Kathleen Benjamin and Daniel Alonzo

00:00 Hi, my name is Kathleen Benjamin. I'm 62 years old. It is Friday, January 24th, 2020. We are in Santa Monica, California and I'm interviewing Daniel Alonzo my long-term school friend.

00:17 Look at me. My name is Daniel. Alonzo old friends. Call me Danny still I am 62 years old. Today is Friday, January 24th. 2020. Virginia Park in Santa Monica, California, and I am being interview with my longtime friend Kathleen Benjamin.

00:39 So I originally I'm from Mobile Alabama and I have a picture here that I'm showing Danny that is the only picture of me as a baby until I lived in Mobile Alabama for six years. And then we moved out here to 15th Street actually where Paul Revere lives which is the last house on 15th street before they put in the freeway here in Santa Monica and had a pretty funny fun childhood there. I mean, I don't remember like you have a phone and Danny has an amazing amazing memory. So you'll probably have some younger members than I do and then moved out here.

01:26 Lived in the small apartment and went to school at Will Rogers in the early years. I was raised by my grandmother and so I didn't go to kindergarten. But why started in first grade at Will Rogers where I later met you and Miss Williams class 1967 John Adams.

01:52 Samurai Sam Ojai and Santa Monica College and out in the world together buying artwork from the famous local artist.

02:02 So do you want to tell about your beginning? My name is I was born in Santa Monica. I was born in St. John's Hospital a little bit of his about the history of my family. My great-grandfather. Roberto Casillas came to Santa Monica In 1902 from a small town in the state of Jalisco Mexico known as it is why he came to 1902 like a lot of immigrant workers and he would go back and my grandmother was the youngest of twelve and he finally brought his family here to Santa Monica during the Mexican Revolution to my grandmother arrived her at 890-828-1918. And she was 11 years old. I have stories that when they came she remembers this in the train seeing the men hung from the trees this week during the revolution.

02:57 And they came here to Santa Monica and my fault my mother Ruth Casillas married, my father Rosendo Alonzo, and I was born my grandparents lived on 19th and Olympic and they was the original old house and then sometime and maybe the

03:20 Late 50s, they built a duplex in the back. So when my mother got married she was in the back duplex in my grandparents live in the front. So that's where I was raised. My parents bought their house on 17th off of Ocean Park. So we were on the other side of Pico. My father was a gardener and if that time that area was just working class white neighborhood for the workers that work at Douglas aircraft on Ocean Park.

03:51 And I went to St. Ann's School from 1st to 4th grade. And then I started Will Rogers and fifth grade in 1967. And that's where I met my longtime friend Kathy Benjamin and what you need to say about this is our friendship has remained pretty solid. It's not just on and off. It might be a. Of time where we don't actually speak but the the French cheapest is his continue to still continues to this day. I think it's pretty amazing like we were talking about yesterday the fact that I have so much appreciation in honor for Mexican American history, even though we never talked about that stuff. I don't remember talking to you about when you mentioned that it was like, you know, my my mother was very much an activist and she was very much involved in the Civil Rights and I felt I said Kathy that's out that you say that because I've always had like the same connection to two blocks and

04:51 They've been through and you know, what? What is the history and then it's cool. We were very close to do. I mean it's as children. We were innocent and we all got along there were no issues of the issues that kind of what you see today's times and it's interesting to our childhood. I don't I don't know if I would you call it shielded living in Santa Monica and having the freedom to you know, go to the park whenever you want to just walk on your own or take the trolley down at the beach or go swimming at the pool or you know, all that stuff, you know to go back some of my memories are I still remember when when they built the freeway they left two properties on 19th. My grandparents house was the first house next to the freeway. So I was probably very little I remember the houses that already been vacant in they were condemned that because this was at the end of the freeway the construction I remember is a little boy going to

05:51 Small houses Jax would it be and date just going through the doors were open and their people have left whatever junk day and want to take over and this was just before that. They were all knocked down to build the freeway. I do have memories when the freeway was up and running and you would be at the side of my grandmother's house and you could hear the zoom zoom. Nothing like constant zoom zoom. Why is this and hear this must be a play area and it was actually they asked and they had like the hills and kids would get like cardboard boxes and slide. Yes. Yes. Yes.

06:41 Crazy, I knew it was a different time. We grew up Kathy because it was just a different time in your childhood. You had the freedom chest tube to be a kid to be kind of somewhat independent. You know, we would I would walk to the boys club or do you know from your house from my house in Arizona and you know, and and there were times when my mom would give me money for the bus, but I would rather have that money to buy some snacks or something. So I would just walk in and you know going to Marine Park, you know, I lived on 17th up the hill from where I'm parking in the summer every kid in the neighborhood practically live. There is no problem no problems in and if that time The Parks at so many programs for the children of the neighborhood all the after-school program.

07:42 Will your girl scout or brownie? I was both what kids are doing growing up in Santa Monica now, but we had a ball and it was just a totally different different time. I remember playing in the graveyard that used to be a big did you ever go in there? There was a big pond with a bridge over a pond and I have memories as a kid my grandmother. I always thought Memorial Day was just a day to go visit the dead because that day we really did have a veterans or butyl people who were killed in the war and my grandmother always took us to visit her mother's grave and families Grace. I always thought it was just kind of like a a day remembering the Dead.

08:40 Yeah, I wish I could have seen some more your day of the dead stuff. You know, I know the thing to Growing Up in Santa Monica when a cuz we were talking about what brought your family here from Alabama to Santa Monica and what brought my family here to Santa Monica and it's a kid when they went to St. Ann's it was Saint Ann's was probably 95% Mexican and I always thought these kids were just Mexicans that live in Santa Monica and it hasn't been until later and then through Facebook that lot of those kids in those families were from like the same region the Nares and small towns in Mexico that my family's here that happened yesterday. You asked what took certain families to like it starts Mexicans to Santa Monica to East LA Valley. Yeah. Yeah, you know it was because he always knew someone a relative that had been there and that's where they decided to go. You think your parents you're around family.

09:40 Has brought property when they first came here or just came and just start work. One thing is my grandmother's brother is pretty young Cassius in his wife that he never could see us were the original owners of Casillas market and in Santa Monica's history Casillas Market no longer exist, but it was it was like the soul of the Mexican Community everybody they shopped there and it was on Olympic Community wait to get in there with all those candy counter. You go behind the cashier and it had that little box but you guys open it and you had all those candies in there, you know, so so that was just the neighborhood market. Where is there any other markets on that street at that time? Cuz I don't remember what they say.

10:40 Where they have the good candy and it was supposed to do growing up. Like I said where I lived I remember it was just a working class neighborhood and then probably like in the mid-80s cuz we live by Marine Park and all of a sudden you see all these Latina women and he's walking down the hill strollers with him like this was after I did my mural.

11:09 Also talked about your your life as an artist in Santa Monica and Hell, or I was up. I was always in order since I was a kid. I always Drew and I always painted and stuff and I started taking my first private lessons when I was in 8th grade and I did I had talent and then throughout School John Adams. So, you know, I was hit hard and that's why I was in high school and one of my first achievements that I did was I was seventeen. I was in my senior year at Samuell high and I remember it was a fifth grade class. I only have five periods and someone walks into the class and it'll back in that day when it wouldn't send someone would come in for Daniel Alonzo to the dean at once and everybody who you're in trouble, you know, and I kind of like I didn't do nothing wrong. I mean I was a normal kid, but I was too stupid to do to get in trouble and I ran down.

12:09 Down to the Dean's office and then the reset the secretary said are you Daniel? Alonzo is kind of nervously. She was they just called from Sacramento. You just want a contest and it was like first like what and then I remember I had entered a contest it was the California Bicentennial Medallion and she goes you won first place Chicago tell my teacher and she goes yeah, hurry up and I remember Kathy rain out of the office has remember the quad and the stamps going up to the history building. I felt like I was a gazelle like I was flying up and down the steps and through the gallery into my classroom. And I told my teacher her name was mrs. Oldman. I wanted to contact you start screaming and go back go back go back go back to the Dean's office. So when I got there the dean was there and he said congratulations. He sent me his office and then he

13:08 Got a new phone and made a phone call. He called Sacramento and that's when they told me that I had won first place and that's a pretty big deal.

13:18 I was so excited for you then. I remember that and I thought how I know someone who's an artist and he's famous but I still feel that way. So then when I was older, the next thing was this was probably sometime in the late 70s a friend of mine Gilbert Rodriguez at that time. He was in law school at UCLA. He was actually in my sister's braid said he knew about what the conscious that I'd would I design and there was a wall on 4th and Ocean Park Boulevard, and he was thinking, you know, it would be a great place for a mirror would I be interested?

13:52 And sure you know and that is where that idea came from. This was 78-77 actually and then at that time there was a it was a whole thing will how will you be paid for this and will let's see if you know we can work it out with cedar.

14:12 There were a lot of issues that came up and first they had me do a mural at Marine Park and I remember I don't want to do it cuz I felt that they were trying to pacify me a small space, you know, the space was given to Jane gold and in so I finally won the right to do the mural on Ocean Park. So that was the process and I got the right in 1982. This all went through like it was going on from like January of 1982 and it was like in April when I finally was awarded the space and I was aboard the space with no funding so I had about two to three months to try to raise some money.

15:04 And we raised I don't even remember like 3500 did you know that was just enough to get insurance buy scaffolding and you know by brushes in my pants. So I started July 8th of 1982 and at that time I was taking time off work to earn money. So I was there like 15 months but actual painting time I was there about a year jobs to do and then I was labeled as a difficult person. So the city hired a listen Vision Boston and she was able to find out that I was not a difficult person and she knew what was going on. So her children where Will Rogers and she said that the PTA and raise money and they wanted to hire me to take the children murals.

15:59 So I was working at Will Rogers like to three days a week working with the kids and they were like, oh, you know him I was like we never see him and I thought they couldn't have seen you do the mural. Yeah, I work there and I worked with Upper Grade mural in a lower grade at the school and every kid participated at you. No one in the mirror.

16:34 Yeah, well learn something new.

16:38 How about you Kathy? What are your memories of growing up in Santa Monica? I just remember it was like cozy really cozy safe. I remember walking just everywhere and it's interesting cuz I always thought that I would want to grow old in Santa Monica and be there with my 90's and what-have-you. However when I look at it now, it's like with the scooters and all that stuff has got to be hard as a senior to navigate to sidewalk. We never saw that type of traffic and stuff when we were here. So it was a quiet little Beach town. I remember riding the tram on the beach to Venice Beach for like fifty cents just riding back and forth and jumping on there and what we talked about buying snacks and I was just the mall. I mean every family rest of your working family, but you're a bunch of clothes for school. Are you the JCPenney's or Sears children's shop on Ocean Park called?

17:38 He was there for many years. My mom used to get a lot of our clothes are but basically Penney's or Sears in a

17:50 Who's in there really in the magic goose lay golden eggs, and it was like you get your shoes and then you put this coin in there. This thing comes down the store. Was it a prize or something or open inside? Yeah. I kind of remember something like that building. So yeah, so I just remember Santa Monica being really peaceful really fun. I remember learning to drive in Santa Monica remember during the holidays.

18:29 This was a time when the Lennon sisters from Venice was still kind of well-known in Santa Monica Lawrence Welk and it seemed like now Christmas everything do Christmas start in October but back then it was literally like it which are like on the 14th tent, you know two weeks before Christmas Day and I remember as a kid going to they had they would have the opening of the season and they would have the The Lennon Sisters singing on Ocean Avenue where they had the Nativity and shifts. Yeah. I know. It's just a different. It was a different time when if you were in the school system here, it was like everybody kind of knew everybody or or that someone so scared or that so and so's kid, you know, even with my nephew's if they remember one of my nephew's got in trouble and we got a phone call. You didn't see your kids.

19:23 Sprawled out on the ground being stopped by the police. You get a phone call plus also the police lived here.

19:29 I got stopped by the police one time coming down Pico, maybe 10 years ago, and I asked him. Where do you live? He said what are you talkin about police can't afford to live here and he got mad and I was like, oh, I forgot cuz normally, you know back in our day all the police lived here. Everybody knew everybody and matter fact, you could say I know someone so and this will work out or blah blah and just work it out, but I don't think now today's up in the police department is very many people that live in the city or between the fire and let him come pretty far.

20:12 What was it like living on the beach? Oh, yeah, so, you know one of the best gifts that ever happened to me when I was painting the mural was a rider came up and said, you know, she want to take me to lunch. Okay, you know time it pass and then she came by and we set up a date then. Okay, and then the day came when she says I'm going to take you to a friend of mine. Her name is a Laura Bryant. She knows you she was a teacher at Will Rogers and I remember her when I was working with the kids and she says she lives in the penthouse of the sea castle. So we arrive there and this was the old sea castle the sea castle was built as a hotel. Like I can't even think of a name with what it was but it would feel like in the 20s.

21:05 And Allura lived in one of the pan houses, so we had lunch and

21:12 This is kind of a time when I was almost finishing my mirror and my parents to know that they were supporting me when I was painting and I was ready to move out and I kind of got an apartment at this time. It was rain control and then she asked I'm looking for someone to sublease my apartment. She was going to go live with her boyfriend up north.

21:35 And she asked if I was interested in sure I had this it was on top of the seventh floor. They were two towers to Penn houses and every window at an ocean view bedroom bedroom window living room window had you right there in front of the ocean. My bedroom had a view of everything up north and my kitchen window had a view of everything South and I was there for 11 years a place to live. And yes.

22:16 And

22:19 January 17th, or was it 19th? 1994. The building was destroyed in the Northridge Earthquake crazy was one day. I was walking my dogs at the beach and they Sense and Sensibility new sea castle and I saw this guy we called it messing with the second floor and I said have you ever heard of Joan Baez? And he goes know who she is and I said she's a singer she used to live in that apartment cuz I had met her when I first moved in there and he said oh and then some gentleman that was rushing from biking started asking me some questions cuz I I said that I'd live there.

23:04 And then the guy in apartment comes on. He says diamonds and rust she's pretty good. And then I said hey, how much is your rent there? And this was a single a large single a turns around and ass and then he says 56

23:22 I said 5600. He said yes. I said I used to live in the penthouse and he says how much was your rent?

23:32 420 he says 4200 no 420.

23:39 That was sweet you and you went there once I'm done.

23:44 Animals kind of crazy as we both of us. We don't live here anymore cast was the first left before me about a years ago. Share your story very well. I was living in Santa Monica for all my life off and on 50 plus years beautiful ring controller not work until my mom had a beautiful rent control apartment with large giant bedrooms. They were so glad when she was out of there. I think she paid three bedroom large rooms with a patio like $800 for forever.

24:18 But I'm it's expensive to live in the area. I moved to Brentwood for a while. But for the same amount of money, I could buy a condo. I have a house and a pool, you know, really beautiful. So the bank for my book and it has the same weather in Santa Monica in Camarillo, but I still do all my volunteering here. I can't seem to get attached to where I am as much as Santa Monica and I have to say now that I'm retired it's easier to do community work and all that. I'm kind of glad in one way that I didn't do my business business here. I know Robbie was asking me if she was like, what are you doing here? And I said, well my business I do wherever the businesses because I work for the Rich and Famous basically high-end catering full-service Chef Staffing.

25:09 But I'm glad I did it that way cuz it was workout. Lovely. I did I wasn't trying to get city contracts or anything like that.

25:17 I think it all worked out and I'm glad to be back in the way that I am to be able to do community work and not want to be able to do community work for the sheer sake of doing it. I don't have to make a living here. So it's easy and a lot more fun in class. I'm retired. So what could be better than that? What about you but by leaving Kathy left about a year before me she called me and said that she bought this house what you know where we're at and she asked if I could come and do a little bit of work for and I did and kind if I was I wasn't exactly at that point, but I knew it was time for me to leave was also going to happen. So I left Santa Monica in April of 14.

26:08 And I had to move I move to Northridge. Hey, but what about that? Fabulous yard sale you had that was so awesome to me. You have that whole inventory, which I don't think you've ever had that much inventory since I was when I left and I wish I would have had these garage art sales Studio sales more before I left but the weekend before I left. I had a slash garage sale art sale and I soul I mean I needed the money cuz I bought a house and I sold more art than I'd ever sold in all my life people were coming and buying, you know multiple pieces and I'm in my art was cheaper than what it normally is, but still I got rid of so much art.

26:58 But when I left Santa Monica was very very difficult. You know, like my I still save my soul still here. I just I don't live here no more and I moved to Northridge. My sister's been in the Valley now. It's I know it's it was the right place for me to go but I've always loved Summers like in Santa Monica when those breezes in like late August would come when you knew fall was coming. I will get sad will now that I'm in the Valley.

27:29 The summers are so hot. I just can't wait for them to end.

27:35 And it'll be 6 years there in April and you know, sometimes I'm not just trying to be negative. But when you're from Santa Monica and you knew what it was like and you're no longer here, can you come here?

27:53 It is the traffic is just terrible. It is unbearable. Do you know to get a ticket from the beach to on Ocean Park up to have 26 words to Lanes? It could take forever and you know the whole thing of Psych, you know in the valley Santa Monica was I was uniquely its own food. They were not other communities. We're not like Santa Monica and

28:23 In the valley people choose

28:26 Put their junk in the front of the house. Hoping someone will pick it up and like when all the scooters and all that. I mean to me just look like when I would come here for work or come to walk Palisades Park and I would see all those scooters just thrown on the sidewalks. I mean to me that's what it look like his junk in the streets. It does look busy to me at this point. You know, I know all along that Santa Monica is a business but and that's tourism gone mad down there. What about those concerts that they have down there at the beach if they weren't they were actually very very nicely done. So out of hand and it was like about 2 years ago. I don't know who played but it was showing on the news and it literally look like when you see on those nature programs of swarms of am and this was they were all swarming right there by the Merry-Go-Round trying to get ya to the pier with the stage was and that's when the police if they can't handle that.

29:26 Crowds and they started making changes to the console on the top floor one of those parking structures and have a beautiful watch the you know, fireworks and all that. Did you ever just go to the beach or weekly by fire? You could buy fireworks at lucky market and we just be Bob Moffett your house and then when I lived in the beach Santa Monica still had the fireworks show at the beach. Fireworks show. They had the fireworks show at SMC always had theirs the Saturday before but for the July date, yeah, they had Works off the beach and then it got out of hand and then they changed it to Dawn. So I was still living at the beach so they decided to do this at 5 in the morning that yeah, and if you do from sitting here in Santa Monica, July 4th 5 in the morning.

30:26 You couldn't even see do you couldn't even see the fireworks can talk about when we were like young kids groovy are the concerts at the at the beach when they had that whatever show that was it. Did you ever go there or they used to have this show called groovy back in the hippie days and you go down there. You see this whole thing of that every Friday. It was every day they film and it was kind of like activities for teenagers San Diego and it was it was televised everyday at night.

31:07 All the fun things were in Santa Monica. That was big fun. When I look back now that looks like a bazillion years ago. And I looked at the bubble ride. And that looks like you would die on there with the little windows and that what was your favorite ride near thing? And I don't know what the ride was. He was like when in circles it up and down like the Aladdin. Yeah something and then it would had carpets Remember December flying carpet and then it went in reverse and then I remember the bubbles and that was kind of scary. Then there was the octopus. That was really good. Yeah, it would spin around here to go over in the water. Come back.

31:48 Yeah, I think I think the big beach was an attraction but all the activities that it brought the after-school Sports was fun all the games and fun that we had great teachers all my teachers were great. I think and I think it's at times out of the teachers lived in Santa Monica or lived very very close. So was all in her immunity and then you don't like my mom was here, you know, like loud times you were be friends and your mother. My mother would have remembered their mother or their father back in the day when they were kids and Sheridan family activities in that I've been as a kid with this picture. I'm showing a picture of my family reunions there were times were at an open house and my mom would meet her cousin and all of a sudden she tells me she's your cousin and he was some of that was a classmate and all of a sudden you're related. What is this picture from?

32:47 It's a marine pugliese have my mom's family is Casillas the whole back.

33:02 Would you guys have another family reunions now? Do you think somebody I used to organize those and it was so much work and then it just I just I did it for three years and it is just a lot of work. Well, I'm having one this year. I think you should come back. You can be like a very Union First lost cousin.

33:23 And I just want to say Kathy. I've known you all this on my life. I love you. I love you. You been a very very close friend and I'm glad that we are doing this today sharing our memories and it's just a proof of what our friendship is and how is it in during the still going strong?

33:43 How long we've been friends and how much emotional and pride we have for each other even though it's not something that was discussed or but it just goes to show you what could happen in the city inadvertently just from being here together and then to this day when I always say your name, I always say Kathy Benjamin. I know Daniel. How come you how was your sleep? Good your last name Atkins usually call you Kathy. Let you know what it's probably from roll call cuz that you have for me to shoot you always take Kathy Benjamin pay Daniel Alonzo, but much success to you same to you and see if we can do some projects in Santa Monica together. Sure.

34:34 Awesome