A quick observation of Pasadena's Old Town on a Saturday evening reveals crowds with still-disposable incomes huddled inside the
Many Angelenos have the economic means to get desensitized while denying the opportunity of refining the senses through the symphony,
One needs only to look at
The Dutch humanist and scholar Desiderius Erasmus once remarked, "When I get a little money, I buy books; and if any is left, I buy food and clothes." Unfortunately, in Los Angeles, this proverb exists in the reverse. Citizens first shell out money for dinners, libation or a fetching new outfit, with nothing left for the "Grapes of Wrath" (an opera now canceled by Opera Pacific) or the holiday concert at the Pasadena Symphony.
The arts crisis in Los Angeles is not a reflection of the economy; it is a reflection of ourselves, our desires to feed our bodies at the expense of nourishing our souls.
Leticia Marie Sanchez is the founder of Cultural Cocktail Hour, a guide to L.A.'s arts scene.