The black bloc doubled in size as it marched. Riot police standing guard around the Berkeley Police station on the corner of Civic Center Park looked on in dismay as the bloc led the crowd right up to the edge of the outer security perimeter. Tensions quickly escalated as riot police formed a skirmish line along the perimeter facing off against the bloc. One cop attempted to grab a masked comrade’s shield; others forced him back. Another cop fired a rubber bullet into the bloc as masked comrades with shields moved to the front line. A speaker on the sound truck announced that those wanting to help form a defensive line could move forward with the black bloc and all others could step back across the street to the steps of the old City Hall to hold space. Dozens of large shields were distributed from others in the crowd to those on the “defensive line.” Riot police began strapping on gas masks and aiming their various projectile weapons at the crowd. A major clash between two well-prepared sides was about to break out.

Anarchists hold the defensive line with shields on August 27.

Suddenly, the cops pulled back. All riot police in Civic Center Park had been ordered to withdraw to side streets in order to avoid instigating a riot. The crowd surged forward over the concrete barriers with the black bloc at the front chanting “Black Lives Matter!” Thousands flooded into the park, openly disobeying the emergency ordinances. Many chanted “Whose Park? Our Park!”

When Joey Gibson and his crew of patriots arrived minutes later, the crowd cheered on militant anti-fascists as they chased the pathetic showing of alt-lite reactionaries down a side street, where police fired smoke grenades to end the confrontation. Back in the park, the mood was jubilant and calm. Many applauded the black bloc and thanked them for keeping the crowd safe from neo-Nazis and white supremacists, who had been spotted leaving the area after seeing the size of the anti-fascist crowd.

A second march from the morning rally arrived in the park and members of the DSA, carrying red flags, gave high fives to members of the black bloc carrying black flags. Clergy members made speeches and sang from the sound truck as people dismantled more of the police barriers. After an hour and a half of holding the park, the decision was made to leave together. The clashes had been minimal, the police had been forced to back down, and no one had sustained serious injuries: this was undeniably a massive victory.

A diverse yet united front of 10,000 anti-fascists had finally settled the score in Berkeley. As the black bloc joined the march out of Civic Center Park, they chanted “This is for Charlottesville!”

The top story of next morning’s San Francisco Chronicle began,

“An army of anarchists in black clothing and masks routed a small group of right-wing demonstrators who had gathered in a Berkeley park Sunday to rail against the city’s famed progressive politics, driving them out—sometimes violently—while overwhelming a huge contingent of police officers.”

What this description left out was the coordination and solidarity with thousands of other demonstrators that had allowed this “army of anarchists” to take back Civic Center Park without any significant clashes. That was the important story of the day. But the narrative emerging from the anti-fascist victory in Berkeley looked very different to those who were not there. Corporate media described anarchists and militant anti-fascists as hijacking an otherwise peaceful movement. These media outlets focused on a few scuffles that broke out with Gibson’s crew and some other reactionaries, including a father-son duo, wearing a Trump shirt and Pinochet shirt respectively, who had entered the park and pepper sprayed the crowd at random.

A father-son duo, wearing a Trump shirt and a Pinochet shirt, are pushed out of the park after pepper spraying the crowd on August 27.

August 27 was a relatively relaxed and celebratory day in the streets of Berkeley. Yet from the outside, national media outlets that had ignored the much uglier violence of April 15 painted it as a disturbing street battle between extremist gangs. The short-lived window of mainstream support for militant anti-fascism that had opened after the tragedy in Charlottesville was now closing. As long as anti-fascists were understood only as victims of white supremacist violence, liberals could support them. Yet as soon as those wearing black gained the upper hand, they were described as a threat to the status quo—potentially as dangerous as the Nazis themselves.

“The violent actions of people calling themselves antifa in Berkeley this weekend deserve unequivocal condemnation, and the perpetrators should be arrested and prosecuted,” read a quickly-issued statement from Democrat house minority leader Nancy Pelosi. “I think we should classify them as a gang,” said Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin. “They come dressed in uniforms. They have weapons, almost like a militia and I think we need to think about that in terms of our law enforcement approach.”

However, the diverse coalition that had been forged over the summer stood its ground. “We have no regrets for how they left our city. We do not want white supremacists in our city,” said Pastor Michael McBride in a press conference on the steps of the old City Hall the following day. “We don’t apologize for any of it,” said Tur-Ha Ak of the Anti-Police Terror Project. “We have a right and an obligation to self-defense, period.” A declaration of victory published by the Catalyst Project stated that it was “hard to convey how meaningful it was, after Charlottesville, for a very disciplined group of antifa activists to offer protection to the crowd from both police and white supremacists.”

Within activist, left, and anarchist circles in the Bay Area, there was no infighting after August 27. The unprecedented levels of trust and coordination that had developed between various groups held firm. Compared with the intense sectarian conflict that followed the spectacular demonstrations of the Occupy movement and the various waves of anti-police rebellions in the Bay, the revolutionary solidarity of 2017 was unheard of. This was the real victory of the Battles of Berkeley.

Make Total Decomposition

Milo exits the stage escorted by his $800,000 police security detail on September 25

The emergent fascist social movement that had grown throughout the first half of 2017 was now in ruins. Anti-fascist victories in Charlottesville, Boston, and Berkeley had shattered reactionary dreams of a far-right popular movement coalescing in Trump’s first year. The various tendencies that had converged under the banner of the alt-right were running for cover and turning on each other.

In a desperate attempt to give a new lift to his falling star, Milo had been hyping his triumphant return to Berkeley for a so-called “Free Speech Week” from September 25-28 in collaboration with an offshoot of the College Republicans calling itself the Berkeley Patriot. Together, they promised days of provocative events on and around campus featuring far-right speakers including Ann Coulter, Blackwater founder Eric Prince, and even Steve Bannon. The anti-fascist coalition in the Bay braced for another wave of reactionary posturing and violence. On the eve of Free Speech Week, hundreds took to the streets of Berkeley as part of the No Hate in the Bay march. As the march ended without serious incident in a rally at Sproul Plaza, Chelsea Manning made a surprise speech in a show of support for anti-fascists.

Over the preceding days, signs of infighting among the organizers of Free Speech Week had become increasingly apparent as venues changed, plans were cancelled without explanation, and the media received contradictory messages from Milo’s PR team, student Republican leaders, and campus administrators. In the end, Free Speech Week fizzled completely, reinforcing the increasing irrelevance of Milo and the alt-lite. On Sunday, September 25, about 60 far-right activists and Milo fans stood in an empty Sproul Plaza listening to Milo talk for 20 minutes while waiting in line to get his autograph. They were surrounded by a massive militarized police presence that cost the university $800,000.

BAMN and the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP) turned out about 100 counter demonstrators who made some noise outside the police perimeter. But most anti-fascists stayed away. Milo had already been beaten back in February and the fascist reaction to that victory had now also been overcome.

Within less than hour, it was all over and Milo fled the city once again. Small groups of alt-right activists who had flown in for Free Speech Week tried their best to build momentum throughout the rest of the week. One group stood outside the RCP’s Berkeley bookstore and banged on its windows. Another rallied outside the Black Student Union on campus. Joey Gibson and Patriot Prayer even held a small demonstration in People’s Park. Students organized a rally that Monday to protest the fascists’ presence on their campus; militant anti-fascists were on edge all week as they monitored each of these events. Yet none of this activity enabled the insurgent far right to reach critical mass again. Evaluated as publicity stunts, recruitment tools, and tactical advances, all the events surrounding Free Speech Week were pathetic failures. They were barely noticed and did nothing to change the balance of forces.

On October 12, alt-right and white supremacist sympathizers within the Berkeley College Republicans were deposed in an internal coup that gave more traditional conservatives more control of the student organization. Bitter infighting within the group continued throughout the rest of the semester, reflecting similar splits on the state level within College Republicans. Identity Evropa also faced unstable leadership following the collapse of the strategy of targeting liberal university enclaves, which they had pioneered on Berkeley campus in May 2016. Nathan Damigo resigned as IE’s leader on August 27 following his disastrous participation in the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville. He was replaced by Elliott Kline, who was then replaced at the end of November by Patrick Casey. In an interview in which he announced his plans to move away from the damaged brand of the alt-right and to stop attempting to hold any kind of large public demonstrations, Casey stated, “We can’t go into these liberal areas and essentially repeat what happened with Unite the Right.” Reflecting on his movement’s shortcomings, the Daily Stormer’s Andrew Anglin admitted that “large rallies on public property, where we know there is going to be confrontation with antifa, are not a good idea.”

Meanwhile, in southern California, on October 21, former member of Kyle Chapman’s Fraternal Order of Alt Knights and fellow alt-lite leader Johnny Benitez accused Chapman of not being racist enough and personally profiting off of his “activism,” leading to a fist fight between the two men at the California Republican Party’s 2017 convention in the Anaheim Marriott. The next day, Chapman led a squad of Proud Boys to disrupt a Laguna Beach Benghazi rally organized by Benitez. Both men accused each other of being Federal informants and infiltrators. Fully 150 riot police were deployed to keep the quarreling factions apart. Later that week, Chapman found himself in yet another messy public split with Florida fascist August Invictus who had previously been FOAK’s second in command. The alt-right meltdown was in full swing.

The core leadership of the fascistic far right continued desperately attempting to regain all they had lost. Patriot Prayer returned to Berkeley yet again for another tiny and insignificant rally in People’s Park in November. In December, Kyle Chapman and a few others marched through San Francisco in an attempt to use the acquittal of the man charged with Kate Steinle’s death to protest the city’s “sanctuary city” status. Other far-right activists in Portland, Oregon, Austin, Texas, and elsewhere across the country attempted to use this same issue to mobilize the crowds that had stood beside them earlier in the year. Yet by December, their numbers were minuscule; in most cases, they found themselves overwhelmed by anti-fascist counterdemonstrations.

Nowhere was this clearer than in DC on December 3, when Richard Spencer, Matthew Heimbach of the Traditionalist Worker’s Party, former IE leader Elliott Kline, and other fascist leaders attempted to hold a rally. They were forced to cancel their march when less than 20 people showed up. They had failed to reignite the momentum that neo-Nazis and white supremacists rode on in 2016 and early 2017. By the end of the year, their movement was in total decomposition.

Solidarity Is Our Most Powerful Weapon

The August 27 black bloc marches in front of a sign printed and distributed by the city of Berkeley

The alt-right has been defeated. The convergence of fascist and white supremacist tendencies under this rebranded far-right umbrella has been successfully disrupted, cutting off the core leadership from the base of Trump supporters from which they sought to draw power. Militant anti-fascists who took action in Berkeley, Charlottesville, and dozens of other cities across the country should be proud of the role they played in achieving this victory.

It is important to emphasize that this was not accomplished through a militaristic application of force. During the darkest days of the spring, when the alt-right mobilizations in Berkeley were at their strongest, it was not certain that even the largest of contemporary black blocs could have defeated the array of fascistic forces prepared to do battle. What tipped the scales, ultimately leading to the Nazis’ downfall, was the strength of solidarity between various anarchist, left, and activist groups committed to combatting white supremacy, patriarchy, and fascism with a wide range of tactics. As anti-fascist networks expanded and grew increasingly resilient, the ideologically heterogeneous networks of the far right imploded. The alt-lite turned on the alt-right, the civic nationalists turned on the ethno-nationalists, the patriot militias turned on the neo-Nazis, and the average Trump supporter who had dabbled in this growing movement was left confused and demoralized.

Yet the struggle against fascist and reactionary forces in the United States during the Trump era is just beginning.

There is no going back to a time before the stabbings, doxxing, Pinochet shirts, Pepe memes, torch-lit marches, and murder. Movements struggling for collective liberation must remain hardened and ready to face down whatever future fascist mutations rear their ugly heads from the cesspool of the far right. This is especially true for the anarchist movement in the United States, as anarchists have stuck our necks out further than almost anyone else to combat the rise of the alt-right. We cannot lower our guard; comrades will have to continue prioritizing individual and community self-defense for the foreseeable future. Many of these radicalized fascists will seek to exploit future crises to jumpstart their movement-building in new and unexpected ways. Other far-right activists will likely attempt to gain positions of power within law enforcement and other security agencies. Lone wolf attacks and other manifestations of far-right violence will almost certainly continue.

So we must remain on high alert. But if the threat of an imminent far-right popular movement with a fascist vanguard continues to recede, the politics of militant antifascism can evolve. This is what happens when we win.

Anarchist projects and initiatives can once again set their sights on the foundations of white supremacy, patriarchy, and capitalism. Some comrades can work to develop a revolutionary anti-fascist tendency that builds on the momentum of recent years. Others can take what they have learned from this sequence and refocus on advancing the struggles they have always been a part of.

Either way, anarchists and other militant antifascists are starting 2018 in a much more advantageous position than we held a year ago. The diverse networks of affinity and solidarity that turned the tide in 2017 will remain vital to the safety and resilience of everyone engaged in these dangerous activities.

At the same time, it must not be forgotten that fascists took advantage of the contradictions inherent in liberalism and the elitism of liberal enclaves to gain strength in 2016 and 2017. We must not water down anti-fascism via “popular front” politics until it becomes nothing more than a defense of liberal capitalism. We have to defend ourselves against co-optation as well as fascist agitation. The victories of 2017 have afforded us a brief opening to catch our breath and reaffirm the profoundly radical nature of our struggle for collective liberation. Imaginative revolutionaries must now lead new offensives on their own terms that bring us all closer to the world we wish to build.

Some Bay Area Antagonists January 2018

Taking the Park on August 27.

[jobsearchtips02]

Routes: Oakland terminal reopens, Southwest and Hawaiian restore island schedules more

As company gets, Oakland International has resumed some closed gates.

As company picks up, Oakland International has reopened some closed gates.

Image: Oakland International Airport.

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Image: Oakland International Airport.

As organisation gets, Oakland International has actually resumed some closed gates.

As business picks up, Oakland International has reopened some closed gates.

Image: Oakland International Airport.

In route news, Oakland resumes a closed terminal as company gets; Southwest and Hawaiian restore service to the islands from the Bay Area; Chicago enforces quarantine in visitors from particular states; Californians heading to New York are expected to self-quarantine for 2 weeks upon arrival; Alaska includes some Bay Area paths; American Airlines prepares a “reset” for its international network, including the elimination of several Los Angeles paths; Delta resumes beer and wine service in its front cabins and resumes some Sky Clubs; JSX includes 4 paths; Southwest restores some Mexico/Caribbean service; Frontier starts flying a number of brand-new paths to Florida; the federal government hold-ups resuming its Global Entry enrollment centers; SFO schedule updates from Lufthansa, Swiss, British Airways; Air Canada diminishes; Aeromexico declares bankruptcy; El Al stops flying; and Virgin Australia discovers a buyer. Phew!

We have actually been reporting on the resumption of different routes from San Francisco International in current weeks, but Oakland International is having a revival of its own. Although the Big 3 U.S. carriers have actually essentially pulled out of OAK, other airlines will be growing their schedules there in the weeks ahead, the airport said. Total seat capacity out of Oakland was 290,774 in June, but it will grow to 418,600 in July. That will consist of more flights from Southwest, Spirit, Alaska and Mexico’s discounter, Volaris. “The expanded service arranged to be presented in July and August has resulted in today’s (July 1) resuming of Gates 29-32 in Terminal 2, which had been closed because May,” the airport reported

Southwest’s OAK schedule is due to increase from 75 flights a day in July to more than 90 in August– 75 percent of what it flew in August2019 The airport said Southwest is expected to resume its “complete schedule” of Hawaii flights in July, supplementing its twice-daily Honolulu service with 2 flights a day from Oakland to Kahului, Maui, and the return of service to Lihue, Kauai and to Kona on the Big Island.

Hawaiian Airlines is likewise rebounding, with strategies to resume a “decreased schedule” from its mainland gateways on August 1 In addition to a resumption of Honolulu-Portland service this week, Hawaiian stated previously it will revive day-to-day Honolulu flights from San Diego and Sacramento on July15 And today it said its August 1 strategies consist of the reinstatement of service from HNL to San Jose, Oakland, Phoenix, Las Vegas, New York and Boston. Hawaiian will likewise utilize A321 neo aircraft to revive flights to Maui from San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Sacramento and Los Angeles; to Kauai from LAX and San Jose; and to Kona from LAX. You can click here to see the frequencies and start-up dates.

Chicago appears to be the first major city to impose a quarantine on visitors.

Bay Area residents preparing to go to the metro New York location— in reality, anywhere in New York State, New Jersey and Connecticut– might be puzzled to learn that California this week was included to the list of states whose citizens must undergo a 14- day self-quarantine when they arrive there, based on California’s current coronavirus flare-up. As Cuomo discussed it throughout a CNN interview, “We understand what flight you came in on.

According to Routesonline.com, some Bay Location paths that Alaska Airlines had actually previously prepared to use this summer are now slated to start on September 1 instead. That consists of two day-to-day E175 Horizon Air flights from San Francisco International to Boise and one a day from San Jose to Spokane, along with seven days of 737 service in between SFO and Anchorage. Likewise due to start September 1 is brand-new Alaska Airlines service between Los Angeles and Fresno (two daily E175 s), a daily Portland-Denver 737 flight, a daily Portland-San Luis Obispo E175 flight, and a daily E175 roundtrip to Boise from Paine Field in Everett, Wash. Alaska’s Seattle-Cincinnati route, formerly set to begin August 18, has been pushed back to May of next year.

Previously this week, we reported on United’s plans to bring back more domestic and international service throughout August.

Los Angeles International will take a success in American’s modified long-haul schedule, losing service to Hong Kong, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Beijing, and Shanghai (assuming AA gets government approval for its planned start of Seattle-Shanghai flights as part of its brand-new collaboration with Alaska Airlines). The airline company kept in mind that it expects to resume LAX-London Heathrow flights this winter and LAX-Sydney service in summer season 2021, and to launch LAX-Auckland flights in the winter of2021 From the west coast, AA will depend upon its Alaska collaboration for future growth (Alaska is expected to end up being a complete Oneworld member in 2021). In addition to moving its LAX-Shanghai route to Seattle, American previously revealed strategies to start new transpacific service from SEA to London and Bangalore in 2021.

Image: Los Angeles World Airports.

American Airlines’ “reset” of its worldwide network will suggest the end of numerous Los Angeles routes.

American’s strategies also include the elimination of some worldwide routes from its other hubs, including Charlotte, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Miami, Chicago O’Hare and Philadelphia. A representative noted that American will “continue to fly to joint service partners’ centers. And while some global markets will not return, American prepares for a full schedule to LHR by2021 The airline company will continue to work closely with British Airways to offer an extensive network that allows clients to reach crucial destinations when they are prepared.” Click on this link to see all the details of American’s announcement and international schedule modifications.

Delta said this week it has actually resumed complementary liquor service(beer and red wine) for guests in very first class and Convenience on all flights of more than 500 miles. Delta likewise prepares to resume more of its Sky Club airport lounges this month, consisting of the one in San Francisco International together with those in Chicago O’Hare, Denver, Miami, Nashville, Orlando and Phoenix. (Some Sky Club places never closed, consisting of Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, LaGuardia, LAX, Minneapolis-St. Paul, JFK, Seattle, Salt Lake City and Washington Reagan National.) Delta flyers need to also keep in mind that they now check in a SFO’s Terminal 2 while the Terminal 1 check in area gets a re-do.

JSX, the local carrier formerly calling itself JetSuiteX, prepares to add four routes in the western U.S., all running four flights a week, according to Routesonline.com They include Monterey-Orange County beginning today, in addition to Burbank-Monterey, Orange County-Phoenix and Las Vegas-Seattle Boeing Field, all due to start July23 The airline company will utilize its hallmark ERJ-135 s on all the routes.

As Southwest Airlines continues to increase its service, it resumed flights on some global routes today, including Houston Hobby to Cancun and Los Cabos; Orlando to Montego Bay, Jamaica; Denver to Cancun and Los Cabos; and Baltimore/Washington to Cancun, Montego Bay and Nassau, Bahamas.

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Frontier Airlines is adding service to a number of Florida airports this month, primarily with flights one or two times a week, originating from Los Angeles, Newark, Philadelphia, Long Island MacArthur, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dallas/Ft.

Last week, we reported that Custom-mades and Border Security would resume carrying out personal interviews on July 6 for travelers who apply to join its Worldwide Entry relied on tourist program

In foreign airline company news, the current schedule filing from Lufthansa suggests it will revive San Francisco-Frankfurt service September 2 with three weekly A340-300 flights and will increase its existing SFO-Munich schedule from 3 A350 flights a week to five as of August 2. (Lufthansa this week restored LAX-Frankfurt service with three 747 -8 flights a week and will improve that schedule to five days a week in August and 7 in September.) Lufthansa’s Swiss International affiliate is planning to come back to SFO August 2, with 3 weekly 777-300 ER flights to Zurich. British Airways’ latest upgrade includes strategies to boost San Francisco-London Heathrow and LAX-LHR from one flight a day to two since August 1. And Air Canada said today it is suspending service “forever” on 30 domestic routes due to a lack of guest need. Click On This Link to see the complete list.

Delta’s South American partner LATAM filed for Chapter 11 insolvency in May, and now Delta’s other big Latin American partner– Aeromexico– has actually done the same. The Mexican provider stated today that it will continue to serve clients while it goes through a monetary restructuring, which all of its tickets, reservations, vouchers and award points will stay legitimate. “In July the Business expects to double the variety of its domestic flights and quadruple the number of global flights as compared to June,” Aeromexico said

Israel’s El Al was expected to resume a few restricted flights from Tel Aviv to Los Angeles and New York this month, however those plans have actually been spiked as the airline was hit with a new crisis this week.

The U.S.-based private equity company Bain Capital has actually become the effective bidder for Virgin Australia, which has actually been running just a minimal domestic network given that it entered voluntary administration– a form of insolvency– in April. The acquisition undergoes approval by the airline company’s lenders in August. Virgin Australia’s previous owners– which included Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, Singapore Airlines and Etihad Airways– will have their equity erased. Bain Capital will be expected to recapitalize the provider and ultimately restore its suspended service; there’s no word yet on for how long that may take.

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Chris McGinnis is SFGATE’s senior travel reporter.

SFGATE participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which indicates we might get paid commissions on editorially chosen products bought through our links to seller sites.

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from Job Search Tips https://jobsearchtips.net/routes-oakland-terminal-reopens-southwest-and-hawaiian-restore-island-schedules-more/

[jaehyun-updates]

190510 NCT Jaehyun at Neo City: USA - The Origin in San Jose Day 2 © theory do not edit, crop, or remove the watermark

[bellaloona]

Chain (Kor. ver) at Neo CIty in San Jose Day 2

(my original video, ask permission to use)

[7happylady]

190511 NCTsmtown_127′s TW updates NEO CITY: USA San Jose Day 2

[the-firebird69]

Someone had me shot in the neck cling me Jesus. When I'm not. Lady if Guadalupe is Mary 2 wife of Bja, and not the mother if Santiago

Juan Diego, as a devout neophyte, was in the habit of regularly walking from his home to the Franciscan mission station at Tlatelolco for religious instruction and to perform his religious duties. His route passed by the hill at Tepeyac. First apparition: at dawn on Saturday December 9, 1531 while on his usual journey, he encountered the Virgin Mary who revealed herself as the ever-virgin Mother of God and instructed him to request the bishop to erect a chapel in her honour so that she might relieve the distress of all those who call on her in their need. He delivered the request, but was told by the bishop (Fray Juan Zumárraga) to come back another day after he had had time to reflect upon what Juan Diego had told him. Second apparition, later the same day: returning to Tepeyac, Juan Diego encountered the Virgin again and announced the failure of his mission, suggesting that because he was "a back-frame, a tail, a wing, a man of no importance" she would do better to recruit someone of greater standing, but she insisted that he was whom she wanted for the task. Juan Diego agreed to return to the bishop to repeat his request. This he did on the morning of Sunday, December 10 when he found the bishop more compliant. The bishop, however, asked for a sign to prove that the apparition was truly of heaven. Third apparition: Juan Diego returned immediately to Tepeyac and, encountering the Virgin Mary reported the bishop's request for a sign; she condescended to provide one on the following day (December 11).[q] Juan Diego, hoja religiosa, etching by José Guadalupe Posada n.d. but ? pre-1895 By Monday, December 11, however, Juan Diego's uncle Juan Bernardino had fallen sick and Juan Diego was obliged to attend to him. In the very early hours of Tuesday, December 12, Juan Bernardino's condition having deteriorated overnight, Juan Diego set out to Tlatelolco to get a priest to hear Juan Bernardino's confession and minister to him on his death-bed. Fourth apparition: in order to avoid being delayed by the Virgin and embarrassed at having failed to meet her on the Monday as agreed, Juan Diego chose another route around the hill, but the Virgin intercepted him and asked where he was going; Juan Diego explained what had happened and the Virgin gently chided him for not having had recourse to her. In the words which have become the most famous phrase of the Guadalupe event and are inscribed over the main entrance to the Basilica of Guadalupe, she asked: "¿No estoy yo aquí que soy tu madre?" ("Am I not here, I who am your mother?"). She assured him that Juan Bernardino had now recovered and she told him to climb the hill and collect flowers growing there. Obeying her, Juan Diego found an abundance of flowers unseasonably in bloom on the rocky outcrop where only cactus and scrub normally grew. Using his open mantle as a sack (with the ends still tied around his neck) he returned to the Virgin; she re-arranged the flowers and told him to take them to the bishop. On gaining admission to the bishop in Mexico City later that day, Juan Diego opened his mantle, the flowers poured to the floor, and the bishop saw they had left on the mantle an imprint of the Virgin's image which he immediately venerated.[r] Fifth apparition: the next day Juan Diego found his uncle fully recovered, as the Virgin had assured him, and Juan Bernardino recounted that he too had seen her, at his bed-side; that she had instructed him to inform the bishop of this apparition and of his miraculous cure; and that she had told him she desired to be known under the title of Guadalupe. The bishop kept Juan Diego's mantle first in his private chapel and then in the church on public display where it attracted great attention. On December 26, 1531 a procession formed for taking the miraculous image back to Tepeyac where it was installed in a small hastily erected chapel.[s] In course of this procession, the first miracle was allegedly performed when an Indian was mortally wounded in the neck by an arrow shot by accident during some stylized martial displays executed in honour of the Virgin. In great distress, the Indians carried him before the Virgin's image and pleaded for his life. Upon the arrow being withdrawn, the victim made a full and immediate recovery.[t] Whom is Jose Casper who shot the Indian Crazy Horse whom is was Jesus. Aka Neo But the impression was not made by a Queen Mary 2 flowers it leaches into the negative comprising the photo negative if her she had as she stayed At the cross and was entombed with her husband. The Shroud is hers. There may be a sister I hear no...but might be. And it is San Diego that is a sister city of Santiago Chile My Father Bitol's area and my Goddess Wife to be's Father's area. Both aware of what time it is. It is time there for the cavern to break. Shortly. Zues Hera Bitol and Goddess Wife Hera's Father and Mother God and Goddess We rock this is right we need her. She does lots and lots he says remembers initializes and much more. Bitol. We roll on it Thor

[aidirenr79]

Filipinos are very much religious when Christianity was introduced to us by the Spaniards. We have historical and magnificent, beautiful churches that depicts the deep faith of the people situated in the entire archipelago. Whenever I visit a place, I make it a habit to go to their church. I am in awe every time, so I’ve come up with this list..

20. San Nicolas de Tolentino Church Built in 1916, this church is located at the provincial capital in Mambajao, Camiguin.

                                19. Christ the King Cathedral/St Anthony Parish Also known as St Anthony Parish is located at the Poblacion of Koronadal City South Cotabato.  Erected in 1960, as the territorial prelature of Marbel, was elevated in 1982 to a full diocese.

18. Sto Nino Roman Catholic Parish Church This beautiful church is located at Poblacion Sta Fe, Bantayan Islands.

17. Bantay church/St Augustine Parish Church – The Saint Augustine Parish Church, commonly known as Bantay Church, is a Roman Catholic church in Bantay, Ilocos Sur. The old historic belfry of the church known as the Bantay Tower, which served as a watchtower for pirates back in the Spanish colonial era, gave the town its name – bantay (meaning to guard). Established in 1590, the church is one of the oldest in the Ilocos Region.

  16. Davao Cathedral/San Pedro Cathedral Also known as the St Peter Metropolitan Cathedral is located at Poblacion District, Davao City. This magnificent Spanish-style architecture with its distinctive modern design frontal-curved solid structure was first built using nipa and bamboo in 1847 and was subsequently rebuilt in wood in the mid 1900s by the late Architect Ramon Basa until it was finally remodelled in concrete in 1964 by Architect Manuel Chiew.

15. Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Parish – This church is located in the municipality of Oton, Iloilo. With its modern design, it offers a glimpse of the townspeople resilient nature when the old Oton church crumbled from the 1948 earthquake.

14. Bacarra Church -Bacarra Church is a Roman Catholic church located in the municipality of Bacarra, Ilocos Norte. The church was declared a National Historical Landmark by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, and a National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum of the Philippines. Established in 1593, it is known for its centuries-old, domeless, leaning bell tower.

13.  Bacolod Cathedral/San Sebastian Cathedral The San Sebastian Cathedral in Bacolod City is a late 19th-century church, with bell towers & an airy interior with chandeliers.

  12. Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral – Jaro Cathedral located in Jaro, Iloilo, formally known as Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral and the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Candles declared by the CBCP as the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Candles (Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria) on February 2012. The present cathedral structure was finished in 1874 by the first Bishop of Jaro, Mariano Cuartero, O.P. It was destroyed by the January 1948 earthquake and later repaired in 1956 by the first Archbishop of Jaro, José María Cuenco.

                                              11. Our Lady of the Pillar Parish Church Also known as Nuestra Senora del Pillar is located in Cauayan City Isabela. Built in 1741, with its imposing baroque architecture, brick wall facade and amazing interior.

  10. Guimbal Church/San Nicolas de Tolentino Parish Guimbal Church also known as the San Nicolas de Tolentino Parish is located in Guimbal Iloilo. Built in 1774, it is one of the oldest churches in the country. This yellow sandstone church is made from adobe stones called igang and coral stones.

9. Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral The Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, officially known as The Metropolitan Cathedral and Parish of Saint Vitalis and of the Immaculate Conception was established as a diocese on August 14, 1595. The architecture of the church is typical of Spanish colonial churches in the country, namely, squat and with thick walls to withstand typhoons and other natural calamities.

8. San Joaquin Parish Church San Joaquin Church, is a Roman Catholic Church in the municipality of San Joaquin, Iloilo. It is largely known for its  pediment featuring a military scene, the Spanish victory over the Moors in the Battle of Tétouan. The construction of San Joaquin Church was completed in 1869 during the Spanish colonization era by Augustinians. The church was declared a National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum of the Philippines.

7. Ivana church/San Jose de Ivana Church The San Jose de Ivana Church, also known as Ivana Church, is a Roman Catholic church located in Ivana, Batanes. It was first established by the Dominicans as a chapel in 1787. The church was declared a National Historical Landmark by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines in 2008.

6. St Peter & Paul Parish Church The Church of Saints Peter and Paul is located in Bantayan Island, and part of the Diocese of Cebu. Built using the stones and corals, its site was founded in 1580 making it the oldest church in the Visayas and Mindanao.

5. Molo Church/St Anne Parish Church – Neo-Gothic colonial church, built in 1831, with a white-coral facade & statues of female saints.                                                                                                                                                       

4. Tuguegarao Cathedral/St Peter Metropolitan Cathedral – is an 18th-century Baroque church located along Rizal Street, Barangay Centro 10, Tuguegarao, Cagayan. The current church is attributed to Father Antonio Lobato, OP who initiated the construction in 1761 and was completed in 1768 and restored in 2014.                                                                                                                                   

4. Mahatao Church/San Carlos Borromeo Church – a Roman Catholic church located in Mahatao, Batan Island, Batanes. The church is made of stone and lime, common building materials in the province.                     

3. Basilica Minore del Sto Nino de Cebu/Sto Nino Basilica The Basílica Menor del Santo Niño de Cebú (Minor Basilica of the Holy Child of Cebú), commonly known as Santo Niño Basilica, is a minor basilica in Cebu City that was founded in the 1565 by Fray Andrés de Urdaneta, O.S.A. and Fray Diego de Herrera, O.S.A. The oldest Roman Catholic church in the country, it is built on the spot where the image of the Santo Niño de Cebú was found during the expedition of Miguel López de Legazpi.

    2. Miagao Church/Sto Tomas de Villanueva Parish Church                                                          – UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Miagao Iloilo. Its Baroque style designed with thick walls to serve as protection against raiders. It was severely damaged during the Spanish revolution in 1898 but was later rebuilt, fire in 1910, the second World War and earthquake in 1948. The present day Miagao church is the third church built since its establishment in 1731.                                                                                                                         

Paoay church/St Augustine Church – A UNESCO World Heritage site. It is one of the oldest churches completed in 1710 located in the municipality of Paoay, Ilocos Norte. An architectural wonder, also known as the Earthquake Baroque church, famous for its distinct architecture highlighted by the enormous buttresses on the sides and the back of the building.     

    Top 20 beautiful churches I’ve been to.. Filipinos are very much religious when Christianity was introduced to us by the Spaniards. We have historical and magnificent, beautiful churches that depicts the deep faith of the people situated in the entire archipelago.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 10.14

1066 – Norman conquest of England: Battle of Hastings: In England on Senlac Hill, seven miles from Hastings, the Norman forces of William the Conqueror defeat the English army and kill King Harold II of England. 1322 – Robert the Bruce of Scotland defeats King Edward II of England at Byland, forcing Edward to accept Scotland's independence. 1582 – Because of the adoption of the Gregorian calendar this day does not exist in this year in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain. 1586 – Mary, Queen of Scots, goes on trial for conspiracy against Elizabeth I of England. 1656 – Massachusetts enacts the first punitive legislation against the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). The marriage of church-and-state in Puritanism makes them regard the Quakers as spiritually apostate and politically subversive. 1758 – Seven Years' War: Austria defeats Prussia at the Battle of Hochkirch. 1773 – The first recorded Ministry of Education, the Commission of National Education, is formed in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. 1773 – Just before the beginning of the American Revolutionary War, several of the British East India Company's tea ships are set ablaze at the old seaport of Annapolis, Maryland. 1805 – Battle of Elchingen, France defeats Austria. 1806 – Battle of Jena–Auerstedt France defeats Prussia. 1808 – The Republic of Ragusa is annexed by France. 1843 – Irish nationalist Daniel O'Connell arrested by British on charges of criminal conspiracy. 1863 – American Civil War: Battle of Bristoe Station: Confederate troops under the command of General Robert E. Lee fail to drive the Union Army completely out of Virginia. 1884 – American inventor George Eastman receives a U.S. Government patent on his new paper-strip photographic film. 1888 – Louis Le Prince films first motion picture: Roundhay Garden Scene. 1898 – The steamer ship SS Mohegan sinks after striking the Manacles, near The Lizard peninsula, Cornwall, United Kingdom, killing 106. 1908 – The Chicago Cubs defeat the Detroit Tigers, 2–0, clinching the World Series; this would be their last until clinching the 2016 World Series. 1910 – English aviator Claude Grahame-White lands his Farman Aircraft biplane on Executive Avenue near the White House in Washington, D.C. 1912 – While campaigning in Milwaukee, the former President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, is shot and mildly wounded by John Schrank, a mentally-disturbed saloon keeper. With the fresh wound in his chest, and the bullet still within it, Mr. Roosevelt still carries out his scheduled public speech. 1913 – Senghenydd colliery disaster, the United Kingdom's worst coal mining accident claims the lives of 439 miners. 1915 – World War I: Bulgaria joins the Central Powers. 1920 – Part of Petsamo Province is ceded by the Soviet Union to Finland. 1926 – The children's book Winnie-the-Pooh, by A. A. Milne, is first published. 1933 – Nazi Germany withdraws from the League of Nations and World Disarmament Conference. 1938 – The first flight of the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighter plane. 1939 – World War II: The German submarine U-47 sinks the British battleship HMS Royal Oak within her harbour at Scapa Flow, Scotland. 1940 – World War II: The Balham underground station disaster kills sixty-six people during the London Blitz. 1943 – World War II: Prisoners at the Sobibór extermination camp in Poland revolt against the Germans. 1943 – World War II: The American Eighth Air Force loses 60 of 291 B-17 Flying Fortress during its "mission 115", the Second Raid on Schweinfurt. 1943 – World War II: The Second Philippine Republic, a puppet of the Empire of Japan, was inaugurated with Jose P. Laurel as its president. 1944 – World War II: Athens, Greece, is liberated by British Army troops entering the city as the Wehrmacht pulls out. This clears the way for the Greek government-in-exile to return to its historic capital city, with Georgios Papandreou, as the head of government. 1944 – World War II: Linked to a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel is forced to commit suicide. 1947 – Captain Chuck Yeager of the United States Air Force flies a Bell X-1 rocket-powered experimental aircraft, the Glamorous Glennis, faster than the speed of sound at Mach 1.06 (700 miles per hour (1,100 km/h; 610 kn) over the high desert of Southern California and becomes the first pilot and the first airplane to do so in level flight. 1949 – Eleven leaders of the American Communist Party are convicted, after a nine-month trial in a Federal District Court, of conspiring to advocate the violent overthrow of the U.S. Federal Government. 1949 – Chinese Civil War: Chinese Communist forces occupy Guangzhou. 1952 – Korean War: United Nations and South Korean forces launch Operation Showdown against Chinese strongholds at the Iron Triangle. The resulting Battle of Triangle Hill is the biggest and bloodiest battle of 1952. 1956 – Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the Indian Untouchable caste leader, converts to Buddhism along with 385,000 of his followers (see Neo-Buddhism). 1957 – Queen Elizabeth II becomes the first Canadian monarch to open a session of the Canadian Parliament, presenting her Speech from the throne in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. 1957 – At least 81 people are killed in the most devastating flood in the history of the Spanish city of Valencia. 1958 – The District of Columbia's Bar Association votes to accept African-Americans as member attorneys. 1962 – The Cuban Missile Crisis begins: A U.S. Air Force U-2 reconnaissance plane and its pilot flies over the island of Cuba and takes photographs of Soviet SS-4 Sandal missiles being installed and erected in Cuba. 1964 – Martin Luther King Jr. received the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolence. 1964 – Leonid Brezhnev becomes the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and thereby, along with his allies, such as Alexei Kosygin, the leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), ousting the former monolithic leader Nikita Khrushchev, and sending him into retirement as a nonperson in the USSR. 1966 – The city of Montreal begins the operation of its underground Montreal Metro rapid transit system. 1967 – Vietnam War: American folk singer and activist Joan Baez is arrested concerning a physical blockade of the U.S. Army's induction center in Oakland, California. 1968 – Vietnam War: Twenty-seven soldiers are arrested at the Presidio of San Francisco in California for their peaceful protest of stockade conditions and the Vietnam War. 1968 – Vietnam War: The United States Department of Defense announces that the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps will send about 24,000 soldiers and Marines back to Vietnam for involuntary second tours of duty in the combat zone there. 1968 – Apollo program: The first live TV broadcast by American astronauts in orbit performed by the Apollo 7 crew. 1968 – The 6.5 Mw Meckering earthquake shook the southwest portion of Western Australia with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), causing $2.2 million in damage and leaving 20–28 people dead. 1968 – Jim Hines of the United States of America becomes the first man ever to break the so-called "ten-second barrier" in the 100-meter sprint in the Summer Olympic Games held in Mexico City with a time of 9.95 seconds. 1969 – The United Kingdom introduces the British fifty-pence coin, which replaces, over the following years, the British ten-shilling note, in anticipation of the decimalization of the British currency in 1971, and the abolition of the shilling as a unit of currency anywhere in the world. 1973 – In the Thammasat student uprising over 100,000 people protest in Thailand against the Thanom military government, 77 are killed and 857 are injured by soldiers. 1979 – The first Gay Rights March on Washington, D.C., the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, demands "an end to all social, economic, judicial, and legal oppression of lesbian and gay people", and draws approximately 100,000 people. 1981 – Citing official misconduct in the investigation and trial, Amnesty International charges the U.S. Federal Government with holding Richard Marshall of the American Indian Movement as a political prisoner. 1981 – Vice President Hosni Mubarak is elected as the President of Egypt one week after the assassination of the President of Egypt, Anwar Sadat. 1982 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan proclaims a War on Drugs. 1983 – Maurice Bishop, Prime Minister of Grenada, is overthrown and later executed in a military coup d'état led by Bernard Coard. 1991 – Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. 1994 – The Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, The Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin, and the Foreign Minister of Israel, Shimon Peres, receive the Nobel Peace Prize for their role in the establishment of the Oslo Accords and the framing of the future Palestinian Self Government. 1998 – Eric Rudolph is charged with six bombings including the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta, Georgia. 2012 – Felix Baumgartner successfully jumped to Earth from a helium balloon in the stratosphere in the Red Bull Stratos project. 2014 – A snowstorm and avalanche in the Nepalese Himalayas triggered by the remnants of Cyclone Hudhud kills 43 people. 2014 – Utah State University receives a bomb threat against feminist media critic Anita Sarkeesian, who was to give a lecture the next day. 2014 – In a football match between Serbia and Albania for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers in Belgrade, Serbia, riots erupt after a drone carrying the flag of Greater Albania is flown in the pitch. Several Albanian players are injured through physical assaults, and the incident creates a diplomatic dispute between the two nations. 2015 – A suicide bomb attack in Pakistan, kills at least seven people and injures 13 others. 2017 – A massive truck bombing in Somalia kills 358 people and injures more than 400 others.

[charllieeldridge]

21 Awesome Things To Do in Guadalajara, Mexico

Often overlooked by travellers, Guadalajara is a fascinating city with a wealth of cultural sights, mouth-watering cuisine, and some incredible nightlife — there are endless things to do here to keep you busy!

Mexico’s 2nd largest city is located in the state of Jalisco, which is home to two of the country’s most famous exports — tequila and mariachi.

While it most definitely lives in the shadow of the capital, Mexico City, there’s a lot going on in Guadalajara to add a stop here on your Mexico travels.

In just a few days here, we took in the sights of the historic city centre, visited the country’s largest lake, and joined the raucous crowd for a football game! These are just a few of the many things to do in Guadalajara, one of the top places to visit in Mexico.

Make the most of your trip to the city by checking out this list of top 21 things to do in Guadalajara.

Note: This article has been updated 2020 to reflect current attractions, costs and more. Enjoy your trip to Guadalajara!

1. Explore the Historical Centre

The best way to get introduced to Guadalajara is with a stroll through the Centro Historico (Historical Centre). Here you’ll find tree-lined plazas, gorgeous cathedrals, important cultural institutions, bustling markets, and lots more. It’s a great place for a casual stroll, as there are several pedestrian-only streets.

Start your exploration off in the Plaza de Armas, which is surrounded by the double-spired Guadalajara Cathedral and the historic Governor’s Office. Be sure to walk through the nearby Liberation Square to snap a photo with the Guadalajara sign. Wandering around this square is one of the best free things to do in the city.

From here you have easy access to several museums, such as the Regional Museum of Guadalajara. You could also just grab a coffee and watch the city go about its day.

☞ See Also: Things To Do in Cancun – Top 21 Things That Aren’t The Beach

2. Go on a Free Walking Tour

While the historical centre is easily visited on your own, it’s always more beneficial to get a local’s perspective on the city. Every morning at 10AM, you can join the free walking tour to take in the sights along with insights from a local guide. If you’re wondering what to do in Guadalajara when you first arrive, this is it.

Tours meet at the gazebo in the Plaza de Armas and last about two hours. In addition to learning about the history and culture of Guadalajara, you’ll get solid recommendations from someone who knows the city and you’ll probably end up making a few new friends.

Going on a walking tour is one of the best things to do in Guadalajara to get your bearings in the city.

☞ SEE ALSO: Best Time to Visit Mexico – A Guide For Travellers

3. Feast on Tortas Ahogadas

All that walking around is sure to make you hungry. When in Guadalajara, you can’t miss out on the local favourite known as tortas ahogadas. The name literally means “drowned sandwiches,” and you’ll know why as soon as you see one.

These local specialties are typically made with birote bread and chopped fried pork. The sandwich is then completely drenched in a sauce made primarily from dried chili peppers.

They’re then served up with some slices of white onion, radishes, and the typical array of salsas and hot sauces you’ll find on any Mexican table.

Grabbing one of these sandwiches is one of the best things to do in Guadalajara when you have a hangover — the locals consider it the best cure (and I have to say, I agree).

Check out Super Tortas Ahogadas and Tortas Ahogadas Don Jose…or, ask your walking tour guide, Airbnb host or friend where the best sandwiches in Guadalajara can be found! Eating amazing food is definitely one of the top things to do in Mexico.

☞ See Also: Things To Do in Playa del Carmen – 21 Things You Won’t Want To Miss!

4. Visit the Government Palace

This 18th-century building looks very unassuming from the outside, but once you enter, you’ll be rewarded with stunning murals from the artist Jose Clemente Orozco. The size of the paintings are incredible, especially the one of Hidalgo which is located on the main staircase.

The Government Palace is free to enter, making it a top activity for those who are backpacking Mexico on a budget. Note that it’s not open on weekends.

5. Listen to Live Mariachi Bands

Perhaps no type of Mexican music is more famous than mariachi. It even made the UNESCO list for Intangible Cultural Heritage a few years ago. Everywhere you go in Mexico, the sounds of mariachi music follow, whether it’s a roaming band on the beach or the presidential inauguration ceremony.

It’s believed that modern-day mariachi music originated in Jalisco, the Mexican state that Guadalajara is the capital of. As such, there’s no better place to dive into this traditional Mexican music than right here in GDL.

Head to the Plaza de los Mariachis in the evening and hire a band to serenade you. Just be sure to come prepared with a few songs other than “La Cucaracha.”

☞ See Also: Things To Do in Cabo San Lucas – Top 21 Exciting Things You Won’t Want to Miss

6. Go Shopping in Tlaquepaque

If you’re looking to take home some unique souvenirs from your trip to Mexico, you’ll want to be sure to include a trip to nearby Tlaquepaque (try saying that one three times fast). Once its own city, Tlaquepaque was absorbed by the urban sprawl of Guadalajara and became a municipality.

Tlaquepaque is famous for its beautiful, hand-painted pottery. In the Nahuatl language, the name actually means “place above clay land.” You can start off in the Mercado de Artesanías to get a feel for what’s on offer, and then branch out and visit more of the individual shops in town if you want to see more.

Don’t feel like figuring out transportation and the logistics for a trip to Tlaquepaque? Check out this day tour.

    7. Visit the Cultural Institute Cabañas

One of the most interesting things to do in Guadalajara is to a visit to the Cultural Institute Cabañas. It was founded in 1791 as a hospital/orphanage by the Bishop of Guadalajara and eventually became a cultural institution. It’s a beautiful neo-classical building with several courtyards and galleries to explore.

The highlight of visiting is definitely seeing the amazing frescoes by Mexican artist Jose Clemente Orozco, including his famous work Hombre de Fuego (The Man of Fire).

It’s closed on Mondays but free to visit on Tuesdays. Otherwise, it costs about $2 to get in and another $1 if you want to use your camera. Click here to find it on the map.

☞ See Also: Things To Do in Tulum – A List of The 21 Best

8. Drink Tequila in Tequila

Did you know that Mexico’s most famous beverage comes from a town of the same name?

Not far from Guadalajara, you will indeed find the Mexican town of Tequila. Taking a trip up there to visit the agave fields and a few of the distilleries is without a doubt one of the coolest things to do in Guadalajara, Mexico.

You have several options for visiting Tequila, from simply catching a local bus and doing it yourself to taking a ride on the famed Tequila Express train. It’s a bit pricey, but it’s certainly an awesome experience that’s worth splurging on.

☞ See Also: Things To Do in Oaxaca: 21 Things You Don’t Want To Miss

9. Take the Party Bus to Lucha Libre

One of the most fun things to do in Guadalajara is taking the Red Pub party bus to the lucha libre fights.

Every Tuesday night, they roll out their British double-decker bus and head to Arena Coliseo to take in the high-flying Mexican wrestling. The tour includes round-trip transportation, your ticket to the matches, and even a free beer back at the pub!

See the high-flying luchadores!

Even if you’re not a huge wrestling fan like me, a night of lucha libre is tons of fun. My wife constantly rags on me for my love of American pro wrestling, but she loves going to lucha libre and has already seen three shows.

We even put together a handy-dandy guide to seeing lucha libre in Mexico for you, so check it out and add it to your itinerary in GDL.

☞ See Also: Things To Do in Isla Mujeres – Top 19 Fun Activities

10. Sample Craft Beers

Forget about Corona and Modelo when you’re in Guadalajara and try some of the city’s awesome cervezas artesenales (craft beers). The craft beer scene is rapidly expanding here, meaning you have several choices for where to grab a pint.

One of my personal favourite spots to sip on a tasty craft beer in Guadalajara is the Patan Ale House. They have tons of awesome local beers on tap, a solid menu of creative bar food, and they even have DJs spinning on the weekend. Salud!

☞ See Also: 11 Incredible Things To Do in San Cristobal de las Casas

11. Wander Around Mercado Libertad

Mercado Libertad is a sprawling indoor market located in the historic centre of Guadalajara. For an all-out assault on your senses, wander around the maze-like stalls of this huge market that seems to be selling just about everything under the sun. There’s fresh produce, bootleg DVDs, leather products, and even pets for sale here.

It’s best to come to the market hungry, as there’s a large food court here cooking up several local specialties, such as the aforementioned tortas ahogadas and delicious bowls of pozole. It’s fast, cheap, and super local – a winning combination.

☞ See Also: Things To Do in San Miguel de Allende: A List Of The Top 21

12. Take Part in a Local Festival (one of the most cultural things to do in Guadalajara)

There are different festivals going on all throughout the year in Guadalajara, so be sure to check the calendar before planning your trip.

You might end up in town during a literary, film, or music festival. In Mexico’s 2nd biggest city, there’s always something going on. Click here to find out what’s on during your trip.

One of the most famous and important events of the year in GDL is the International Mariachi Festival, which takes place at the end of August.

There are parades, free concerts in the square, and gala shows with world-class mariachi musicians in the theatre. Speaking of the theatre, that brings us to the next point in our list of best things to do in Guadalajara.

☞ See Also: Top 21 Things To Do in La Paz, Mexico

13. See a Show at Teatro Degallado

One of the most beautiful buildings in Guadalajara, Teatro Degallado is a neo-classical theatre in the historical centre of the city. To truly admire the building, you’ll have to go inside and see the incredible murals. It’s free to enter when there isn’t a show on.

There are regular performances in the theatre, including operas and symphony orchestras. If you’re lucky, you can score tickets to one of the gala performances during the mariachi festival.

I attended one this year and highly recommend it if you get the chance. Click here to purchase tickets to the theatre, or simply stop in when you’re visiting Guadalajara to see if there’s a last-minute show you can attend.

14. Have Dinner at Birreria las 9 Esquinas

Another dish that Guadalajara is famous for is birria – a spicy stew usually made from goat or lamb. The meat is perfectly seasoned and incredibly tender and is a must-try when in the city.

While there are tons of places cooking up birria in Guadalajara, few places do it better than Birreria las 9 Esquinas. You might have to wait for a table here, but it’s definitely worth it to try this local specialty.

⇒ See Also: 21 Top Things To Do in Mazatlan

15. Visit the Gardens in Parque Colomos

Parque Colomos is a large green space in the northwest part of the city. It’s full of walking paths and picnic areas, making for a great place to spend a leisurely afternoon outdoors.

A trip here is a nice break from the hustle and bustle of downtown and is one of the more relaxing places to visit in Guadalajara.

The best part about taking a walk through Parque Colomos is being able to see the stunning Japanese gardens. If you can ignore the guy blasting reggaeton through his cell phone, it’s almost like you’re actually in Japan.

⇒ See Also: Puerto Escondido – The Ultimate Travel Guide

16. Visit the Guachimontones

Not far from Guadalajara (about a 45-minute drive), you’ll find the amazing archaeological site known as Los Guachimontones. It dates back to the Teuchitlan tradition, a pre-Columbian society that existed from around 300 BCE to 900 CE.

This site is notable for its circular stepped pyramids, which are not found anywhere else in the world.

Exploring this archaeological wonder is one of the most interesting things to do in Guadalajara and well worth the day-trip. It costs 30 pesos to enter, or you can hire a guide on site for 200 pesos. If you’d prefer, you can join a tour.

17. Cheer on the Local Football Teams

Football is a huge part of Mexican culture, whether it’s cheering on the national team during the World Cup or watching local teams compete in the Liga MX. Guadalajara is home to two teams – Chivas and Atlas. The former plays at Estadio Akron while the latter hosts their games at Estadio Jalisco.

Cheering on Atlas at a home game.

The dynamic between the two teams is kind of like that between the Yankees and Mets. One wins all the time and the other, well, doesn’t.

If you want to watch one of the best teams in the league, jump on the Chivas bandwagon. If you’d rather root for the underdog, give your support to the fledgling Atlas squad. Either way, you’re guaranteed a beer-soaked celebration if the local heroes win.

18. Party on Avenida Chapultepec

Guadalajara is a city that likes to party, and one of the best places to do so is Avenida Chapultepec. This trendy street is full of restaurants, bars, and clubs and is fun any night of the week.

On the weekend, you’ll also find a bustling market on the island in the middle of the avenue. Local merchants peddle all sorts of wares here, and it’s a really vibrant, colourful scene.

19. Enjoy Car Free Sundays

If you’re wondering what to do in Guadalajara on a Sunday, this is it. While the party goes really late on Saturday night, Avenida Chapultepec transforms come Sunday morning.

Every week from 8AM-2PM, half of the street is shut down to all motorized vehicles. Joggers, cyclists, dog-walkers, and skaters all take to the streets to enjoy a few hours free of the grid-locked traffic that usually plagues the city.

No cars on Sundays!

You’ll also find pick-up volleyball games, group fitness classes, and various non-profit organizations set up along the road. If you’re visiting Guadalajara on a Sunday, be sure to check it out.

20. Go on a Hike in Parque Mirador

For some great views of the canyon and some fresh air, head up to Parque Mirador for a short hike. After walking up to the viewpoint, you can sit down to lunch at the Restaurant El Mirador.

This makes for an easy and fun half-day trip out of the city. It’s tough to get yourself out here on public transportation, so you’re better off ordering an Uber. Try to arrange for them to come back and get you a few hours later.

21. Take a Day Trip to Lake Chapala

Located about an hour drive south of the city is Lake Chapala, the largest freshwater lake in all of Mexico.

There are several different towns along the lakeshore you can visit, such as Chapala and Ajijic. Thanks to its moderate climate and beautiful surroundings, Lake Chapala is also a favourite of expats, snowbirds, and retirees. Check out this tour from Guadalajara which takes in Lake Chapala and Ajijic.

The lake is a very popular place for locals to visit on weekends and holidays. As such, it’s better to visit during the week if possible.

Enjoy a stroll along the lakefront Malecon or go on a short boat trip out to the small islands. If you have a few days to spare, I highly recommend staying for a night or two.

Now You Know The Best Things To Do in Guadalajara

As you can see, Guadalajara is a city that has a lot to offer prospective travellers. It has all the perks of a big city minus a lot of the downfalls.

For instance, while there are incredible things to do in Mexico City that you shouldn’t miss, Guadalajara is much smaller and easier to get around than the capital.

There’s enough to see in the historic centre to keep you busy for a day or two, plenty of awesome day-trips to scenic locations, and excellent culinary and nightlife scenes to come home to.

If you’re planning a trip to Mexico, be sure to add Guadalajara to your itinerary. It’s the perfect place to stop for a few days on a longer trip around Mexico.

I visited the city between travelling around Guanajuato and enjoying all of the awesome things to do in Puerto Vallarta. However you get here, you’re sure to have a great time enjoying all the top things to do in Guadalajara. 

Images in this article are courtesy of Shutterstock.com.

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[sjohnson24]

San José’s Metropolitan Cathedral, A Good Reason to Go to Church

San José‘s Metropolitan Cathedral, A Good Reason to go to Church

Why do we go to church? If we are religious, we go to worship god. However, some of us go because it is a social event, or for others, we go because it is a social obligation (we are expected to go). When we were children, many of us went to church because our parents made us.

Here is another good reason: We can go to church because it is beautiful. In the case of the Metropolitan Cathedral, the main Catholic church in San José, it is indeed very beautiful, and it is an important building, rich with art, history and culture.

The Metropolitan Cathedral of San José, Costa Rica, features a facade with two bell towers and a clock tower. Behind the facade is the long nave, and at its eastern end is a small cupola, or dome, over the altar.

The Metropolitan Cathedral is located in the heart of Downtown San José, two blocks west of the National Theater, across the street from the city’s Central Park. It is the headquarters for the Roman Catholic hierarchy in San José.

The Cathedral was built in the 1870’s after an earthquake destroyed a smaller church on the site. It was designed by a Spanish architect in a style that is considered “neo-classical.” The front of the building features a facade with three towers; a clock tower in the center and two bell towers. There are Doric pillars supporting an overhang that covers a wide front portico.

The Metropolitan Cathedral provides a quiet, peaceful place of escape from the noisy city outside. The arched ceiling of the long nave is supported by classic columns that run all the way to the altar.

Behind the facade is the long body of the church and at its eastern end is a small cupola, or dome, which covers the altar. In the Cathedral’s 140-year history, parts of the building have been closed several times for restoration and strengthening. The most recent time was in the 1990’s, after damage was caused by a series of strong earthquakes.

Once inside, you will escape the noise and the bustle of the city outside, and you cannot help but be impressed with what a peaceful, spiritual, and yes, sacred place this is. The long body, or nave, of the Cathedral features a vaulted ceiling supported by classic columns that run all the way to the altar.

The Cathedral features an impressive collection of stain glass windows. This powerful scene depicts Saint Michael the Archangel defeating Satan.

There are many things to see as you explore this historic Cathedral, but for me, the most fascinating features are the dazzling stain glass windows. These are a collection of French made masterpieces on either side of the cathedral. They are from the Champigneulle factory in Paris, and they depict Biblical scenes of Jesus, the Holy Family and various saints. One of the most moving, is a window that powerfully illustrates Saint Michael the Archangel defeating Satan.

Fourteen sculpted bas reliefs are mounted on either side of the Cathedral. These are the Stations of the Cross, fourteen images that depict the suffering of Jesus Christ on the way to his crucifixion.

As you walk the length of the Cathedral, you will see fourteen bas reliefs mounted on the walls. These are the Stations of the Cross, fourteen scenes that depict the suffering of Jesus Christ on the way to His crucifixion. If you were not fortunate enough to have been raised a Catholic, the Stations of the Cross are commemorated each Friday during the season of Lent. The bas reliefs at the Cathedral were sculpted by an Italian artist and then painted with oils.

The altar of the Cathedral is covered with a cupola. Windows around the base of the cupola allow natural sunlight to brighten the altar area during the day. There is a mural behind the altar showing Jesus and the Holy Father.

At the eastern end of the Cathedral is the magnificent altar area that is capped by the cupola. The cupola has windows around its base which allows natural sunlight to bath the altar during daylight hours. This creates a wonderful special effect: While the main body of the Cathedral is softly lit, the altar appears to glow. Above the altar is a mural of Jesus and the Holy Father.

As you face the altar, and turn to the left, you will discover a small chapel in a separate room. This is the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament. This very quiet and very solemn room, is a replica of the original chapel that was demolished. It has its own series of stain glass windows, and ornate statues of angels.

A “flying pulpit” attached to one of the columns, with a winding staircase, is just one of the many features of the Cathedral.

Throughout the Cathedral, you will see all kinds of interesting objects. There are statues of cherubs and paintings of holy scenes. There are life-size reproductions of Christ and the Virgin Mary. Secured to one of the columns, is a beautifully designed raised pulpit built with Costa Rican hardwood. This “flying pulpit” has a winding staircase leading to it, and it is the work of a Guatemalan master craftsman who designed many of the interior features. Even the floor is beautiful, made of a painstakingly laid out colonial-style mosaic tile that runs the length of the building.

A huge pipe organ, considered on of the most important antique organs in Central America, is in the choir loft. It was imported from Belgium in the 1890’s.

Up in the choir loft, there is a huge pipe organ imported from Belgium in the 1890’s. It is considered to be one of the most important antique organs in Central America. It has recently been restored, and it has been played by several great masters of organ music.

The visit of Pope John Paul II in 1983 is considered the most important event in the Cathedral’s long history. Note the expressions on the faces of some of the attendees as the Pope celebrates mass. This photo was provided to us by the Cathedral.

I mentioned earlier in this article that the Metropolitan Cathedral was an historic building. It has been the site of weddings and funerals of some of the most prominent people in Costa Rica’s history. However, by far and away, the most important event to take place at the Cathedral was the visit by Papa Juan Pablo Segundo (Pope John Paul II).

Pope John Paul II visited Costa Rica in 1983, less than two years after he had been shot in an assassination attempt. His Holiness said that he wanted to visit Costa Rica, and the other Central American countries, because the region was “crying out” for an end to war and hate. He celebrated mass at the Metropolitan Cathedral to a packed house of a couple hundred very lucky people. (Later he celebrated mass and spoke to a crowd of hundreds of thousands at Sabana Park.)

This statue of Pope John Paul II, now Saint John Paul, was sculpted by renowned Costa Rican artist Jorge Jiménez Deredia. It commemorates His Holiness’s visit to the Cathedral in 1983. It is made of Italian Carrara marble.

Two years after the death of John Paul, San José Mayor, Johnny Araya, and a group of citizens, raised money to have a statue created to commemorate the Pope’s visit. That statue is now mounted on the northwest corner of the Cathedral’s grounds. It is the work of renowned Costa Rican sculptor Jorge Jiménez Deredia, one of the few Tico artists to gain international acclaim. It stands 12 feet high, weighs 25 tons and is made from white Carrara marble from Italy.

If you visit this beautiful old-world cathedral, be sure to be respectful if you arrive during a mass or other services. Even though this is a popular tourist attraction, it is still a place of worship. Do not go in wandering around and snapping pictures during a service. Mass is held throughout the day on Sundays starting at 7 a.m., and several times a day during the week.

You are welcome to walk through the Cathedral and to take non-flash photographs when there are no services. And gentlemen: Please remove your hats. (For some reason, a lot of guys under 30 don’t seem to know that.)

San José’s Metropolitan Cathedral is opposite the city’s busy Central Park. It is an important part of the daily life of people in Downtown San José.

You can visit the Cathedral for free, but donations are greatly appreciated. There are donation boxes at the entrances. Keep in mind, it takes a great deal of money to maintain a building of this stature. Think about this: When it is your time to arrive at the pearly gates, and you are waiting for Saint Peter to decide which way you will go, a donation of a couple thousand colones to this beautiful Cathedral may be just enough to tip the balance in your favor.

The Metropolitan Cathedral is well worth a visit, and it is an important feature of life in Downtown San José. It is all part of The Real San José. The Metropolitan Cathedral is located on Calle Central, between Avenida 2 and Avenida 4. Its doors are open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Michael Miller is the author of the first and only guide book that focuses on Downtown San Jose, Costa Rica, titled The Real San Jose. An electronic version ofThe Real San Jose is available at Amazon/Kindle. To access it, click here.

You can see additional stories that Michael has written about Downtown San Jose at his website:  http://www.therealsanjose.com

[piratestargazer]

Art that has been part of a country’s history is something that catches my interest. It gives me an idea of how their people lived in the past through art pieces. I have already mentioned that I love art. I was so excited when I found out that I would be able to visit and marvel at some of the exhibits of the National Museum of the Philippines.

This is actually a two-part blog series. The first installment is about the National Museum of Fine Arts. The other one would tackle about it’s adjacent building, the National Museum of Anthropology.

National Museum of Fine Arts

This branch of the National Museum of the Philippines was formerly called as the National Art Gallery. Its primary goal is to preserve and protect the Philippine’s cultural treasures; and to preserve their legacies for the future generations. The museum houses artworks of different forms dating from the 18th century to the late 21st century.

The Building and Its Interiors

The structure is called the Old Legislative Building. The creation of the building began in 1918 and was planned to be used as a public library. Due to funds shortage, the construction was paused.Then it was resumed so that it can be used by the bicameral congress during its early days. Later on, the Philippine Senate used it before it was turned into a museum. It possesses a neo-classical architecture. Personally, I love the beautiful style of the building and its interiors; but somehow it gave off an eerie vibe.

Warning: It’s a pretty big building. If you want to the get most of your visit, make sure you have a lot of time. Wear comfy shoes because you will walk a lot. Don’t go on an empty stomach. You might get dizzy and end up fainting from all of the walking! 

The statues above the cornice looked like they are staring at passers by.

This is a beautiful spiral staircase!

Elevator directory

There are a total of four floors. Visitors are not allowed to enter the 1st floor. It is where the offices and storage rooms are located. When we visited, some rooms were closed due to renovation.

The Exhibitions

Level 2: House Floor

Old House of Representatives Session Hall

Untitled (Diwata) by Guillermo Tolentino

Upon entering, you will be greeted by this beautiful mortuary statue created by Guillermo Tolentino.

Spolarium by Juan Luna

El Asesinato del Gobernador Bustamante by Félix Resurrección-Hidalgo

Once inside, you will find the famous large paintings done by Juan Luna’s and Félix Resurrección-Hidalgo.

Religious Art

Retablo from the Church of San Nicolas de Tolentino in Dimiao, Bohol.

Retablo from the Church of San Nicolas de Tolentino in Dimiao, Bohol.

Academic and Romantic Art

Academic and Neoclassical Sculpture

Tribute to the Philippines’ national hero, Jose Rizal

Mother’s Revenge

Jose Rizal

Classical Art

Portrait of a Lady by Fernando Amorsolo (The piece he was working on before he died)

World War II Depiction/Bataan Death March

Warning: In the museum’s Gallery, you might find some pieces disturbing.

Drawings of Fernando Amorsolo (The first National Artist of the Philippines)

Guillermo Tolentino Sculptures

Level 3: Senate Floor

Modern Philippine Art

Artists’ Memorabilia

Level 4: Executive Floor

The elevator won’t take you to this floor, so you can just ride up to the 3rd floor and use the staircase.

Mañosa: Beyond Architecture

The exhibition is only here from February 12, 2017 to May 12, 2017. It features the life and works of architect Francisco ‘Bobby’ Mañosa. He is famous for his Filipino-inspired designs. He notable for incorporating indigenous designs in his works.

I am from Davao City and Pearl Farm is a famous resort there. I didn’t know that he’s the person behind the beautiful designs of the resort until I saw his exhibits.

Aside from buildings, he also designs furniture and toys.

That’s the end of the virtual tour. My next post would be about the National Museum of Anthropology. What about you guys? What was the biggest museum you have visited? Did your feet get sore? Tell me all about it by commenting below.

National Museum of the Fine Arts Art that has been part of a country's history is something that catches my interest. It gives me an idea of how their people lived in the past through art pieces.

[bellaloona]

Neo City in San Jose Day 2 recap pt. 1/2

heyyo it’s the day after the concert i’m still trying to take in the fact that that experience really happened....it was a fantastic show, everyone looked awesome, and I was singing along to every song with the rest of the crowd bc it was a full house and we were HYPE AF!!!

I’m thinking i’ll just note my favorite parts of the show by going through the setlist and noting everything that stood out, with a few fancams, and then talk about the individual members

Got to the concert site at like 6pm and got banners for the fan project, which i’ll talk about again later 

the bus was there and the squad really wanted to take a pic but there was a local news station there filming something and they didn’t let us stand in front of it >:(

we were let in really quickly which was really neat, great staff

there’s merch stands when you first walk in and tbh everything was really pricey (tote bag-$30, lightstick-$50, t-shirts-$50, hoodie-$70), BUT each item came with the upcoming album (i think they gave you a postcard with a code so you’ll have to order and get it sent to you but you won’t have to pay again)

the auditorium was City National Civic in San Jose which has a really annoying ticketing website but other than that, it’s a really good auditorium. My friends and I were split into P3 and P5 on the balcony but all the seats up there are angled so that you can see the stage anywhere

we sat next to a a mom and her daughter! The fact that the mom bought tickets for her daughter and stayed and had a good time was really cute

someone had a watermelon-shaped sign asking Mark to prom and idk if he saw it but sis I hope it all worked out sdkjfghkd

they played mvs as people came in and we all screamed really loudly when winwin showed up :(

concert started at 8pm!!

I didn’t know they’d do cherry bomb in english but in retrospect i should have expected this lol, it was lit regardless and we all sang a lot! I loved the member’s dance solos!!

limitless was performed third and i kind of wish it was fully live instead of that half live, half screen thing they did but only because limitless is my favorite title track hehe

they popped off during chain!!

at think at this point doyoung was doing A Lot and I said something like “oh my god. he’s doing too much. I’m so mad. This is so upsetting” and someone in front of me turned around and gave me a look so I want to put out there that Doyoung is my bias wrecker and I’m not trying to be offensive when I talk about how mad he makes me, it’s just that I’m trying really hard to stay loyal to my bias and Doyoung is always testing my patience. It doesn’t mean I hate him when I say those things, it’s just. Stress.

They did their first ments and they all said things in english and it was obvious that it was scripted but i thought it was cute, thet all worked hard and had good pronunciation

I really like the choreo to fly away with me :( I’ve never seen it before but it’s really pretty and graceful

BACK 2 U THEIR BEST SONG I was truly blessed to hear Taeil’s high notes live even if the sound system wasn’t the most clear

The City 127/Angel/Jet Lag section was really nice, I liked their clear vocals and how cute they were interacting with each other (DoYu was cute!!)

Vocal unit songs, amazing, stellar, no wrong notes, magical!!!

Piano king Johnny doing Interlude. Yes

They all dramatically put on their jackets during Interlude too and I thought it was kind of funny but THEN

they did regular english version and everyone sang every word wow I can’t wait for nctzens to debut!!

The jungle gym thingy is so unique but also it made me kind of scared bc i was worried that they would fall or something but they pulled it off well

Baby Don’t Like It...It was a lot to take in. indeed.....i liked it

MAD CITY WHEN MARK AND TAEYONG PUT THEIR HEADS TOGETHER WOOOOOO

the 90s VCR followed by haechan/yuta/jungwoo dance break was quality entertaining content. I’m really happy these three got dance solos bc i always thought they were amazing dancers that didn’t get all the credit for it that i always felt they deserved

We raised our banners during good thing!!! and they saw, it was nice :)

Touch was another fun crowd-singing song

I liked the lightstick choreo that was going on with Replay (and later for 0 mile)! It was cool and interactive

They did ments after Simon Says and Johnny made us all do the wave and hit the whoa lol

Fire Truck was lit as always and I was kind of shook by jungwoo taking over winwin’s part, he did really well!!!

The encore section started with the MV for Highway to Heaven and listen....I’m getting this song as soon as it drops. superhuman slaps too but highway to heaven is EXACTLY my style and the vocals are amazing

They did more ments and DoTae said they went to Pier 39 in SF together and it made me kind of emo San Francisco is my hometown and I’m really glad they enjoyed it. :’)

somehow mark got our banner for the fan project and clowned us for the directions that said “hold this up during welcome to my playground” BRO YOU GUYS CUT IT OFF THE SETLIST and there wasn’t time to change it!!!

concert ended with 0 mile and more lightstick choreo! I didn’t have a lightstick but i played along anyway and it was fun!!!

concert ended at like...11pm and I got home at 1am and slept at 3 and woke up at noon therefore i’m still kind of dead but i don’t regret anything, that was one of the most fun nights of my life :’)