“Cumbia de la Cobra” leads me deeper into the protest. It’s a banger of the genre with a hypnotic, Middle Eastern-ish melody. I follow the cumbia rhythm through a throng of folks holding signs against ICE and war and Trump towards the sound of horns that are definitely being played live. I hit gridlock at the top of a set of stairs leading down to Broadway. Parked on the street that cuts between two levels of Gloria Molina Grand Park is the mobile People’s Stage, where Los Jornaleros del Norte are performing. The crowd, dancing on stairs and sidewalk, is large, but it’s only small fraction of the turnout for the downtown Los Angeles No Kings rally on this sunny Saturday afternoon in late March.
In the background I hear someone on a megaphone saying something about a big baby. I look up and see that the team of people maneuvering the President Poopypants— IDK if that’s really it’s name, but it should be— balloon is headed towards this makeshift dance floor. We scooch around as Trump’s diaper-clad behind floats above us, but the party continues.
(more…)