Fourth of July in Minneapolis

So, this is the second year I've experienced the Fourth of July in Minneapolis. Last year, Ernesto and I were invited to the lake in Stillwater, MN by our landlord and her partner who owns a sweet boat. So there we were - two Chican@s in uberwhitelandia knowing that the only reason we weren't being hassled was because we were with them. The fireworks display over the lake was really cool and, surprisingly, we had a lot of fun.

This year, we had a bbq with our Minneapolis gente (mostly grad students at U of M) and afterward, headed over to our local Powderhorn Park for the fireworks display we heard happens every year. I didn't know what to expect, but what I saw was... well, unexpected. Usually back home for the Fourth, we'll bbq and pop cuetes in the driveway/street. OR we would go to one of the five local military bases where you watch the fireworks display in all its glory. However, at Powderhorn Park, it seems these two practices were combined - as in it was a participatory fireworks event. Families secured their spot on the grass and proceeded to pop their own fireworks in anticipation of the larger fireworks show. Huh. Popping fireworks out in the open in the park? I've always thought that what made popping fireworks so fun was the feeling that you were doing something prohibited, against the law...you know, "bad." But no, there we were at the park, sitting in the grass with fireworks being lit within feet of us. :-.

Now for the most fascinating aspect of the event. I've never seen so many diverse people gathered in a public place for a U.S. holiday. There were hipsters, gentrifiers, working class peeps, people of color, immigrants (Somali and Latino, mostly). And I thought to myself, "This is how they celebrate the Fourth of July here. Like a community." It boggled my mind. I've never seen such a diverse display of "community." Like ever. But it was the Latino kids running around in the park with their friends/siblings that got me thinking. Many of these kids are children of immigrants. What an interesting childhood these kids have. Latino immigrant and Minneapolis culture melding, making this interesting mezcla of culturas - Latino, green, cosmopolitan, bicycling, neoliberal, cold-as-hell-in-the-winter...

Of course this is just my outside perspective, but I find it all pretty fascinating. More to come. Oh, and the fireworks were really cool, too.