New Santa Ana | Category Archives: Arts and Culture

The DTSA artists should have supported Newsong’s attempt to buy the Santora

Hindsight, as they say, is 20/20. Who knew that the attempt by Irvine’s Newsong Church to buy the historic Downtown Santa Ana Santora Arts Building was something artists should have supported? At the time the artists flipped out. But now the screws are being put to them by Jack Jakosky, the wealthy Newport Beach resident and businessman who ended up buying the Santora. Jakosky has in just a few weeks whitewashed a mural and now he is beginning to evict the artists.

What about Newsong? Well when I saw that their pastor, Dave Gibbons, really wanted to minister in our city I put him in touch with my minister, Andy Quient, at Santa Ana’s historic First Baptist Church, which was headed for bankruptcy. Newsong ended up buying First Baptist and what a relief that has been! They quickly started remodeling, fixing the landscape and they upgraded the sound system. Good times are back at First Baptist! I think however, in retrospect, that they would have done the same thing at the Santora. And they would not have evicted the artists. Continue reading→

Bittersweet Santa Ana Art Walk set for tonight in reeling DTSA

Posted on February 1, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Arts and Culture, Entertainment, Santa Ana 8 Comments

Tonight’s Santa Ana Art Walk will be a bittersweet one. Downtown Santa Ana (DTSA) is still reeling from the brutal murder of Kim Pham outside of the now-closed down The Crosby. And the Memphis at the Santora has announced that they are closing down as well, to be replaced by a “High End Mexican Restaurant.” The darkest news is that Jack Jakosky, the owner of the Santora building, has begun to evict his artists, after whitewashing the Santora Mural.

Dark times indeed. But if you are venturing out to DTSA tonight, here is a rundown of what is happening: Continue reading→

Celebrate the Lunar New Year at the MainPlace Mall on Sunday, Feb. 2

Posted on February 1, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Arts and Culture, Entertainment, Santa Ana, Vietnamese Leave a comment

Westfield MainPlace will ring in the Year of the Horse with its first annual Lunar New Year celebration on Sunday, Feb. 2nd at 1 pm.

Join them for a complimentary event that includes a special Lion Dance that will travel through the mall, to usher in good luck and good fortune to all the shoppers and stores.

Center Court (in front of Nordstrom) will be decked out with colorful décor, and serve as center stage for the festivities. Additional activities include traditional dance performances for the New Year, and photo opportunities with the Lion. Special zodiac panels will also be on hand to discover your sign, and the unique traits that define it. Continue reading→

DTSA imploding as restaurants close and artists are evicted

Posted on January 30, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Alcohol, Arts and Culture, Bars, Crime, Santa Ana 28 Comments

The party is over at The Crosby

The hipsters and gentrifiers are trying to argue that all is well in Downtown Santa Ana, in the wake of the brutal murder of Kim Pham, who was literally kicked in the head until she went into a coma, in front of The Crosby, a bar/restaurant. She later died in the hospital.

The Crosby is done. According to the OC Weekly they are not going to reopen. And the Memphis at the Santora is also done. They will apparently be replaced by a “High End Mexican Restaurant,” whatever the heck that is. Imagine the limo liberals from Irvine and Long Beach holding Drinking Liberally in a Mexican restaurant! LOL!

And Jack Jakosky, the owner of the Santora building served eviction notices yesterday on the Studio del Sotano and the Green Door Gallery, weeks after whitewashing a mural at the Santora and painting over the Studio del Sotano’s marquee. Continue reading→

No Brow, the Otero Collection, at the Ka Boom Toy Gallery tonight

Posted on January 18, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Arts and Culture, Entertainment, music, Santa Ana Leave a comment

No Brow, the Otero Collection, goes on display tonight, January 18, 2014, from 7 pm to 10 pm, at the Ka Boom Art Toy Gallery, located at 653 N. Poinsettia St., in Santa Ana.

The exhibition features art by DB, XNO, Big Daddy Roth, Reno Roth, Walter and Margaret Keane, a collection of vintage sad eye art… and a display by the Original Punk Rock Museum, with vintage toys courtesy of Ka boom! with a performance by DRAGONSOUNDZ … Continue reading→

Rebel Diaz at El Centro Cultural de Mexico on Jan. 17

Posted on January 16, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Arts and Culture, Entertainment, Latinos, mexico, music, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Fronted by MC’s Rodstarz, and MC/Producer G1, Rebel Diaz shows us the true global power of Hip-Hop. After first performing at an immigrant rights march in New York City in 2006 in front of a half million people, the bilingual crew has taken the international community by storm with their explosive live shows.

And here they are in Santa Ana, California at our very own El Centro Cultural de Mexico! Continue reading→

Past mayoral candidate doesn’t think graffiti can also be a form of art

Posted on January 13, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Arts and Culture, Graffiti, Santa Ana, Thomas Gordon 6 Comments

Former Santa Ana mayoral candidate Thomas Gordon really hates graffiti but can graffiti also be a form of artwork? Gordon is upset because artists are using the Blue Lot, in Downtown Santa Ana, to practice graffiti style art. Here is an email he sent to the folks at the Santa Ana Citizens Yahoogroup on the subject:

Have any of you seen the Blue Lot located at the corner of First & Bush?

It’s a spot for fans of graffiti to practice their “art” that eventually winds up costing Santa Ana taxpayers millions a year to clean up city wide.
A recent OC Register story stated “Santa Ana budgets nearly $2.4 million for graffiti abatement – twice as much as it spends to improve parks where children play.” That’s shameful. Continue reading→

Rebranded Big Draw set for Jan. 8 at The Copper Door, in DTSA

Posted on January 5, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Alcohol, Arts and Culture, Bars, Entertainment, music, Santa Ana 1 Comment

The Copper Door is hosting a rebranded Big Draw for the new year on Wednesday, January 8, 2014, at 8 pm.

They are inviting all of their 2013 artists back, and replacing the scribble slam with live jazz combo music. Beer, Art, and Music combine again as they start the New Year right. Here’s what you can see on January 8th at The Copper Door: Continue reading→

Santa Ana Underground Open Mic set for Jan. 9 at Arte de la Tierra

Posted on January 5, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Arts and Culture, Entertainment, music, Poetry, Santa Ana Leave a comment

An Open Mic hosted by Theo Hirsch is set for Thursday, January 9, 2014, at Arte de la Tierra. Sign up at 9pm.

BYOB. Donations appreciated. Drinks to be provided, donations appreciated. This is true, unadulterated, to the heart, uncensored, what open mic was meant to be! A PA system will be provided with 2 mics and 2 plug ins. Continue reading→

Celebrate La Rosca de Reyes in Santa Ana on Monday, Jan. 6

Posted on January 5, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Arts and Culture, Entertainment, Food, Latinos, mexico, music, Santa Ana Leave a comment

There are two Rosca de Reyes events scheduled this week in Santa Ana. One of them is set for this Monday, January 6, 2014, at 6 pm at 602 E. 4th St. in Downtown Santa Ana. If you would like more info click here or contact Juan Godoy – -714/351-2579, Yosef Macias –714/791-2529, or Richard Lazarit-714/561-9048.

Los 32 por Mexico Orange County is also presenting their annual Rosca de Reyes event, on January 6, 2014, from 6 to 9 pm, at Restaurant Mexicanísimo, which is owned by Mike Gonzalez and located at 2323 W. First Street Santa Ana, CA 92703 at 6 pm. Click here to RSVP on Facebook. The event will feature music, a special presentation, Rosca de Reyes cake and toys for the kids. Continue reading→

Jakosky once paid for murals based on Newport Beach, for a public school

Posted on January 5, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Arts and Culture, Jack Jakosky, Newport Beach, Santa Ana 4 Comments

The Santora Mural may be gone but last night, during the Artists Village Art Walk, artists and supporters gathered to pay homage to the artwork, which was whitewashed by the new owner of the Santora building, Jack Jakosky.

The artists cleverly set up a projector to recreate the image of the destroyed mural, on the now white wall. Someone set up a picture of famed Indian leader and freedom fighter Mahatma Ghandi. Continue reading→

Santora Community Mural homage this Saturday during the Art Walk

Posted on January 4, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Arts and Culture, Entertainment, Santa Ana 31 Comments

What the Santora Mural looked like before it was destroyed

A couple of resident Santora Artists will be paying homage to the Santora Community Mural that was whitewashed over the holidays this Saturday, January 4, 2014, at 7:30 pm, during the monthly Artists Village Art Walk.

Bring photos, flowers, new creations and our Unity to celebrate the artists of the village!

Supporters are also working on an performance art piece for Saturday around the issue of the Mural. If you would like to be involved..contact Alicia Rojas or Matt Southgate. Continue reading→

DTSA artist hits back at the Santora building’s owner, who destroyed a mural

Posted on December 31, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Arts and Culture, Santa Ana 27 Comments

Jack Jakoffcity won’t stop ejaculating all over Santa Ana

By: Theo Hirsch

The new owner of the Santora and Ramona building of DTSA, Jack Jakoffcity (Jack Jakosky), destroyed the best open mic in southern California. We had a weekly gig going on downstairs. It was an event that began attracting some amazing talent, talent that you rarely see in Orange County. The buzz on the street was attracting all kinds of amazing artists from multiple walks of life. We had stage performers, (one girl even swallowed a sword), clowns, actors, poets, pop singers with those digital music maker boxes, acoustic performers of all kinds, comedians, full bands, poets, and some amazing community going on downstairs. But when Jakoffcity and his Girlfriend came to visit our open mic a couple or three months ago, he was not going to have it, although he pretended like he was ok with it at first. And his girlfriend was like, “Oh, this is really nice, we really like this”. Like you have any of the say, yeah right. In fact, when I asked Mr. Jakoffcity if she was his wife, he gave me that immediate response: Like, no way in hell I would ever get married, “that’s my girlfriend”, he said. I am sure a man like that shares as little of his money as possible, the last thing he would do is risk his estate with some woman in a marriage contract. Continue reading→

Updated: The new Santora building owner paints over a mural and a gallery

Posted on December 28, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Arts and Culture, Santa Ana 39 Comments

This is where the Santora mural used to be

When Newport Beach resident Jack Jakosky bought the Santora building, in October of this year, he told the Voice of OC that “I want to increase the number of art-related tenants,” Jakosky said. “It needs to go back to its roots, frankly, and that’s my objective.”

“I think Jack is genuinely interested in using the Santora to support the arts in Santa Ana,” said Mike McGee, director of the Cal State Fullerton Begovich Gallery and a founder of the Grand Central Art Center. “I think he sees the Santora as an opportunity to use his knowledge about commercial properties and give back to the community at the same time,” according to the O.C. Register.

But tonight I found out that Jakosky has painted over a mural in the Santora basement that was painted by several artists including Matt Southgate and Alicia Rojas. He also painted over the storefront of the Studio del Sotano, which is run by Southgate. Continue reading→

The Tet Festival is heading to the OC Fairgrounds in 2014

Posted on December 27, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Arts and Culture, Asians, Costa Mesa, Garden Grove, Santa Ana, Vietnamese Leave a comment

CONTACT: Nina Tran, President, Mobile: 714-494-6999, Email: Nina.Tran@uvsa.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UVSA HOSTS TẾT FESTIVAL 2014 AT OC FAIR AND EVENT CENTER

Garden Grove, CA (December 26, 2013) – For over thirty (30) years, the UVSA Tết Festival otherwise known as “Hội Tết Sinh Viên” or “Lunar New Year Festival” has become an annual tradition for the Vietnamese community in Southern California. Over time, the event has attracted thousands of visitors from all around the world and has provided an opportunity for people to come together and celebrate new beginnings. The Union of the Vietnamese Student Associations Southern California proudly announces that the Tết Festival 2014 will be hosted at the OC Fair and Event Center (88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa, CA) from Friday, February 7th to Sunday, February 9th. Continue reading→