Hawthorne Press Tribune
The Weekly Newspaper of Hawthorne
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 62, No. 36 - September 3, 2020
Hawthorne/Lennox Rotaract
Member Spotlight - Gabriel Biren
Gabriel, Community Service Chair 2020-2021, is a former Interactor from St. Bernard High School and graduated in 2014. He graduated from UCLA in 2019 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science. While attending as an undergrad, he was a part of the UCLA Rotaract
Club before moving on to Hawthorne/Lennox. As part of a continuation program at UCLA’s School of Engineering, he is now pursuing his Master’s Degree in the same field and plans to complete it by Winter Quarter of 2021. Gabriel has interned with major companies such
as Northrop Grumman, Intel, Raytheon, and Google. Photo courtesy Hawthorne/Lennox Rotaract Club.
Experienced Construction Trial Attorney
Helping homeowners get projects completed.
Helping contractors get paid.
Ryan@Baldino.Law (310) 300-1511
Hawthorne Happenings
Upcoming Young Artists of 2020
By Samantha Schmidt
Intro
Hello Hawthorne! Just like many of you,
I enjoy art - music, graphics, photographs,
paintings, etc. I love finding new local bands
and musicians who are attempting to make
it to the music industry and following their
work. However, because of the spread of
COVID-19 throughout many of our communities,
many artists, such as photographers
and creators have been hit especially hard.
This is because many of them rely on ticket
sales from local festivals and swap meets
in order to support themselves. Because of
this, you may want to find ways to support
local artists. I picked two of my favorite
personal creators and asked them a series
of short questions. I am sharing these two
specifically since I feel that you may enjoy
their work the way I do.
South Bay’s Artists
The first artist I will introduce to you is a
19 year old, Hawthorne based, Latina shoe
artist/designer Myah Alvarado. She’s locally
known as the founder of “Papaya Customs.”
With just her markers and old pair of Vans,
Alvarado was able to build her artwork and
become seen as a well-known artist in her
community.
“I always loved art”, Alvarado says, “but
I didn’t take my art serious until my senior
year in high school. I had an art teacher
named Mr. Jennings who was an amazing
art teacher. One day, he gave the class a
shoe template to design and I instantly fell
in love with putting designs on shoes.” After
this project, Alvarado grabbed her own pair
of Vans and started customizing them herself.
She claims that throughout her creative
journey, her family and friends became her
biggest support and pushed her to start her
own business. “What’s your favorite thing
about pursuing this business?” I asked her.
Alvarado with joy says, “It’s surreal to see
someone wearing something I made. It’s a
feeling I can never get over.”
With only a paintbrush, an old or new pair
of Nike Air Force 1 shoes (or Converse shoes),
she was able to build a community of 1,300
followers on Instagram! She hopes to one
day open her own store where she can sell
her shoes. Towards the end of the interview
I asked “What advice do you give to those
who want to start a business like yours?”
Alvarado advises “To anyone who wants to
start a business like mine, is to be patient
with their artwork, not compare your work
to others, and to push yourself to be better.”
The second artists I interviewed is South
Bay’s local creator Karina Tran. This interview
lasted approximately 45 minutes.
At only 20 years old, Karina was able to
grow her platform throughout all of social
media, going from 100 followers to now
being sponsored by companies using only
her camera and creative mind!
“What’s your name and what type of art
do you do?” I asked. Tran responds, “My
name is Karina Tran and I’m a creator, with
my forte being portrait photography.” At just
13 years old, she realized she was blessed
with a talent when she got a chrome blue
Huber’s Hiccups
News for the City of Good
Neighbors from an Old Guy
named Norb Huber
Labor Day
Back in the day when things were
more normal, the end of summer
was marked by a holiday weekend
named Labor Day. It signaled to
Americans that it was time to get
back to school and work. Fall was
on its way. Football would be starting, days
would be getting shorter, and families would
be settling into there regular Fall routines.
But, these are new times. Nothing is normal.
Things are changing fast. We can’t be accused
of being “set in our ways” any longer. Our
traditions have been shaken. Some of this
change has been good. Families have had
more time together rather than rushing around
to piano lessons, soccer practices, yoga, and
grabbing a Chick-fil-A sandwich to eat in
the car on the way home. All of this change
is also causing a lot of us some anxiety. A
recent survey of Californians showed that
41% of us are anxious or have some gloomy
moods due to the virus related lockdowns.
This would seem to be expected since we
have gone from go, go, go, to stay
home and chill. No bars to go have
a cold one at. No events to attend.
No indoor church services. No
indoor eateries. No barbershops
until this week. We’ve had a lot of
extra time on our hands. Some of
us are making more money on unemployment
than when we were in
the labor pool. It makes us wonder
about our self worth. There is a lot
to be said about working and feeling a sense
of pride in what we do. We look forward to
a future time when our economy is back up
and running and people are fully employed.
We can be thankful for any work that we
are given. What words of encouragement
can I offer you if you are in need of a lift,
a laugh, a chuckle, a smile? “This too will
pass.” “Have no anxiety about anything.”
“Relax, have a cold one.” “Keep your eyes
on Jesus.” “Count it all joy!” Romans 5:3-4
says: “Not only that, but we rejoice in our
sufferings, knowing that suffering produces
endurance, and endurance produces character,
and character produces hope” We all have to
deal with the pitch that has been thrown at us.
See Hawthorne Happenings, page 4
See Huber’s Hiccups, page 5