Category: Arts & Culture

  • 60th Annual Grammy Recap!

    60th Annual Grammy Recap!

    To those who produce music, it is a dream to be nominated for a Grammy. 2017 consisted of amazing new music from artists such as Lana Del Rey, Childish Gambino, Lorde and many more. On January 28th, the 60th Annual Grammys were held at Madison Square Garden, in New York City. The show wrestled with a range of social and political topics including immigration, racial injustice, and the #MeToo movement by many influencers of our time.

    Many remarkable moments happened throughout the show. Kendrick Lamar opened the show with U2 with his song “XXX,” as he raps about poverty and revenge. A #MeToo moment was brought into the spotlight by Kesha and many fellow female artists that attended that night standing behind her in this overwhelming, powerful, emotional movement. For those who aren’t aware, the #MeToo movement brings widespread awareness and prevalence to sexual assault and harassment in the workplace. The women in white performed “Praying,” a ballad off of her first studio album, “Rainbow.” Performances from Bruno Mars, Cardi B, Rihanna, SZA, and Sam Smith took the stage by storm, with hit singles released last year.

    The nominations this year among the musicians, rappers were going head to head in each of the category. For Bruno Mars, it was the highlight of his career thus far. An upbeat master of singalong bops, which also makes you want to groove with the move. Mr. Mars won all six of the awards he was nominated for, including the top prizes of: album, record, and song of the year. The provocative and critically admired rapper from Compton, CA, Kendrick Lamar, was the next most awarded artist whose five wins included awards from the rap categories. For those who didn’t go home with a Grammy in hand, it was an honor to be nominated, which clearly indicates how worthy and impactful their music was and still is in many lives.

  • What High Schoolers Are Really Wearing

    What High Schoolers Are Really Wearing

    Often, the clothing that a typical high schooler chooses to wear is a broader statement of their personality. Being able to personify oneself nonverbally is ideal for the antisocial community of teenagers that overwhelms a school campus. Thrifting has always been an extremely popular way to obtain fashionable clothing for Long Beach Poly kids. Being a student here myself, I can certainly say that about 70% of my closet is thrifted, consignment, or handed down to me. But whether the clothes were $2 or $200, what matters is the person wearing it. Are they comfortable? Do they approve of themselves? Do they care what other people think? Are they dressing that way for someone other than themselves?

    The featured kids above are a few members of the eclectic group of students at Poly high school. On the far left is senior, Clara Donovan, wearing a thrifted floor length floral dress with a black cardigan to cover up from the cold breeze that mocks the 80 degree winter weather we are having.  “Yeah! I look good today!” she exclaimed when I told her she’d be in the newspaper for a fashion article. Clara epitomizes the eclectic, unique teenager that Poly is known for.

    In the center photo, is Scott Volland, a PACE visionary, known for his classic and preppy style he skillfully exhibits everyday. Volland’s Fit of the Day contains a light knit sweater over a button up, collared shirt and beige corduroy pants concluded with some slip on shoes and a modish scarf.

    And finally, on the far right is the girls water polo player, Darby Huff who excitedly said, “Oh! Cool! It’ll be in the newspaper” in regards to my photographing her outfit. Huff is truly a woman of the water, and it’s shown in her notorious Hawaiian shirt, “finest pair of mom jeans you have ever seen,” and faded vans. Huff stated that she actually “got my shirt  in Greece during my month long club water polo trip. I was at a bar with my teammates and there was a band playing and some girl took her shirt off and threw it but it didn’t make it to the stage–only into my hands! I tried to give it back, but I couldn’t find her, so I just kept it!”

    Overall, these kiddos have a keen eye for fashion and know exactly how to style themselves.  In this modern age for recklessness through style, these are a few of the  special ones.

  • New Year, Same Me!

     

  • Horoscopes!

    Aries: Ares

    Taurus: Demeter

    Gemini: Hermes

    Cancer: Hera

    Leo: Apollo

    Virgo: Artemis

    Libra: Aphrodite

    Scorpio: Hades

    Sagittarius: Zeus

    Capricorn: Athena

    Aquarius: Poseidon

    Pisces: Hestia

  • Poly’s Got Jazz!

    On November 2, 2017, Long Beach Poly’s Jazz program performed their annual fall concert at Hughes middle school.

    The night began with a performance from a Jazz C. Junior, Maya Cheav played the piano for Jazz C. “The concert was great. You wouldn’t believe the amount of talent at this school,” said Cheav. Jazz C performed four songs: “Second Line,” “Avalon,” “Sugar Train,” and “Tenor Madness.”

    Next in line was Jazz B, performing “Cheesecake,” “Butterfat,” “Teach Me Tonight,” and “Smackdown.”

    “We performed four songs, all pretty different. Two swing, one funk, and one ballad,” said senior Blake Leigh, who played the piano for Jazz B. “I think that the band’s hard work really showed in our performance.”

    Jazz A2 was second to last to perform. Drummer, junior Marcelo Murillo played for Jazz A and commented, “I felt as though from the beginning of our first rehearsal of the tunes, we struggled as a group. Then overtime, through practicing as a group and on our own, we developed the songs and shaped the music in a way that sounded amazing. On the whole, the concert sounded great.”

    Jazz A2 performed the songs: “Hey That’s Nacho Cheese”, “Body and Soul”, and “I’ll Be Seeing You”.

    Jazz A closed out the event with more spectacular performances.  Senior Kyle Van Lant played the saxophone for Jazz A. “We played New Mambo, Count Bubba, Duck Ankles, Helen’s Heart, and the Trolley song, which Jacob Wolff arranged. I had a ton of fun; we really pulled through at the performance, as did all the other groups,” said Van Lant.

  • A “Broad” Understanding of Art

    Founded by philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad, Los Angeles is home to the renowned art museum named The Broad. The iconic museum features exhibits from all corners of the Earth. The most current being Yayoi Kusama’s infinity mirrors. A few very lucky Poly students and teachers have been able to visit this collection. The Broad is known for over 2,000 pieces of contemporary and postwar art pieces. Since opening in September 2015, The Broad has welcomed more than 1.6 million visitors.

    Poly’s only Art History teacher, Christine Tram, said The Broad is one of her favorite places to go in her free time.

    Christine Tram
    The photo above features one of Kusama’s Infinity Rooms titled Dot Obsession. This work was inspired by the Kusama’s visual transformation from Love to Polka Dots.

    The Broad museum is also home to one of today’s most famous contemporary artists: Jeff Koons. He is most well known for his Balloon Dog piece and his Rabbit artwork which is now on display at the Los Angeles museum.

    At  this particular museum, contemporary and pop art styles are extremely popular. Many are familiar with  the artist Barbara Krueger who addresses media and politics in their native tongue: tabloid, sensational, authoritative, and direct.

    The Broad is worth spending a day in LA with your closest art-loving pals.

  • Dancers En Pointe!

    Dancers En Pointe!

    Courtesy of Ashley Lopez

    On November 16, the Long Beach Poly dance program had their annual winter show. This year’s recital included various levels of performers such as PE 10, Dance 7-8 tech, and the Dance Team. Poly’s first hip-hop dance team, H2M, was also featured in the show and gave a great performance.

    According to dance instructor, Cynthia Negrete, the show was comprised of  “everything, all forms of dance.” The range of performance for the young girls ranged from lyrical and contemporary dances all the way to character dances and even to hip-hop and Bollywood.

    Senior Megan Villaverde stated that this show was different for her: “I was able to immerse myself in a different range of styles.”

    Villaverde was “really glad to work with new choreographers and their dances for the show.” After taking a long break from the spotlight, Villaverde was ecstatic to return to the stage with her fellow teammates and peers.

    Another Long Beach Poly senior, Adrianna Luna, is in her fourth year with the dance program. Luna said that she was “most excited to be the first event performing in Poly’s new auditorium.” Luna, who was featured in a jazz and contemporary piece, couldn’t wait to show “how hard we’ve been working on the final presentation.”

    Long Beach Poly’s new auditorium has been a long time coming– and the performing arts students were more than happy to jump back into the theater lifestyle.

    The hard work paid off in the end. All of the dancers experienced the rush of adrenaline when they were on the stage as well as off. An audience member, senior Natalie Hun, said, “I really liked the different styles of the show… I had a fun time cheering everyone on!”

  • ComplexCon Clambake*!

    Complexcon arrived to the downtown Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center during the weekend of November 4 and 5. Complexcon is a curated festival celebrating urban art and street wear.

    “I loved my time at Complexcon,” said Visalrich Sopha, a JUSTICE junior. “I enjoyed seeing everyone’s style and culture displayed in one concentrated area. I enjoyed seeing some of the artists that performed such as Smokepurpp, A$AP Ferg, and Ski Mask the Slump God.”

    Some famous influencers who showed up were Pharrell Williams, Takashi Murakami, Adrienne Ho, Pusha T, André 3000, and so many others. Although this event contained many stars, it was mostly packed with festival goers.

    “It was very crowded. People were yelling and eating and drinking. I had to wait at least 4 to 5 hours each line,” said Sopha. Many artists had meet and greets such as Takashi Murakami, who signed his art and personally greeted his fans. Despite the craze and masses of people, Complexcon was a great way for fans to get in touch with the contemporary influencers of street culture.

  • Hipp Ripp

    Comic by Brandon Hipp

  • Hidden Talent at Poly

    Jacqueline Garcia is one of Poly’s few signed models. She started modeling at a young age and has stuck with it ever since.

    Garcia got her start by “being in beauty pageants because of the glamour part of it.” She said it really helped her confidence grow and allowed her to get away from being shy. Garcia got her break as a model when she was fifteen.

    She entered and won a beauty pageant called Miss Covergirl and won “scholarship money as well as the cover of a magazine sponsored by Disney,” said Garcia. Thereafter, she had photographers and agencies lining up at her door step.

    Garcia’s love for modeling still remains strong to this day. “I love the creative side of it, especially now that I’ve gotten more comfortable to express my ideas to make shoots fit my personal style.”

    With the help of her modeling, Garcia has decided she wants to pursue a degree in marketing one day. “Modeling has helped me make connections through the industry and make any friendships with awesome people who all have interesting and vibrant personalities.”

    Garcia claims that modeling is not as easy as it appears to be. “You have to be very aware of every part of you as well as your environment. It also depends on the people that you get to work with, luckily I have never had a negative  experience with photographers or designers but I have heard my fair share of horror stories.”

    Garcia has effortlessly managed to balance her social life and her work life. She is excited to see what is in store for her future and is grateful for all the support she has had in pursuing modeling.

  • Horoscopes

    What the Signs Are Doing in the Middle of the Night 

    Aries: On Tumblr

    Taurus: Watching Anime

    Gemini: Playing Mario Kart

    Cancer: Sleeping

    Leo: Admiring themselves in the mirror

    Virgo: Redecorating their room

    Libra: Doing homework they should’ve done weeks ago

    Scorpio: Plotting revenge

    Sagittarius: Fantasizing

    Capricorn: Petting their cats

    Aquarius: Drawing

    Pisces: Dreaming

  • PAAL Students Under the STARS

    On October 26, PAAL had its second annual “Monsters Under the Stars” horror movie night. It took place on the PAAL campus, which is located on Long Beach Boulevard and 16th Street. The hosts of the event had mixed feelings concerning the overall turnout.

    “The night was successful,” said Marisol Ibanez, the Activities Director and a teacher from PAAL.

    “Roughly 75 students attended. That’s approximately 25% of the campus, which is really impressive. However, we only had about two students from the Poly campus show up, which is really disappointing, because we expected a larger Poly audience. ”

    The campus was lit up with orange and purple lights, and the movie was projected on an inflatable screen.

    “The design of the campus quad is like an outdoor amphitheatre, which creates these natural steps for people to sit and chill with blankets and pillows,” Ibanez said.

    PAAL students chose to screen 1408, which is about a father who loses his daughter and becomes a paranormal investigator who stays at a haunted hotel where no one can leave. Before the sun went down, scary short films were played before 1408  started rolling its tape.

    In comparison, “PSC is basically the ASB at PAAL,” Ibanez said.

    “PAAL has no formal representation on the Poly ASB. That’s why we are working together to support one another. Mr. Puth came to show his support for the event, and it was greatly appreciated. It takes a lot of resources to host an event, and we need Poly’s support to transition our events from events that foster a positive campus community and experience to events that generate income.”