The Murder of Daniel Sepeda - by N.L. Belardes
When I heard earlier today that there was not a death, but a murder at Downtown Joe's I was skeptical. A source revealed that it was interesting how a police officer would use such phrasing. What was going on in the music scene?
Tonight I learned more. As I pulled up to Downtown Joe's about an hour ago I noticed writing covered the windows. Before I read it I noticed an alter had been set up. Candles burned that were sure to last the night and into tomorrow. The candles honored a young man who had tragically died the night before just after a fight. He had been choked to death by bouncers who had gotten out of hand.
An SUV soon pulled up. "What are you doing over there? What are you reporting?" came a voice. This was the voice of a young man who had just lost a brother. We discussed what happened: a bar fight; Daniel was a big guy, likely difficult to subdue; bouncers had definitley stepped over the line 'choking out' Daniel past the point of unconsciousness.
"I stopped going there 14 months ago because they choked me out. They need to hire bouncers that know what they're doing, and who respect the customers," the man said.
The tragedy felt is in the scrawled words...
As an artist and Latino myself I can empathize with respect. We talked some more. We shook hands. I shared in his grief, with the grief of everyone in the SUV. Thoughts of my cousin, a Latino punker walking the streets of San Jose, his life taken at too young of an age came back to me.
Soon another car stopped. A young lady got out, walked to the candles--her dia de los muertos for young Daniel. She sobbed and soon left. Everyone around felt her emptiness.
I walked over to Rileys, talked to a few hip-hop youth and drank a cider. A young lady said, "You took a good picture." I soon saw a security truck pull up. The officer came out, talked as a skater passed by. He wandered around the painted windows and hovered, himself not too unlike the ghost of Daniel...
What did Bakersfield.com have to say?
Tonight I learned more. As I pulled up to Downtown Joe's about an hour ago I noticed writing covered the windows. Before I read it I noticed an alter had been set up. Candles burned that were sure to last the night and into tomorrow. The candles honored a young man who had tragically died the night before just after a fight. He had been choked to death by bouncers who had gotten out of hand.
An SUV soon pulled up. "What are you doing over there? What are you reporting?" came a voice. This was the voice of a young man who had just lost a brother. We discussed what happened: a bar fight; Daniel was a big guy, likely difficult to subdue; bouncers had definitley stepped over the line 'choking out' Daniel past the point of unconsciousness.
"I stopped going there 14 months ago because they choked me out. They need to hire bouncers that know what they're doing, and who respect the customers," the man said.
The tragedy felt is in the scrawled words...
As an artist and Latino myself I can empathize with respect. We talked some more. We shook hands. I shared in his grief, with the grief of everyone in the SUV. Thoughts of my cousin, a Latino punker walking the streets of San Jose, his life taken at too young of an age came back to me.
Soon another car stopped. A young lady got out, walked to the candles--her dia de los muertos for young Daniel. She sobbed and soon left. Everyone around felt her emptiness.
I walked over to Rileys, talked to a few hip-hop youth and drank a cider. A young lady said, "You took a good picture." I soon saw a security truck pull up. The officer came out, talked as a skater passed by. He wandered around the painted windows and hovered, himself not too unlike the ghost of Daniel...
What did Bakersfield.com have to say?
This entry was posted by N.L. Belardes, on
Sunday, April 10, 2005.
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