Save the Date! January 2059
Time Capsule holds past and dreams for future. Ceremony celebrates civic involvement and promotes spirit of hope.
By Gloria Alvarez and Gloria Angelina Castillo, EGP Staff Writers
Once upon a time on a bright sunny day in the winter of 2009, nearly 200 people gathered in front of the East Los Angeles Civic Center near the County Hall to be a part of history. They were filled with hope and anticipation, and perhaps a little nostalgia, as they prepared to bury East Los Angeles’ first time capsule.
They did so with the full expectation that in 50 years, in the winter of 2059, East Los Angeles residents, who most likely were just children at the time of the ceremonial burial, would return to the site and open the time capsule vault — not only to look back in time, but also to see what dreams and hopes had been realized, and what work might still remain to be done.
Demonstrating the true sense of the collective spirit of the East Los Angeles community, civic leaders, long-time standing community figures, residents and children, gathered together for the 2008 Angel Awards Time Capsule Dedication Ceremony on Jan. 8. / Demostrando el verdadero sentido del espíritu colectivo de la comunidad del Este de Los Ángeles, líderes cívicos, figuras importantes, residentes y niños, se reunieron para la Ceremonia de Dedicación a la Capsula del Tiempo el ocho de enero. (Photos by / Fotos por Gloria Angelina Castillo and Martin Zamora)
The day was Jan. 8, and those gathered represented a cross section of the community. They included children, organizations, elected officials, media, businesses owners and workers, government agencies and local residents. They were young and old, and somewhere in between.
The ceremony, the work of the East Los Angeles Community Youth Center (ELACYC) and supported by a variety of sponsors, was kicked off by ELACYC Secretary/Treasurer Frank Villalobos, also of Barrio Planners, Inc.
Instructing the children in attendance to stand up and take a good look at the adults present, Villalobos half jokingly told the kids “none of these folks will be around” in 2059 when you return to open the capsule.
All the components of the time capsule were donated, Villalobos said, including the cost of the vault, excavation, the monument, glass and newspaper to be encased. The contents are all connected to the community in some way, and represent a snapshot in time, according to Villalobos, who came up with the idea for the project while working with the youth center that provides schooling and after school enrichment activities to the area’s lower-income children, some who were present at the ceremony.
“It is hard to promise a life to kids that is better than what the gangs offer them,” said Villalobos. Explaining the importance of the Center to the community. “ELACYC is safe…an island of hope.”
Villalobos praised Los Angeles County First District Supervisor Gloria Molina for her contributions to making the new Civic Center, the Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension and the new General Hospital tower a reality. Her hard work has brought about great changes in East L.A., Villalobos said.
But Molina said the accomplishments and improvements on the eastside were not hers alone. East Los Angeles has a history of civic involvement by individuals who have become empowered and who built coalitions to bring positive change, she said.
“These children will have the opportunity to open the time capsule… they will probably not remember all that happened…but hopefully the things they see around them are the same things we see today—a group of civic minded people who continue to think not only of the environment and the community, but if its going to be changing, that it continue changing in a positive way,” said Molina. “I think that is what this dedication is about, so many people around us everyday working together to create positive change…
“The time capsule will be a snapshot in time [but I’m] not sure if we’ll be able to capture the kind of beauty and collective civic-mindedness we have here. But hopefully, as it is opened up, it will be a reminder of what a positive time this was,” said Molina. “How everyone came together and wanted the best future for our children.”
Molina also expressed hope that in 50 years the light rail would not be full of graffiti and taken for granted.
The Gold Line Eastside Extension is scheduled to open this summer. Both planners and constructors have expressed hope that East Los Angeles will have less pollution from traffic as residents opt to get out of their cars and public transportation expands in the years to come.
Among the many people present were Navy Chief Officer David Jimenez and his wife Adela, their two children, Juan Diego, 1, and Lourdes, 6. Lourdes is one of the children from the youth center who wrote a letter to herself. The family said they will hold on to this edition of the newspaper and hope to read their daughter’s letter in 50 years.
“I’ll be here, what about you vieja,” said Chief Office Jimenez to his smiling wife.
A list of all the members of the Angel Awards Time Capsule Committee and the sponsors will be etched on the monument. This week’s EGP edition of the Eastside Sun will also be a visual part of the monument, to serve as a reminder to residents to open the time capsule in 2059.
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January 15, 2009 Copyright © 2012 Eastern Group Publications, Inc.
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