“Haunted” houses of Union City

An oldie but goodie. In the spirit of Halloween, I’m reposting this video story I did few years ago. The story is about the most heavily Halloween-decorated houses in Union City, California. It was such a fun time filming this story, capturing the spooky decorations and interviewing the creative minds behind them. It was fun getting people’s reactions especially from the kids. I hope you enjoy watching the video as much as I did filming it. Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! Feliz Dia de los Muertos! Maligayang Araw ng mga Patay!

Chris and I recently attended a masquerade wedding shower. I had never checked out a masquerade party before nor a wedding “shower” so it was pretty rad to experience both on the same night.  And because I’m not really doing anything for Halloween, I’ll consider this photo taken at the masquerade my Halloween photo as well.  What about you? Do you have any plans for Halloween?

Happy Halloween! Feliz Dia de los Muertos! Maligayang Araw ng mga Patay! From Chris and I.

Two of the spookiest houses in Union City; Enter if you dare

(original post: Union City Patch.com)

Trick-or-treaters: Be afraid, be very afraid, because you are in for a thrill this year.

Filled with ghoulish decor, tombstones and sound effects, the front yard of the Gonzalez family home along Tulane Street catches the attention of everyone who passes by, especially the young ones.

“The smaller kids get really scared,” says Kristal Gonzalez, homeowner of the spooky house on Tulane Street.

Gonzales’ family also decorates for Christmas, but it’s not as fun as it is during Halloween–they can be more creative with being scary. She says her kids especially love to brainstorm and see their ideas come alive, or undead, so to speak.

Just a couple of blocks away from the Gonzales home, another house aims to give you a chill.

Along Colgate Drive, realistic-looking monsters hang, and crawl, on the Sanchez’s front yard. You’ll find a giant tarantula, an evil-looking clown and a zombie on the grass, among other creepy creatures.

Fernando Sanchez says he is not too fond of the decorations, not because they’re scary, but because he’s in charge of installing them.

“As long as my wife and kids are happy though, I don’t mind,” Sanchez says.

Colgate Drive is a popular area among trick-or-treaters because it’s close to James Logan High School. Most high school kids spread the word once they’ve seen the decorative houses in the neighborhood, Sanchez says.

I dared to check out both the Gonzales and Sanchez’s Halloween homes to give you a video tour. Click on the video above to see the full report.

 

 

Special Needs Residents showed, they too, can turn the party up

(original post: Union City Patch.com)

Dancing to the music of Usher, Lady Gaga and Rihanna, Tri-City residents with special needs showed they, too, can turn the party up.

They brought their good spirits and best costumes to the 5th Annual Halloween Social at the Ralph and Mary Ruggieri Senior Center on Oct. 22.

Along with dancing, guests also enjoyed food, refreshments and prizes. The highlight of the night was the costume competition, which consisted of three categories: scariest, funniest and best overall costume.

Green Oak Development Center, a day program for those with special needs, organized the social with the assistance of Union City Leisure Services and The ARC of Alameda.

Gina Rivera, executive director of Green Oak, said guests come from separate caring homes and seldom have an opportunity to interact with their peers. The Halloween social is a nice way to get them together to mingle and have a good time, she said.

Reporter Richgail Enriquez was at the Halloween social to learn more about the celebration.

Green Oak Development Center can be reached at 510-441-8300. It has two locations: The Main Campus at 2949 Whipple Road, Union City, CA, and the Cypress Campus at 2827 Whipple Road, Union City, CA. A third location is opening soon in San Jose.

Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in Fruitvale

I’ve always been familiar of Dia De Los Muertos. After all, we do have something similar in the Philippines, where families visit and camp out at cemeteries to commemorate their deceased loved ones. On the other hand, I had never been to a Dia De Los Muertos celebration and was always curious.

So without any hesitations, I headed to Fruitvale where a big festival was underway. While walking along Fruitvale streets, I noticed that almost every store front was in Spanish, and that almost every person I passed by, seems to be a Latino or Latina. I assumed the scenario was what would have been like if I was in Mexico. And as I roam this little Mexico, I heard something familiar. It was someone singing a Tagalog videoke song on top of his lungs! I laughed and shook my head. There I was surrounded by a Latino community to a soundtrack of a Tagalog love song. I love the Bay Area.

Anyway, once I’ve finally arrived at the event, I was half delighted, half disappointed. Well, disappointed because it was not entirely different from any other fairs I’ve been to. I saw booths and booths of people selling food, displays, and artwork. In other words, nothing too unusual.  But then again, I was also charmed because I saw some elaborate and fully decorated altars and countless skeleton displays that looked friendlier than the scarier Western version.

I scouted the place and the crowd seemed ethnically diverse, some were white, some latino, and few Asians. I double checked and scouted again (as I always do) and had not seen a Filipino, which made me regret not asking my sisters to go with me. In any case, everyone was friendly and the whole event was kid-friendly, except for one incident where cops arrested some young guys (I guess for something stupid).

Before the event concluded, several Aztecs performed a dance ritual, which was a sight to see to all spectators. I’m glad I brought my camera that also has a video option.

PLS CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO WATCH THE AZTEC DANCE

After the festival, I headed back to my car and saw a tea place, called “Urban Tea House”. Of course, I got giddy and excited because I absolutely love tea, and been looking for a tea place that has an urban ambiance.  After checking, I realized the place had closed down. I was bummed out because tea houses usually have a reputation of being snob, uptight, and not “hip” enough. Anyway, I hope I’ll stumble upon a place like that again- that’s still in business.

In any case, I had fun that day, and would totally come back next year, with my sisters.