sowebo festival

after spending the morning hours at sid and sylvia's apartment, amy and i ventured over to our all-time favorite street festival.

what makes it so fantastic, is the intimate "realness" of it all. it takes place in a section of southwest baltimore that has style, soul, and yet faces great challenges. the neighborhood is home to the oldest market in baltimore, which opened in 1836. There is a strong undercurrent of the 19th century architecture amongst the homes and business fronts throughout the area. Nonetheless, the facades give way to the barron, derelict, entombed reality which has plagued the neighborhood for decades.

yet that soul is strong and alive, and thirsty for a renaissance. the festival brings together the diverse activists and artists of the area to celebrate the effort that is being made there. it is a far cry from the cookie-cutter gentrification we are all too familiar with, but actually a living, breathing community walking on its own two legs, however bruised and scathed. it is an example of how a multi-cultural, multi-lingual, multi-ethnic can begin to work together toward reestablishing itself.

it is a day like this that reminds me what a unique and beautiful place baltimore is. a city which is more or less self-governed and self-operating. a city supported on its own two legs, however bruised and scathed, by a large population of people who are pushing with all their might to correct our path. to move us forward. to make us whole again.