Hamiinat Magazine - Summer 2023

H amiinat

MAGAZINE OF THE SAN MANUEL BAND OF MISSION INDIANS

THE

Summer 2023

I am

the magazine of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. The title translates to “hello” in the Maara’yam (Serrano Indian) language, and that is just what we want to extend to you – a warm hello.

Serrano Indians are indigenous to the San Bernardino Mountains and valleys, as well as the High Desert regions of Southern California. The people of San Manuel are the Yuhaaviatam Clan of Serrano Indians, whose rich culture and history are reflected throughout this wonderful magazine. We are happy to offer you a glimpse into our Tribe, enterprises and our vision for our Tribe and community.

Our cover story is about one of the Tribe’s most culturally significant items: the gourd rattle. Through stunning images by renowned Native photographer Cara Romero, we understand how these rattles are more than just instruments that provide percussive rhythms to accompany our traditional birdsongs telling the story of our Tribe’s origin. These gourd rattles help the Serrano people strengthen their culture by staying connected to their ancestors and carrying our culture forward for the next generation.

We meet tribal citizens who have pursued their passions in music, design and art; we spend time with a San Manuel elder who shares how she seeks to uplift those around her; and we learn about a philanthropic effort to help a tribe in New Mexico preserve its culture by restoring its ancestral gathering places.

Finally, we showcase warm-weather styles as envisioned by several Indigenous designers and focus on the food, cocktails and experiences found at Yaamava’ and Palms Casino Resort: delicious fare, theaters that host our favorite artists and luxurious spas. We also talk to several team members, from the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas and Yaamava’ Resort & Casino at San Manuel, who share what they love about working at our resorts.

We thank you for being our guest and can’t wait to share our many new and exciting offerings, as well as our San Manuel tribal culture with you.

Chairwoman Lynn “Nay” Valbuena San Manuel Band of Mission Indians

delighted to share the Summer 2023 issue of Hamiinat,

TWO DESTINATIONS. ENDLESS REWARDS.

In welcoming Palms to the San Manuel Family, members like you can enjoy benefits and privileges at Palms and Yaamava Resort & Casino.

With one card, Club Serrano members can qualify for discounts and special resort offers just by playing their favorite slot or table games.

Visit any Club Serrano booth or yaamava.com/club-serrano to learn more.

6

COVER

Not just an instrument, but a way to preserve culture, the traditional gourd rattle connects the Serrano people to their ancestors and sacred traditions.

12

PERSPECTIVE

A tribal elder shares memories of the Reservation during her childhood as well as pivotal moments that helped her find her purpose.

16

NEXT GENERATION

As members of the Youth Committee work to revitalize their Native language, they serve as an inspiration to younger kids.

22

TRIBAL HIGHLIGHT

Meet a young woman who transformed selfdoubt into a burgeoning career as a singer and songwriter.

24

TRIBAL HIGHLIGHT

Enter a tribal citizen’s rock ‘n’ roll inspired children’s boutique in Beverly Hills and discover a curated collection for fashionminded kids.

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TRIBAL HIGHLIGHT

One tribal citizen applies his focus and creativity to a childhood passion and creates an amusement park ride destined to become a cult favorite.

Puyu’houpkcav

32

CULTURE

Take a peek at an event that connects tribal citizens with their ancestors as they celebrate the gifts of spring.

34

STYLE

Fully embrace the adventure of the season with fresh, colorful looks that embody the promise of summer.

44

PHILANTHROPY

By restoring traditional dwellings on its ancestral land, this New Mexico tribe is protecting its past and ensuring a strong future.

46

HELLO

A team member shares her professional and personal evolution during her career at Yaamava’.

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ACTION

One L.A. soccer club champions diversity and unites a city through the love of the game.

57 GATHER

Made by die-hard fans for die-hard fans, this new sports bar and food hall at Yaamava’ is the place to be on game day.

60

CREATING WELLNESS

Get access to luxury self-care with new offerings and atmospheres at these two spas.

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ON TREND

A curated collection of gifts and treats – all available at Yaamava’.

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SAVOR

From farm to fork…to glass: discover the best of seasonal produce in these vibrant vegetable -forward dishes and fruit-forward cocktails.

76

PROFILE

Meet the award-winning chef who is as known for his elevated Italian dishes as he is for creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere at his restaurants.

78

HELLO

Catch up with three team members who give a behind-the-scenes peek into what makes the atmosphere at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas so inviting.

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ENTERTAINMENT

The headliner is the draw, but the atmosphere in which you see them is what makes the experience. Discover two venues that amp up the excitement through cutting-edge offerings.

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RECIPE

A chef’s childhood favorite becomes an elegant start to a summer feast.

H amiinat

CONTRIBUTORS

Peter Arceo

Summer Barron

Elizabeth Brierty

Nicole Canfield

Yessenia Cervantes

Everton Clarke

Jacob Coin

Drew Dixon

Nicholas Duke

Christopher Fava

Andrea Ferguson

Darcy Gray

Celena Haas

Alberto Jasso

Omar Joya

Cosme Montenegro

Summer 2023

BUSINESS COMMITTEE

CHAIRWOMAN Lynn Valbuena

VICE CHAIRMAN Johnny Hernandez, Jr.

SECRETARY Audrey Martinez

TREASURER Latisha Prieto

MEMBER AT LARGE Laurena Bolden

MEMBER AT LARGE Ed Duro

MEMBER AT LARGE Karina Torres

Cynthia Kiser Murphey

Chelsea Marek

Jennifer Noble

Marcus O’Brien

Tina Ramos

Jared Rapier

Crystal Robinson-Wesley

Steven Robles

Ken Shoji

Erin Stremcha

An Tran Brandi Vega

Marc Vetri

Milla Voloshkina

Gwen Watts

Oliver Wolf

A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING:

Raven Casas

Sabrina Castaneda

Arrow Chandrasen

Malachi Ekel

Rico Jeffrey Garcia

Canyon Henry

Aiden Hernandez

Anabella Hernandez

Apathy Hernandez-Barrera

Audrey Hernandez

Gauge Hernandez

Nekoli Hernandez

Roman Hernandez

Sophia Hernandez

Uriah Hernandez

Butch Manzano

Ken Ramirez

James Ramos

Tom Ramos

Albert Rodriguez

Carla Rodriguez

Chloe Star

Thank you to the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and the entire tribal community for sharing their stories: past, present and future.

EDITORIAL

MANAGING EDITOR Laurena Bolden

MANAGING EDITOR Karina Torres

VP TRIBAL BRAND MARKETING Jessica Stops

TRIBAL BRAND MARKETING Julie Lopez

PUBLISHER Peter Gotfredson

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Lauren Clulow

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Jessica Villano

OUR HERITAGE

Pümia’ čakimiv: what we came with. The phrase describes our heritage, traditions, culture and all the songs, dances and special things our people have passed down over many generations.

In this section we explore the music and language of the Serrano people and see how tribal citizens are carrying on these vital cultural elements for generations to come. We meet a tribal elder who shares her history and hope for the future as well as three tribal citizens who are making their dreams realities by believing in themselves. Finally, we showcase warm-weather styles as envisioned by several Indigenous designers.

(puh-mee-ah chah-kee-meev)

The

Rhythm People of a

Tribal citizens pass on the tradition that brings ancestral songs to life.

BY MARIA MANUELA • PHOTOGRAPHY BY CARA ROMERO

When San Manuel tribal citizen, and California Assembly Member James Ramos sings bird songs, there is a cadence to his voice that resonates with something ancient and true. Like the waves meeting the sand on the beach or wind rustling through leaves on verdant trees, the song sounds like the earth. Ramos is telling a story, one handed down through generations of bird singers. A song about their people, the Yuhaaviatam.

James’ brother, and fellow bird singer, Tommy Ramos explained that whenever a bird singer sings their sacred songs, they have a rattle in hand. The traditional instrument is integral to the telling of these lyrical ancestral stories. “The rattles are sacred to us,” Tommy said. “It brings our songs to life. We use them for many years. That’s the respect we have for those rattles.”

Bird singers see their rattles akin to a living entity. “Every place I go and sing, the memories there carry with my rattle,” said James. “When I sing, I close my eyes and I remember growing up on the Reservation, I remember the teachings, all these things that make us who we are as Indian people. The songs that are sung are a remembrance of good, of sharing and teaching the culture. It also reminds me of the hard work that still lies ahead of us as California Indian people. It’s a rattle that we protect, it’s a rattle that carries a lot of emotion and memories.”

There has been a resurgence in bird songs because the members of the Tribe have dedicated time and

effort to learning the songs from elders and teaching them to tribal youth. The rattles are a symbol of devotion to preserving culture and language. Tribal citizen and bird singer Butch Manzano shared that when he sings and uses his rattle, “it draws me back to that connection to those who have come before us. It keeps that spirituality of thought and song.”

Created from a hollowed-out gourd filled with palm seeds and fitted with a handle traditionally made with willow or cottonwood branches, the rattles are shaped by the hands that use them. Manzano started making rattles when he was just 10 years old.

“It takes a while for me to actually

find the correct gourd,” he explained. “I’ve gone through hundreds of them until I found one that suits me, I’ve gone through seasons looking for one. When I find that one, it says something to me and shows me what it wants to be.”

Ken Ramirez, tribal citizen and bird singer, teaches rattle making to tribal youth. “The rattle is an important piece of our family, of our culture,” he said. “My grandmother would sing

at home and dance and teach us the songs and tradition. But when we focused on tradition, together as a Tribe, things began to blossom… We found that if we wanted to thrive, if we wanted to make a difference in the teaching and accomplish the outcomes we wanted to accomplish, we had to start with children.”

Ramirez gathers gourds and seeds and readies all the components for the tribal youth who attend his classes. “It’s very important to pick a gourd that isn’t very thick,” Ramirez said. “We have to be somewhat choosy.” Ramirez finds teaching the children cathartic. “It’s a very soothing experience, it’s almost therapeutic. It’s not just about rattle making, it’s about sharing experiences of life.”

The rattles form a connection between the singer and the world. “The rattles are intended to be an instrument when we are singing; something we’ve made from our own

hands, from the ground, from Mother Earth, putting our time and our hearts into it,” Ramirez said. “It brings out the singing that takes place when we sing bird songs.”

in San Manuel’s traditions of singing bird songs, making rattles and speaking Serrano, the culture thrives. “When we sing at our spring celebration, Yamaava’, we dance, we

“Every time we get together in our cultural activities, it’s lifting all our people up. It’s really a spiritual thing. That’s why a lot of people say with our songs, people get rooted. It brings us back to where we need to be to be able to tackle things in life as Indian people.”

agreed. “We are all coordinated together, we all grew up together and learned from the same teacher,” he said. “We were taught to be humble and to respect each other.”

Some see San Manuel’s renewed dedication to teaching bird songs and rattle making as a revitalization of tradition. Manzano would call it a continuation. “To say ‘revitalize’ would mean it had gone away, which it didn’t. People were still singing, maybe not publicly like we are now, but they were still singing,” he said. “I see it as a reawakening.”

These traditions weren’t extinct because they were upheld in pockets amongst the people, in homes amongst families. The cultural classes, which started in 1996, have helped these traditions grow and stay, but they never died.

Martha Manuel Chacon, tribal matriarch and grandmother to many – including Tommy and James Ramos and Ken Ramirez – was fluent in both Serrano, the language of the Yuhaaviatam, and Cahuilla. “She sang songs to her grandchildren and told us stories while she worked in her garden. That’s where I learned about everything,” Ramirez said. “She would go around the yard and she would talk to creation.”

The bird songs tell stories, serving as a type of oral history for the Yuhaaviatam people. They talk about ancestral journeys, about creation and celebration. “The songs are meant to tell stories about how the Tribe came to be,” Ramirez said. “The stories are very important to us; they are really our creation story.”

As more tribal citizens participate

share culture, we eat, all of that helps us as people to continue to carry forward with life,” James Ramos said.

James Ramos stressed the importance of sharing culture and tradition among California’s tribes. He sees it as an essential part of being a California Native. “One of the big things that needs to be clear is, not one tribe is a keeper of all the culture,” he said. “Culture is a thing that’s shared with the different clans and different tribes in our area,” Tommy

Singing bird songs, using gourd rattles, teaching children; for James Ramos, these things are essential to his people. “To see so many young people and tribal citizens willing to engage and sing, it really is a blessing. Not only to me, but to the elders who taught us. That we are retaining our history and our culture. It reminds me of all the work we have ahead of us to educate the rest of the community about who we truly are as California Indian people,” James said.

To see so many young people and tribal citizens willing to engage and sing, it really is a blessing. Not only to me, but to the elders who taught us.

IN A CLASS OF ITS OWN

Serrano Spa

Indulge in five-star service with unique treatments inspired by earth’s natural elements and spend the day relaxing in the tranquil water sanctuary. 2023

Yaamava’ Resort

Enjoy best-in-class and unmatched amenities at our four-star resort, featuring over 400 rooms and suites, and a relaxing outdoor pool with private cabanas.

The Pines Modern Steakhouse

Experience Forbes’ fine dining with unique selections from the award-winning menu, paired with exceptional and rare wines and spirits from The Pines’ Collection 86.

with Carla Rodriguez

FORCE of

Nature

Meet a San Manuel Band of Mission Indians tribal elder with a no-holds-barred approach to helping her community reach its highest good.

By Jessica Villano

Tribal elder Carla Rodriguez knows good leadership changes lives. To the mother of four, leadership is more than executing on a vision; it’s pushing people to discover their strengths, develop their gifts and connect with their spirit. Here Carla shares why she is so passionate about encouraging the youth to find their own way and how the most important thing any of us can do is to keep moving forward.

Did you grow up on the Reservation?

A: Yes, my home was the first one here and it’s the same home I’m in now. It was located by the guard shack on Victoria, where the Sycamore trees are but we moved it in 1958. I was born in 1953 and came from Loma Linda Hospital to that home, and I’m still there.

What was it like on the Reservation then?

A: We didn’t have homes around us, so we ran these hills. It was so beautiful to run up here and see things the way they were. I can’t say they’re all gone now, but that feeling is gone. They’ve done so much to the land that it’s just not the same. I miss it because it was so natural, and it was ours. We could do whatever we wanted. I cherish those times. That’s why I keep my home looking the way it always has. My parents passed away and I’ve left the home the way it was. We repair things, but we put it back because it’s important for my kids to see what it was.

Tell us about your family.

A: I had three sisters and two brothers. My mom was the granddaughter of Santos Manuel and she was the one who helped get electricity and water to the Reservation. We had our spring system, but the piping would break, and my cousins would have to go up to repair it. My Aunt Wee-sha was up on the hill. She took care of the men who worked the orange groves, which surrounded the land, and my Uncle Benza took care of the irrigation of the orange grove and apricot orchard. He showed us how to graft the trees to make lemon-oranges. Because he was so loving with the trees, they grew for him like that. I’ll never taste that again. It was so pure.

What was it like being the youngest?

the way they did good, they did bad. It gave me wisdom. I was the youngest, but I was the one that handled everything. I always felt like an adult and didn’t like being a child. When I hit 50, I was happy. I’m going to be 70 now. And that makes me even happier.

Tell us about the role music has played in your life. A:

A:

I never felt like I fit in, and I’d ask my mom if I was adopted. She’d say, “You just came later in life, nine years after your brother, so it’s a little different for you.” I was always around adults and I lived off their teachings, I lived off their words. I lived off

Music is my lifeline. And it’s about the only thing my brothers and I have in common. My older brother played sax all over the world with Jimmy Swaggart but he passed away from COVID a couple of years ago. My brother Beanie is a drummer. As a child, music was my only outlet. I was this little kid who was like an adult and who was around adults all the time. I’d be at jam sessions listening to my brothers play and hearing all these singers. My mom would open the patio and they would be there after hours. So, I’d get out of bed at two in the morning to go out there and see them play. That’s where I picked up the music. Now I have a group called Full Circle, live; and we’ve been together for about 25 years. My husband’s the drummer.

You were Chairwoman, how did you get involved in tribal government?

A:I was my mom’s secondhand person, go do this for me, type this out for me. That kind of stuff. But being with the older people, it was just naturally built into me. I got married, I moved away for a little while, but I never stopped with the government side. I was always on the phone trying to figure out things for people and helping here as much as I could. I always just had that longing in me to carry forward.

What are some of the things you’re proud of achieving while Chairwoman?

A:I was Secretary for a year before I was Chair. I didn’t want to run for Chair because the Chair has to do everything everybody tells them to do. I don’t like that. That’s not me. I’ve always been an independent person and I like to get things done – get in there, get the job done and move on. When I became Chair, the first thing I did was go to Legal and say, give me the 10 things that need to be finished first – and I did as much as I could in those two years. I also set up all employees to go through Human Resources because I thought everybody should be treated the same; I made changes to casino management to better serve the Tribe’s interests; and we started the Serrano language program at California State University, San Bernardino.

Do you speak Serrano?

A:I took the classes and was the first one to graduate. I remember some things but I want to go back and learn again. I went to the Education

Department and told them I wanted the kids to teach me because once they teach an older person, they’ll gain confidence and realize they can do so much. I empower the kids so they can know what it is to work and accomplish a goal. That’s what I do with my own kids. They said my son Albert would never graduate, he would never do this, never do that. So, I sat him down and told him it was going to be up to him. I went to school with him and retaught him everything until he said, “This is easy. I got it.” It was just about making him believe in himself; to listen to him and take the time to figure out if he needed to move in a different direction. That’s all it is, a different direction, but you have to keep moving forward.

What other positions did you hold aside from Secretary and Chairwoman?

A:I was appointed Gaming Commissioner and held that position for four years. That was around the time we started growing: we got more machines, we opened the table games, we expanded. We set up all the rules and regulations, which was intense. But I liked the challenge. I can analyze things and separate them out in levels. When no one can figure it out, I like to step in and say, let’s take a minute and figure it out.

You help with the interpretation of the Constitution, and you were also one of the people who helped write it, correct?

A:Yes, it took us five years because it was hard to capture the spirit. You can put it in words, but how does that feel? What does that mean? How do we capture the spirituality of it so we don’t lose it through the years? So people are not just looking at a document and saying, these are just words. We took a six-page document – our Articles of Association that we constantly amended – and put it into the Constitution. It’s intense because it has to cover all areas, at a very high level, and it required lots of honest discussions about how we envisioned the future.

Are you still involved in tribal government? A:

I sit on the committees where I’m needed. Now I’m on the Election Board, San Manuel Gaming and Hospitality Authority (SMGHA), which

governs Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, and the Constitution Interpretation Committee. I’m known for being very outspoken at meetings. I know now, as an adult, that I have different skills, different senses. I’m able to read people and their intentions and I’m able to calm situations because I can see where they’re going when other people can’t. And I push people to move forward. Some are shy, they know what they’re talking about, but they won’t say it in front of people. So I encourage them. It’s important for them to discover who they are.

What do you hope to impart to the next generations? A:

I want to empower them to test what they have. I like to help people discover what that is and step forward in it. Not to be afraid, but step forward. If you’re going to fail, that failure will help create who you are and make you stronger. That’s where I live my life. I’ve had negative things happen, but am I going to lay down or am I going to say how can I move forward?

Can you share more about that? A:

I’m a survivor of suicide and I think it’s important people know there’s life after that. I was in my 20s and, within our Reservation, it was a more difficult life. I always felt like I didn’t quite fit

in and I had no leadership. No one to see what I had in me and say, “I see you heading in this direction. How can we build you up to be a better person? How can we help you build confidence?” I was also misdiagnosed as schizophrenic. In reality, it was my spirituality, how I was raised and it was hard to explain. I was put on medications that sent me down the suicide path, but I came through it. I kept moving it forward and got to where I am today.

Were there significant events that led up to this?

A:When I had my first-born son, I almost died. The priest was there, and he even gave me the last rites. It was like an awakening because I saw my maternal grandparents, on my Native side. I saw them on a dirt road. And they asked, “See this road? See how long it is? That’s how long you have to go. This isn’t your time, so you need to wake up. You have things to do, and that road is long.” I felt this warmth, it was like a yellowish-sun warmth. And it felt so rich and warm that I wanted to stay. They told me that the warmth was them and that they were going to help me. They said, “We are your warmth, this is who we are. And now you have to wake up.” And then I woke up. I think those suicide attempts were about wanting to feel that warmth again.

I was trying to feel that acceptance again.

How did the experience impact you?

A:When my mother was in the hospital, I slept in the recliner beside her. One morning I woke up and she was sitting up in her bed and said, “You’re lying in the light.” Which I was, I was lying in the sunshine coming through the window and it felt so good. It was like the feeling I’d had years before. And she said, “You look so calm and so happy in that light. That’s the yellow light, that’s the light that keeps you going.” I’ll always remember that. And I think that’s my job in the world, to bring that warmth. To help people feel connected to it and to each other. I look at what we are doing today with our kids and we’re losing it. We’re losing that closeness. And it’s really sad.

What do you tell young tribal citizens who want to become involved in the collective future?

worked my way up so I knew how things ran. I tell them to be honest. If they don’t understand something, ask questions. There are people that’ll never ask the questions and that causes confusion and turmoil. The business is what’s going to pull them through. And if it doesn’t, they should know how to handle that too. I’m different because I lived it. I was raised on donated clothes and shoes. We didn’t have anything…but at the same time, we had the world because everything here was still natural.

What do you hope your grandchildren remember?

A:I’m teaching my kids and my grandkids to be responsive to what’s around them because they can’t learn it reading a book. They can’t learn it watching a movie or seeing things on social media. It’s more than that. I hope they’ll retain the things I taught them and will use them throughout their lives. Because that is their future. That is their spirit. That is what they are as Native American people. And once you lose that, you lose the core of who you are.

What advice do you have for the younger generation?

A:

I tell them to be at peace with themselves, they’re going to expand more. And I tell them they need to know the business. I owned my business for more than 20 years and that gave me insight as to how things are done. When I worked at the casino, I started at the bottom and

A:So many kids are involved in materialistic things, they forget to touch on what they have in here. I call it the spirit, and that spirituality can be very subtle, but it means everything. If they don’t touch on their spirit, that child is never going to be happy. They’ll always be searching for something because they never got to discover who they are. Spirituality ties you to something. And not on an individual basis. It’s more rewarding to know where you stand because you know where you came from. We are a special people because, through all the years of turmoil and trying to kill us off, we are still here. We lived from the land and, as long as the Earth stays under us, we will survive. We may have many things happen, but the earth is who grew us. We’re of the earth and we go back to it.

THE NEW Cu lture Bearers

BY RICHARD ARLIN WALKER

The Serrano language isn’t “dying.” In fact, the language has been awakened and is gaining strength through a new generation of Serrano youth.

Raven Casas, Wee-sha Chacon, Annabella Hernandez and Gauge Hernandez are teenage culture bearers – each a member of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Youth Committee that is now breathing new life into Maara’yam püüvüravka’, the Serrano language.

Though still in high school, they are active in the Tribe’s Serrano Language Revitalization Program (SLRP) and take Serrano language courses offered for credit at California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB). Their goal is to become fluent so they can pass their language knowledge on to the next generation.

“Not many people know it,” said Annabella, a 15-year-old sophomore. “We’re the newer generation of the Tribe and it’s important we continue the language and pass it on to the next generation so it doesn’t die out.”

Her brother Gauge, a 17-year-old junior, said he started learning the language when he was eight. “As a kid growing up on the rez, there were classes provided to us and they made me want to learn more. This is my Tribe, this is who I am and if I am going to embrace it, I’d better get into it.”

He added, “It’s very important we learn this language to continue it for future generations. With this knowledge comes a great responsibility for us

– the older kids in the Tribe – to encourage younger kids to learn our language and continue it.”

Annabella and Gauge greeted their interviewer in Serrano, and then demonstrated how they would greet and introduce themselves to others –conversation basics that survived the assimilation era and are spoken today at cultural gatherings and pow wows.

Now Annabella and Gauge are working to go beyond basics and achieve language fluency. And to do this, they speak the language whenever they can.

“It’s hard to use it in our daily life, because many people don’t know it,” Annabella said. “But whenever we’re in class we speak it, more people know the language so it’s easier to speak with them.”

To measure the value of the work these young people are doing, it’s important to know how perilously close the language came to the precipice.

Dorothy Ramon, a Morongo culture bearer considered to be the last fluent speaker of the Serrano language, passed away in 2002 but she left a body of work – including a translation of cultural stories –that helped inform the language revitalization work of the Morongo and San Manuel Bands of Mission Indians. The Dorothy Ramon Learning Center in Banning, which is funded in part by San Manuel, is named for her.

In the ensuing years, language teaching and knowledge expanded as Maarrênga’twich awakened and stretched after its long slumber.

The San Manuel Education Department’s Serrano

Language Revitalization Program provides language learning activities for young tribal citizens. The department developed a Serrano language dictionary, Yuwaaliyaay Čavüravka’, which has continued to grow as the Tribe’s language knowledge has grown. As of this writing, the dictionary has more than 800 pages; an app version includes audio and visual representations of the words.

SLRP interns are further expanding the language archive. They research, compile and transcribe written, audio and video resources from Serrano speakers collected over the past 100 years; document oral stories and histories; and translate community stories and experiences into Serrano.

The Serrano language courses at CSUSB are believed to be a first in the California State University or the University of California system – each class is worth three units and fulfills the general-education World Language requirement. The courses are co-taught by San Manuel SLRP staff and Ramon’s nephew, Ernest Siva, a Cahuilla-Serrano elder and tribal historian. Their students learn more than just words and phrases; they learn a complete language,

Serrano teens prepare to pass their knowledge on to the next generation.

with all the parts necessary to speak the language fluently and to use it in various communicative settings. And they learn about Serrano history in the language of the ancestors.

“In class, we read stories in Serrano with the English translation,” Raven said. “We learn the stories they told a long time ago, and the stories they told about us – the Serrano people – too.”

“There is justice in our Serrano language revitalization efforts,” explained Business Committee member Laurena Bolden. “Language is essential for Indigenous cultures to thrive. Both were targeted by the United States and the mission system through assimilation policies, which used boarding schools to ‘Kill the Indian, Save the Man.’ Fortunately, our Maara’yam ancestors had the vision and will to survive so we might continue to strengthen our culture and language for future generations.”

The language survives today and is visible in Serrano public life: from signage in San Manuel buildings to various landmarks and placenames across the territory (take for example the Herngt ‘Aki’ Preserve in Redlands, or the city of Yucaipa), and

even to the very pages of this magazine.

Raven is a 17-year-old junior; Wee-sha is 18 and a senior in high school. They began learning the language in a youth activity that had an achievement system, similar to Girl Scouts. They learned language basics, such as the alphabet and days of the week and, after passing a test for each subject, were awarded merit badges they wore on sashes.

Those activities made them hungry for language fluency – a goal they believe is achievable through the SLRP and the classes at CSUSB.

“We have discussions in Serrano in class and Raven and I have conversations all the time,” Wee-sha said. “The language patterns are easy in that they’re very flexible. It’s not like noun first and then verb and then an auxiliary. It’s very malleable. You can say things a lot of different ways, which I think is interesting when you’re learning it.”

Annabella added, “There are different ways to say things – specific words for specific actions. It can be challenging, but if you put the dedication and hard work into it, you will be able to learn it.”

Indigenous peoples meticulously passed down their histories, songs and stories by spoken – not written – word. Meticulously, because one word changed or added or left out could change the meaning. Language, therefore, is and was central to an Indigenous people’s identity.

Bird songs, handed down for centuries, tell stories from the perspective of birds, about the origin of Native people, their movement throughout their territory, the animals seen along the way and sacred places. “Our Tribe sings bird songs at our annual pow wow, and in class we’ll think back to those bird songs and realize, ‘That’s what it means’,” Wee-sha said.

Raven added, “We’ve sung these songs as long as we can remember, but we didn’t know what they meant. Now that we’re learning the language, we can piece it together.”

Colonizers were aware of the tie between culture and language when they sought to supplant Indigenous cultures with their own. “Language has always been the perfect instrument of empire,” wrote Antonio de Nebrija, Bishop of Avila, in 1492 as Spain sought to occupy Indigenous lands across the Atlantic.

The tie between culture and language was acknowledged by the United States in 1830, when Chief Justice John Marshall stated that Indian nations are, in fact, nations – which he defined as “a people distinct from others.” A big part of what makes Native American peoples distinct is their languages. That’s why U.S. boarding schools punished Indigenous children for speaking their languages – wiping out Indigenous languages, the government believed, would speed assimilation.

And the tie between culture and language is recognized by the Biden administration, which has launched an initiative to assist Indigenous communities seeking to protect, revitalize and reclaim Indigenous languages, many of which were erased or critically endangered through assimilationist policies.

“Our Indigenous languages are an important part of our culture and who we are as a people,” U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Laguna Pueblo, said at Cherokee Immersion School in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. “Our languages connect us to our ancestors and to our homelands and help us share Indigenous knowledge from generation to generation. Many of our languages are at risk from being lost. That’s why Native language preservation is so important...”

Still, Indigenous languages are being lost here and elsewhere across the globe at an alarming rate. Indigenous peoples make up less than 6 percent of the global population but they speak more than 4,000 of the world’s languages, according to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. More than half of the world’s languages – a majority of them Indigenous languages – will be lost by 2100, according to the U.N.

Raven, Wee-sha, Annabella and Gauge are determined to not let that happen to the Serrano language.

“By studying the language, we can get a sense of

how our ancestors would function as a community,” Wee-sha said. “You can tell how very communal the language is, with the greetings and the emotions. For example, the heart is mentioned specifically more than once. It’s kind of a window in that sense.”

The four say interest in learning the Serrano language is growing among younger children.

“They see older kids using the language and they think it’s cool,” Annabella said. “It’s a big part of their culture, and they know that if they put the dedication into it, they can learn it. A lot of them are learning the language and know a lot of words and are able to introduce themselves without help.”

Gauge added, “I feel like, the more love you have for learning it, the easier it gets. As long as you love it and put work into it, it won’t be hard.”

From Then to Now

A look at the resilience and determination of the Yuhaaviatam to remain self-sufficient and sovereign.

Early to Mid-1900s

Tribe adapts and adjusts to reservation life. U.S. government continues to dictate what the Tribe can and cannot do.

1975

1700s-1820s

Spanish missionaries and military encounter the Yuhaaviatam (one clan of the Maara’yam), which they call “Serrano” or “highlander.” Many Maara’yam are forced into the mission system as slave labor for Spain.

1880s

Native American boarding schools are established in the U. S. with the primary objective of “civilizing” or assimilating Native American children and youth into Euro-American culture, while destroying and vilifying Native American culture.

1966

Articles of Association are adopted by San Manuel Band of Mission Indians.

President Ford signs the Indian SelfDetermination and Education Assistance Act, a federal policy of Indian selfdetermination, first declared by President Nixon.

Since Time

Immemorial

Maara’yam

people inhabit the mountains, valleys and deserts of Southern California.

1850s-1860s

American settlers invade Serrano territory. CA governor instructs militias to exterminate Native people.

Yuhaaviatam are killed and chased out of their territory.

TREATY MAKING

CREATION THE NEW DEAL

ASSIMILATION

1934

1866

Raids and bloodshed decimate the Tribe.

Kiika’ Santos Manuel makes a decision to courageously bring the remnant of his people from the mountains to safety on the valley floor.

1891

U.S. government passes the Act for Relief of Mission Indians, which recognizes the Tribe as a sovereign nation and establishes the Reservation. The Tribe chooses the name San Manuel Band of Mission Indians.

Indian Reorganization Act is enacted by U.S. Congress, aimed at decreasing federal control of American Indian affairs and increasing Indian self-government and responsibility.

1970

In address to Congress regarding the federal policy of terminating relationships with tribes, President Nixon states, “This policy of forced termination is wrong.” He then outlines a policy of self-determination rather than termination.

Photo courtesy of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library

A.K. Smiley Public Library, Gerald Smith Collection

1978

Indian gaming movement begins with Seminole Tribe of Florida.

1986

San Manuel Indian Bingo opens.

1987

California v. Cabazon: U.S. Supreme Court landmark decision affirms right of tribal governments to conduct gaming on their lands.

1990s-2000s

Tribe takes an active role in passing Proposition 5 and Proposition 1A.

1998

Proposition 5 is supported by 63 percent of voters in favor of gaming by Indian tribes in California. A lawsuit by a labor union causes the measure to be struck down by California Supreme Court.

SELF-DETERMINATION

1988

Indian Gaming Regulatory Act passes, creating statutory framework for Indian gaming.

1980s

SMBMI seeks new business opportunities to strengthen sovereignty and journey towards self-sufficiency.

1994

San Manuel Indian Bingo adds gaming operations and advances goal of economic selfsufficiency.

2017

Tribe transforms bingo hall into Rockin’ Casino area.

2021

Residence Inn by Marriott opens in Washington, DC. The project is from the Four Fires intertribal economic partnership, which includes San Manuel Band of Mission Indians.

2019

San Manuel Gaming and Hospitality Authority forms to explore economic growth opportunities.

2006

San Manuel Band of Mission Indians breaks ground on San Manuel Village in Highland, CA, a mixed-use, off-reservation, commercial development.

2007

Residence Inn by Marriott opens in Sacramento, CA. The project is from the Three Fires intertribal economic partnership, which includes San Manuel Band of Mission Indians.

2008

Hampton Inn and Suites Hotel opened in Highland, CA, at San Manuel Village, a development of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians.

2000

Proposition 1A, supported by 65 percent of California voters, changes the state constitution and provides exclusive right to Indian tribes to operate a limited scope of casino-style gaming on Indian lands, in accordance with federal law.

San Manuel Casino becomes Yaamava’ Resort & Casino at San Manuel.

Yaamava’ expansion project opens, including gaming spaces, new restaurants, lounges and hotel tower, as well as retail, spa and pool amenities.

STRENGTHENING OUR FUTURE

2018

Opening of the Autograph Collection, The Draftsman Hotel, in Charlottesville, VA, a joint venture that includes the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians.

2016

SMBMI acquires sacred lands in San Bernardino Mountains with purchase of Arrowhead Springs Hotel.

2022

San Manuel Gaming and Hospitality Authority opens the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

ELEMENT In Her

When tribal citizen Chloe Star felt lost, she turned to music to find her way. Now the up-and-coming musician shares how writing songs helped her and what she hopes it can do for others.

By Christie Moeller

Growing up between the Reservation of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and Los Angeles, Chloe Star felt caught between two worlds – and wondering where she fit in. It wasn’t until she discovered music that she discovered her purpose. Chloe released her first single, “Element” in January. The electric, high-energy pop banger encourages listeners to find freedom in being themselves – even if that means going against the norms. We caught up with Chloe to talk about her music, her Indigenous background and what inspires her.

QDescribe your musical style in three adjectives.

Punk, fun and freedom.

QWhat is your favorite decade for music?

The ‘90s! Third Eye Blind is my favorite band.

QWho are some of your biggest inspirations?

Amy Winehouse: her style, her story. She didn’t care about what other people thought. She did what felt good to her musically.

QHas your Native heritage influenced your music?

Our Tribe sings bird songs when we come together. We sing in moments of happiness, celebration and sadness. That was healing for my family, and it caught my attention as a child. We tell our stories through our music and that influenced what I do now. Music heals all. I’m also hoping to include more of my heritage in upcoming music, maybe incorporating rattles or even doing a song in our language, Serrano.

QWhen did you know music was your passion?

I struggled with depression and mental health issues at a really young age. I didn’t know how to handle my emotions or participate in society. And music gave me that push to let everything out. I started journaling because I didn’t know how to vocalize how I felt. But I did know how to write it all down.

QAnd journaling led to songwriting?

I went from journaling to poetry and then songs. Writing saved me. I also played instruments as a kid; I started teaching myself a little bit of guitar, a little bit of piano, a little drums, really any instrument I could get my hands on.

QWhat is your goal as a musician?

My goal is to tell a story. And for that story to inspire other people. Growing up I was constantly back and forth between the Reservation and L.A. I was living these very different lives. School in L.A. during the week and the Rez on the weekends. Back and forth. I never knew where I fit in. Music was my outlet and it made me feel safe. It gave me purpose. It made me feel like I was gonna be okay. I want people to be able to feel comfortable in their skin. I struggled with that but was able to regain confidence and self-love. I want people to know, Hey, you are not alone. There are other people feeling this way.

QTell us about your new single.

“Element” is my first single from my upcoming EP and we’ll be dropping a new song every month or so. It’s one of those songs that sets the tone for the night. Listen to it with your friends while you’re getting ready, getting your makeup on. It’s about being in your own vibe, your own element. I hope it will encourage people to feel confident, to be themselves.

QWhat’s your process for recording a song?

Recently I was in Miami doing tons of writing sessions with my writing partner and a producer. The producer will play around with different sounds – we usually start with a guitar –and then he’ll build a track. My writing partner and I develop the melodies. If he’s got something upbeat, I’ll just mumble stuff. No words, just mumbling to get a melody down. We decide what will be good for a verse or chorus melody, place everything and record a bunch of gibberish to create the base of a song. We get it all laid out, listen back and then develop the concept. And that’s my favorite part. It’s where I get vulnerable. I’ll throw out words and we’ll start feeding off each other to get a concept. And the rest just falls into place. We’ll listen to the melodies, start putting words to it and start telling a story. And then you have a song.

BACKSTAGE PASS BACKSTAGE PASS TO Kids Style

BY CHRISTIE MOELLER

San Manuel tribal citizen Sabrina Castaneda’s love for kids’ fashion led her to the retail world, where she brings the best of edgy style to Beverly Hills.

Young fashionistas browse vintage-inspired rock ‘n’ roll tees featuring iconic musicians, upcycled denim and a sparkling array of Swarovski-encrusted Converse shoes at Castaneda’s Santa Monica Boulevard boutique.

Here the mini rock star experience is enhanced by the décor, including crystal chandeliers, a catwalk and a photo booth where divas-in-the-making pose for photos in front of a colorful flower wall.

The vibe-enhancing selection of designer brands, lovingly curated and hand-picked by Castaneda, includes her own designs that are so chic and expertly upcycled that, if not for the tiny size, you might think were straight from Harry Styles’ personal wardrobe. Here Castaneda shares why she’s drawn to kids’ fashion and what she’s looking forward to.

Why did you decide to open a kids’ boutique?

I’ve always loved fashion and kids’ sizes. Styling kids’ fashion is so fun because there’s so much freedom to it. I started in retail in 2012 with a shop called Tutu’s Kids, A Touch of Heaven. I named it after my grandmother who passed away. Grandmother in the Serrano language is “Tutu.” I had that shop for about four years and then took a break and went to work for the Tribe. I came back to L.A. about four years ago and opened Rock n’ Kids.

What are the first things customers see when they walk through the doors of your boutique?

There is so much to see! When people walk in, they don’t really know where to begin. Their faces fill with happiness because it’s like they’ve entered a different world.

What sets your store apart from other children’s boutiques?

There are so many one-of-a-kind pieces because I handmake them. I shred and distress the vintage jeans myself then add patches and Swarovski crystals so each one is unique. The crystals on the Converse are all hand done as well – every crystal placed with care. And since the concept for the shop is rock n’ roll, you’ll find music-themed pieces, plaids, overalls and denim jackets.

What’s one thing you want your customers to know?

Last year I launched a private shopping experience. Since a lot of people in Los Angeles like their privacy, we decided to transform a Sprinter van into a mobile Rock N’ Kids to bring the boutique experience to them.

Tell us about your best-selling item. Our Swarovski-crystal encrusted Converse shoes. I have all sizes, from infant, up – and I take custom orders. Our band tees, onesies, jeans and denim jackets do really well too.

Are there any fun trends you’re seeing in children’s clothing?

Hats, specifically fedoras, are coming back. It’s so funny to see things I wore when I was a kid coming back. It’s all circular, even in kids’ fashion. It all comes back around.

What’s the most exciting thing happening right now for Rock N’ Kids?

Rock n’ Kids was chosen by the company that does the gifting suites for a few of the award shows. This season we did Golden Globes, GRAMMYS and the Oscars. It’s exciting to have that opportunity and be chosen as the best children’s shop in the Los Angeles area!

What can we look forward to next from you?

I’m beginning to work on my own clothing line, coming next year.

BY JESSICA VILLANO

One tribal citizen pushes the limits of creativity by taking a passion formed in childhood and bringing it to life. FACEBOOK:

After snaking your way through the line and into the cool darkness, it’s finally your turn to step into the boat and gently float into the bayou. Crickets chirp, a banjo plays in the distance and fireflies dance in the twilight. Suddenly there’s a drop and a whoosh and all you hear is “A Pirate’s Life for Me.”

“When we rode Pirates of the Caribbean, something really clicked with me. It intrigued me because I thought those were actual places,” Albert Rodriguez, San Manuel tribal citizen, explained.

It was during the many Disneyland trips as a child that Albert was first captivated by dark rides: the amusement park attraction that immerses riders in a world using motion, sight, sound and scent – all within the span of 90-120 seconds.

Today the college student is nearing completion of his own dark ride: Kooky Trails, an epic adventure paying homage to dark rides throughout history – but heavily influenced by just one. Currently it’s the largest independent dark ride and is set to open in 2024 in the Inland Empire.

“Kooky Trails creates another realm that’s

Albert hopes to not only inspire other people on the spectrum, but also encourage tribal youth to step away from materialism and distractions and connect to the creative force, that untapped potential in all of us.

filled with mascot characters,” Albert explained. “Like the Jetsons living in the future or the Flintstones living in the past, these characters live in a theme park beneath the dark rides.”

Characters Alan and Luma, who act as tour guides in this realm, take guests along the trails beneath the rides. “But it’s a tour of errors,” Albert said and laughed. “And, of course, there’s a hidden figure underneath it all to make things a little more interesting. He’s like a dark magician figure with his own group of minions.”

So, what inspires someone to build their own dark ride? It all started with a DVD in the Knott’s Berry Farm gift shop in 2006.

“I got this DVD that featured past mazes and

overlays in the rides for Knott’s Scary Farm,” Albert recalled. “When I got to a scene with blacklit frogs and glow-in-the dark mushrooms, I thought, This is interesting…What is this ride?”

Albert did a deep dive and came across an article by theme park designer and historian Christopher Merritt. “His article was basically a walk-through of the ride Bear-y Tales at Knott’s Berry Farm,” Albert said. “Including the frog forest that I saw in the DVD. It sounded so interesting I thought, I need to check this ride out. But when I got to the end of the article, I found out it was closed.” In fact, it had closed before Albert was even born.

Albert researched the ride further and learned the long-shuttered Bear-y Tales was designed by the late Rolly Crump, an animator and dark ride designer who contributed to iconic Disneyland rides such as Haunted Mansion, It’s a Small World and the Enchanted Tiki Room.

But Bear-y Tales was unlike anything Albert had ever seen.

“There was a certain standard set at Disney and the artists had to stick to it. So, when Rolly did Bear-y Tales at Knott’s, he was able to experiment,” Albert explained. “He used black light and incandescent spotlighting to

highlight specific characters, scenes and sets to really mesh the two lighting styles,”

Albert explained. “Rolly did things on Bear-y Tales that hadn’t been done before and he created a whole different experience from the typical Disney dark ride.”

Rolly’s psychedelic art and use of kinetic features such as spinning propellers inspired Albert and, in 2012 as he was finishing high school, he wrote down a few rough ideas for a video game called Kooky Captivate.

Then, in 2015, Albert met a father-and-son team who built dark rides and the idea for a video game was traded up for a dark ride. The first plan was to build a mini tribute to Bear-y Tales but later it evolved into Kooky Trails.

“We were inspired by Rolly and have art and characters that pay homage to him, but we also wanted to do what he did with Bear-y Tales: create our own style to make the ride as unique as possible.”

Albert used characters from other rides as inspiration as well as drawing on his Serrano heritage and family: there’s the coyote from the traditional Native story “Seven Sisters” and characters based on his grandmother, mother, brother and sister. He’s even thinking of adding the scent of yucca, the plant integral to the survival of the Serrano people.

Physical construction began in 2015 and in 2020, Albert connected with Max Everett of Wondermation Productions over a shared interest and soon after brought him on as Director of Animation.

“I was developing a pitch for a cartoon set in the Wild West inspired by the works of Rolly Crump and Sid and Marty Krofft,” Max said. “As I was looking for photos of Bear-y Tales for inspiration, I came across Kooky Trails on Albert’s Instagram. I thought, oh wow, it’s actually being built.”

Aside from their interest in Rolly Crump, the two have another thing in common: they’re both on the autism spectrum, as are most of the people involved with the project. One of Albert and Max’s goals with Kooky Trails is to encourage other people – who may have been told they wouldn’t or couldn’t achieve something – to keep pursuing their passions.

“We want to prove that anything is possible, regardless of what others say,” Albert said. “I created my company, Fantasy Fun Wheel, and Kooky Trails to redefine what is possible. And a big part of that is showing that anyone can achieve anything in this world.”

Max has a similar mission for Wondermation Productions, explaining, “We want to develop creator-driven and creator-owned content that can make a positive impact on audiences worldwide. And we want to give artists on the spectrum a chance at creativity.”

By late 2022, Max and his team had started full production of the animation for the main ride and the pre-show, which gives the back story to Kooky Trails. “We’re doing hand-drawn animation that’s going to be used in ways that’s rarely, if ever, seen in any theme park attraction,” Max said. “And we’re also using a little bit of computer graphics and stop-motion animation.”

And with the storyboards for the pre-show nearly complete, the team is ready to focus on the next steps: animation for the ride itself, finishing up voiceovers and composing a theme song –something nostalgic and catchy, like the ones from dark rides in the ‘60s and ‘70s.

Aside from putting the finishing touches on Kooky Trails, Albert is collaborating with Christopher Merritt and Eric Lynxwiler

Lynxwiler worked with Merritt on the book Knott’s Preserved: From Boysenberry to Theme Park, the History of Knott’s Berry Farm. The trio have tracked down countless images, interviewed artists who worked on the ride, gotten behind-the-scenes insight and even spoken with Rolly Crump and his son. Albert is also plotting out ideas for his next dark ride.

Ultimately, Albert hopes to not only inspire other people on the spectrum, but also encourage tribal youth to step away from materialism and distractions and connect to the creative force, that untapped potential in all of us.

“I have seen so much talent in the younger generation,” Albert said. “I think it would be interesting for them to get involved and join me in enriching our culture, our arts and our traditions.”

(poo-yoo-hope-k-chahv)

Puyu’houpkcav

TOGETHER

Puyu’houpkčav: together. When all are together as one, we accomplish more. We strive each day towards unity of purpose and spirit.

In this section we visit a reservation in New Mexico and see how philanthropic giving has helped this tribe restore their traditional gathering places and, in the process, revitalize their culture. We meet a valued San Manuel team member who shares her journey from part-time employee to a leadership position. And we relive a few heart-stopping championship moments for the Los Angeles Football Club as well as learn about the positive impact the LAFC Foundation has on the greater LA area.

Rebirth and Renewal

BY JESSICA VILLANO

The days get longer, green shoots emerge from the ground and tiny leaves open from buds on branches. It’s spring, the season when the ancestors of the Yuhaaviatam people started to move through their lands again to replenish the resources they had used during the winter.

Today, the Spring Celebration acknowledges the season and the renewal it brings while connecting the descendants of those first people with their heritage. With a family reunion feel, this is when tribal citizens share stories about Creator; aunties and uncles bring homemade dishes for the buffet-style potluck; children play traditional games and learn to make traditional items; and bird singers tell the story of the Yuhaaviatam people, their connection to the land and all it provides – and all that must be protected.

“There are so many facets to our culture,” said tribal citizen Laurena Bolden. “It’s important our children learn about the cycle of spring, following the plant life and how that information was vital to our ancestors so they can retain that knowledge and share it with their families moving forward.”

An annual event celebrates the bounty of spring, or Yaamava’ in the Serrano language, and gives tribal citizens an opportunity to strengthen their ties to the past and each other.

of

The dreary days of winter are behind us and what lies ahead is pure potential: everything is colorful and new –and anything can happen. Dress for the adventure with these warm-weather styles from a few of our favorite Indigenous designers.

BREATH fresh air A

Photography by Robert Kley

STYLED BY CHRISTIE MOELLER • STYLE ASSISTANT BY TIFFANY WEEKES • HAIR & MAKEUP BY ETIENNE LOVETTE MODELED BY ASHELEY BALLANTYNE (STRAY MODEL MANAGEMENT)

Vintage Satin Peplum Jacket, Upcycled Reversible Sash Belt and Upcycled Parachute Bubble Skirt by 4Kinship available at 4kinship.com

Corral Saddle Cactus Embroidery Western Boot with Snip Toe by Corral available at Boot Barn

Woven Vessel Knit Dress by Lily Yeung available at 4kinship.com

OPPOSITE PAGE: Vintage ‘70s folk dress by 4Kinship available at 4kinship.com

OPPOSITE PAGE:

Monarch Mocc Jane by White Bear Moccasins available at whitebearmoccasins.com

Bandana Dress by Josh Tafoya available at 4kinship.com

Vintage ‘70s folk dress by 4Kinship available at 4kinship.com

Ankle Fringe Moccasins and Strikes Enemy Corset Belt by White Bear Moccasins available at whitebearmoccasins.com

Neutral Sparkle Fringe earrings by 5 Feathers Studio available at fivefeathersstudio.us

Silk Patched Princessa Dress by Josh Tafoya available at 4kinship.com

OPPOSITE PAGE:

Five Feathers Studio Original Fringe Earrings by 5 Feathers Studio available at fivefeathersstudio.us

Vintage ‘80s Cocoon Jacket and Upcycled Chiffon Butterfly Dress by 4Kinship available at 4kinship.com

Josh Tafoya available at 4kinship.com

HERE, EVERY ACT IS HARD TO FOLLOW.

A stellar entertainment experience awaits artists and fans at Yaamava’ Theater in Southern California, located only 60 miles from Los Angeles. Our Theater provides a best-in-class evening for fans to connect with top artists in an intimate setting. With just over 2500 seats, 9 luxurious suites, and state-of-the-art in-house audio and video, every act is one you won’t want to miss. See upcoming shows at YaamavaTheatre.com.

CENTER HEART PLACE

As one tribe in New Mexico revitalizes its traditional spaces, it’s revitalizing its cultural practices as well.

BY MARIA MANUELA

Blue skies and billowing clouds rest over the pueblo of Ohkay Owingeh, about half an hour’s drive north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. In Tewa, the name Ohkay Owingeh means ‘home of the strong people,’ a trait evident in their dedication to revitalizing the pueblo’s plaza dwellings and kivas: adobe structures that are at least 700 years old.

The revitalization project – named after the Tewa name for the pueblo and its surrounding homes – the Owe’neh Bupingeh Preservation Project started in 2005. Since it started, it’s been overseen by Tomasita Duran, Executive Director of Ohkay Owingeh’s housing authority. In 2019, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians donated $1.5 million to the

pueblo, making it possible to complete the project’s fifth phase.

“Prior to the project, most of these homes were abandoned,” Duran said. “People couldn’t live in them, and the homes were in really bad condition. It was very silent, quiet. Now, when you walk through the plaza in the evening, you can smell people cooking their meals.”

There are four plazas at Ohkay Owingeh, one for each of the four directions. It’s where the Tribe holds ceremonies, it’s where they feast and dance. “It’s extremely important because it’s the heart of our Tribe.”

“It’s the center of their universe,” said architect Shawn Evans, who has worked on the Owe’neh Bupingeh Preservation Project since its beginning. “To be here at a dance, to see the change has been amazing, and to see how many people are participating culturally. The place just feels whole.”

It takes between six to nine months and $175,000 to $300,000 to restore just one dwelling. The homes around the plazas are built with adobe bricks formed from the dirt the buildings sit upon. Rebuilding them is nothing like the process of renovating a stick-built home, it takes intricate care and skill. “The breath of our ancestors went into those buildings,” Duran explained. “The vigas, or structural beams, were gifted from family to family when they were building a home. We try to preserve as much as possible, and only replace what we absolutely have to.”

The floorplan of each home is unique and tells the visual story of the family who lived there. What started as a one bedroom had a bedroom added when a child was born. The kitchen grew as the family did, they added an extra bathroom, and another bedroom when the second baby came. “The homes are all so different, as the family grew, the rooms grew as well,” Duran said. “There’s a history to be told through these buildings.”

Cultural tradition and practice impact the planning when undertaking a project like this; customs and habits dictate the way the Tribe wants things to be done. Additionally, the pueblo at Ohkay Owingeh is on the national registry of historic places, requiring federal involvement when changes are made.

It took five years of planning before a shovel ever touched the earth. The project required the creation of the Ohkay Owingeh Cultural Advisory Team, a group of spiritual leaders and elders that could help Duran navigate the complex issues she needed to tackle to see it through.

Getting everyone on the same page took a lot of negotiating. “We told the state that the pueblo belongs to the Tribe. We have our culture.

And sometimes, some of the requirements that the preservation board has do not work for us, and we explained why,” Duran said. “That really opened a lot of people’s eyes to see how it’s almost impossible to apply those rules to a culture that’s existed for a thousand years.”

Seeing the reckoning between federal rules and cultural needs made a big impact on Evans, and his overall practice as an architect and historic preservationist. “It fundamentally changed how I understand my profession,” he said. “I saw this incredible opportunity to reframe preservation as being less about bricks and sticks, and actually being about people. Not being about the past, but actually being about the future.”

When the project did finally break ground in 2010, Duran made it a requirement to hire as many tribal members as possible. Young men just graduating from high school ended up working with the restoration crews, getting hands-on training in preservation. “A lot of those young guys today have gone on to careers in preservation work and have gone all over the

world to do that work,” Duran said. “To know the project helped these individuals with their lives in a positive way and develop a skill that is so unique is wonderful.”

Other pueblos have visited the Owe’neh Bupingeh project seeking guidance to achieve their own preservation and restoration plans. The work there has made a kind of road map, which other like communities can follow.

“I am really happy we invested in this project,” said Chairwoman Lynn Valbuena. “The language, the community behind it… It’s more than just a home; it’s preserving their way of life.”

The pueblo embarked on a side project during the reconstruction to interview tribal elders and ask what they remember about living around the plazas from their childhoods. “They all said that to live in the pueblo was to live in a giant family,” Duran said. “They all took care of one another.”

For Duran, dreams have become a reality through the hard work of so many, and the generosity of donations, like the one from San Manuel. “I am so grateful and thankful for San Manuel,” she said. “If it had not been for them, we wouldn’t have been able to do this phase yet.”

It’s extremely important because it’s the heart of our Tribe.

A PATH Unfolds

By Jessica Villano

An Tran shares her San Manuel journey – from a high school kid working in Food and Beverage to an MBA and the Vice President of Human Resources. >

In 1996, An Tran stood in line for hours to apply for a job at San Manuel. A few weeks later she was offered a position as a cashier in the Food and Beverage department. Twenty-seven years later, and after eight positions within the Human Resources Department, she has fulfilled both professional and personal goals and continues to grow.

As Vice President of Human Resources, An oversees the People Services team that directly supports Yaamava’ Resort & Casino at San Manuel as well as Shared Services teams, Absence Management and Human Resources Information Systems functions. She focuses on employee engagement, retention, development and recruitment and contributes to building the infrastructure that now supports Yaamava’ and Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas as well as the Tribe’s other ventures. Here An shares what it’s like to be a part of San Manuel’s tremendous growth and why sometimes, even if things aren’t going as you planned, they are going as they should.

When

you started working at San Manuel, did you know you were starting your career?

I thought it was a summer job. I planned to go to college out of the area and I needed to pay for the move and school. A lot of my classmates worked at San Manuel Casino and I thought, it’s close, I could walk if I have to

How did you get into HR?

I decided to go to college locally, so I stayed at San Manuel, but transferred to Cage Operations while I did my undergrad. Sometimes it’s all about timing. We weren’t going through extreme growth then, so I had leaders who were willing to accommodate my school schedule. That made it manageable because if they couldn’t accommodate me, I wouldn’t have stayed. During my senior year, I took a business law class that piqued my interest in law. I didn’t want to go to law school but learned Human Resources deals with employment law and when there was an opening for an HR assistant, I jumped at the opportunity.

Did you have a mentor?

I didn’t have one mentor. Working with more experienced adults, I always got different perspectives from my leaders and co-workers. You never know what insights and learning opportunities are going to come from a conversation. I learned a lot working in Food and Beverage. When I worked in Cage Operations, I learned about work ethic, camaraderie and the importance of customer service. I went through my entire life process here. I started in high school. I met my spouse, became a mom, went through family deaths, divorce and graduate school and there have been many who went through this journey with me who had an immense impact on my life and career. Their guidance and advice helped me change direction, make hard decisions or encouraged me to tough it out.

Tell us about getting your master’s degree.

I planned to start the MBA program right after undergrad, but life happens. It wasn’t until I had a conversation with an HR leader that I decided to go back to school. I didn’t think it was a good conversation at the time, and it took me a few weeks to process it. We talked about several topics, but a couple things that stood out the most was when she told me I needed to go out and explore the world. Then she suggested I go back to school. Well, it was on my bucket list, so I decided to one, get my MBA and two, travel.

What was it like to get your MBA while working?

I took night classes while I worked during the day and used the Tribe’s connection with the University of Redlands for discounts and tuition reimbursement. The timing couldn’t have been better because if I had gone through the MBA program right out of undergrad, with no real professional experience, I wouldn’t have been able to contribute or relate in a meaningful way. During the program, I went to Cambridge, London and Paris to study abroad and we visited many businesses as part of the program. Understanding the infrastructure at these companies and then getting to explore the countries, cultures and food was amazing. It was life changing and opened me up to a world of opportunity. I’ve been traveling every year since. I don’t know if I would’ve done what I’ve done if that conversation never happened.

What has it been like to see the transformation at San Manuel?

I walk the casino floor and I’m in awe: the design, the amenities, the technology and the offerings. We had a food court and now we have a large variety of dining offerings. We had a hall with fluorescent lights and now we have a beautiful resort and casino. When I started in HR, we were a team of eight with less than a thousand employees and shooting for 1,200. Now we are more than 7,500. We went from using an Excel spreadsheet to track team members to a human capital management system (HCM), Workday, which has been named a leader in the Cloud HCM Suites.

What is it like to be a part of that growth?

I’m in amazement. It has been the ride of a lifetime and gives me such an appreciation for the opportunity to work for a tribe that is forward thinking, which is willing to make investments for the betterment of the enterprise. I have been able to see and be part of the build and that has given me experiences you might not get at other properties.

What would you tell people who are thinking about working at San Manuel?

If you want to learn, grow and have opportunity, this is the place for you. If you want to work a shift and go home, you can do that too. We put in a lot of effort to get certified as a “Great Place to Work” two years in a row. You won’t find another employer who has employee impact top of mind when making decisions or where tribal leaders have thanked team members over the years because they know they wouldn’t be where they are without them. That’s valuable to me and that’s why I’ve stayed.

ONE ONE ONE

GAME CITY GOAL

Top-notch athleticism, cultural diversity and co-creation with fans results in the ultimate L.A. soccer experience.

By Matt Jacob

It was an improbable moment, one that began with desperation and ended with exhilaration – all within a matter of seconds, and all thanks to one man’s remarkable precision and another’s off-thecharts athleticism.

Oh, and a little bit of good luck.

But before we get to Diego Palacios’ incredible hustle (and even more incredible left foot) and Gareth Bale’s pogo stick-like legs (and anvil-like forehead) and Andre Blake’s not-quite-long-enough fingers, let’s hit the rewind button.

Because this improbable moment – which of course happened against the backdrop of Hollywood – doesn’t happen without several preceding stepping-stone moments.

Many of them nearly as improbable.

TODAY, Larry Freedman is the co-president and chief business officer for the Los Angeles Football Club – one of 29 Major League Soccer teams known colloquially as LAFC.

But a little more than a decade ago, Freedman was CEO of Mandalay Baseball LLC, a subsidiary of Hollywood powerhouse Mandalay Entertainment Group founded in the mid-1990s by entrepreneur Peter Guber.

At the time, Mandalay Baseball owned and operated more than a half-dozen Minor League Baseball franchises from Las Vegas to Frisco, Texas, to Staten Island, New York. The baseball business was successful. But Guber began expressing interest in another professional sport.

“Every couple of weeks, for about two years, Peter would stick his head in my office and say, ‘I might do this soccer thing,” Freedman said. “He’d say, ‘There’s talk that Major League Soccer might try expansion in L.A. again. I’ve got a group of people and, if I do it, there might be something for you.’”

Sure enough, on October 30, 2014, a group led by Guber and original managing owner (and now vice-chairman) Henry Nguyen was awarded the

franchise rights to Major League Soccer’s 23rd club, one that would begin play in the 2018 season.

Christened LAFC, the club was the third MLS squad to call Los Angeles home. The first was the L.A. Galaxy, one of 10 franchises that launched MLS in 1996 and has since won five championships.

The other was Chivas USA, which entered the league in 2005, was based just east of Los Angeles and…survived just 10 seasons. In fact, Chivas USA officially dissolved just three days before the group led by Guber and Nguyen was awarded the rights to LAFC.

“A good number of people – experts, even –thought we were crazy, because the first attempt at a second MLS franchise in the greater Los Angeles market was highly unsuccessful,” Freedman said. “They asked, ‘What makes you think you’re going to have a different experience? Don’t you think if there are soccer fans in the market they would already be fans of the Galaxy? Why do you think there’s room for you?’”

The answer would come in the form of a unique strategic plan that can best be summed up with one word: inclusivity.

Knowing they would be based in the heart of downtown of America’s second largest city – one bursting with cultural diversity – Freedman and LAFC’s then-minimal staff rallied around a single mantra: “Uniting the world’s city through the world’s game – street by street, block by block, one by one.”

Then they hit those streets, visiting pubs that soccer fans were known to frequent and attending youth soccer games. They introduced themselves, explained their mission, asked questions and, most importantly, listened to the answers.

The overarching message was: We might be the stewards of LAFC, but this is going to be your club.

“We never said, ‘Do you want to buy a ticket? A hat? A jersey?’ We weren’t selling anything,” Freedman said. “We were simply enlisting people to

come along on the journey and co-create the club. We always used that term: co-create.”

By the time LAFC finally put toe to ball in early 2018, the fingerprints of the club’s fans (known in soccer nomenclature as “supporters”) were on everything: the black-and-gold color scheme, the team crest, the chants – LAFC’s supporters had a say in pretty much everything.

That even includes a state-of-the-art, 22,000seat, open-air stadium that was built downtown on the site of the erstwhile Los Angeles Sports Arena, adjacent to the famed Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

“One of the first things we did with our earliest supporters was take them to our architect’s office and say, ‘Here are a bunch of beautiful renderings of a stadium we think we want to build. If you were going to build it, what would you do?’” Freedman recalled. “This is what we meant by co-creation.”

SINCE LAFC ’s inception, Freedman has served as the point man for the business end of the operation. The soccer side of things? That job has belonged to John Thorrington since December 2015.

Thorrington was born in South Africa but grew up in Los Angeles, leaving the city to pursue his dream of playing professional soccer. His 17-year playing career began in Europe and ended after stints with three MLS clubs.

Early on in his playing days, Thorrington earned his undergraduate degree and, near the end, began working toward his master’s in business at Northwestern University near Chicago.

In between, Thorrington mapped out a postplaying-career game plan that would keep him connected to the game he loved. Initially, that plan involved becoming a coach. However, after a German club that had been employing him went bankrupt, a then-21-year-old Thorrington stepped forward as the players’ representative while the club transitioned to new ownership.

The experience led Thorrington to rewrite his plan: He kicked coaching to the side and began pondering life as a front-office executive.

“When I was a player, I saw this gap between people who played the game but didn’t understand the business and people who were good businessmen but didn’t understand the game,” he explained. “I felt like I wanted to prepare myself for a role like this one with LAFC.”

How did Thorrington land that role? With a little help from fate.

F or the 22,384 fans lucky enough to have scored a ticket to history, the moment will forever be frozen in time.

John Thorrington and Larry Freedman of LAFC

While completing his graduate degree at Northwestern, Thorrington’s friend casually mentioned his former business school roommate was about to purchase an MLS expansion franchise in Los Angeles. That roommate: Henry Nguyen.

A friendly introduction was followed by some informal conversations, which were followed by a round of interviews. Next thing Thorrington knew, he was running a professional soccer club in his beloved Los Angeles.

“I have always loved Los Angeles. In fact, playing soccer professionally overseas was the only thing that could’ve gotten me to leave here,” said Thorrington, whose current title is co-president and general manager. “To get the opportunity to help grow the game I love in my hometown was a real full-circle moment.”

So how has LAFC done under Thorrington’s leadership?

Well, the club has made the playoffs in four of its first five years and won two MLS Supporters’ Shields for most points in a season (2019, 2022). It also became the first club in MLS history to defeat three Liga MX (Mexico) teams on the way to reaching the final of the prestigious Concacaf Champions League in 2020.

Perhaps most impressively, since LAFC joined MLS in 2018, no team has recorded more victories (79), tallied more points (237) or scored more goals (319).

Oh, and LAFC also has won a … well, let’s get back to that improbable moment.

LAFC enjoyed a sensational 2022 regular season,

finishing with the league’s most victories (21), most points (67) and second-most goals (66).

So, the club entered the postseason knowing it would host the MLS Cup championship match – if it could only get there.

That “if” loomed large. Because LAFC only had one victory to show for its three MLS playoff appearances in its first four years of existence.

This time around, though, LAFC edged the crosstown-rival L.A. Galaxy 3-2 in the first round. Then in the Western Conference finals, the club dusted Austin 3-0 – the same Austin that handed LAFC two of its nine regular-season losses.

That set the stage for an MLS Cup matchup against the visiting Philadelphia Union.

All Philadelphia had done during the regular season was score a league-high 72 goals and allow a league-low 26.

So everyone wearing black and gold inside what is now known as BMO Stadium knew this would be as difficult and as tense of a battle as any in LAFC’s five-year history.

And it was. Like two heavyweight boxers, LAFC and the Union exchanged one haymaker after another.

Then, 83 minutes into a 90-minute match that was tied 1-1, LAFC’s Jesus Murillo headed a corner kick into the net to give his team a 2-1 lead.

That lead lasted all of two minutes, as Philadelphia’s Jack Elliott answered with his own header that tied it 2-2.

From there, the match went to extra time when, in the 110th minute, LAFC goaltender Maxime

Crepeau left his goalie box and broke his leg when he charged into an attacking Union player on a breakaway.

Adding insult to injury, Crepeau was ejected for the foul. That forced LAFC to play the rest of the match with 10 players to Philadelphia’s 11.

After the 30-minute overtime session, nine minutes of stoppage time was added (mostly because of the delay that followed Crepeau’s injury). Then, in the 124th minute, Elliott struck again to give the Union a 3-2 – and seemingly insurmountable –lead.

Enter Diego Palacios’ left foot. And Gareth Bale’s forehead. And Andre Blake’s fingertips.

With 90 seconds left to play, and in full panic mode, Palacios raced down the left sideline with the ball. Just as it was about to reach the goal line, he swung his left foot and lifted the ball toward Bale, who was standing in the middle of the goalie box.

A superstar from Wales who gained fame playing in Europe, Bale had only entered the match as a substitute 20 minutes earlier. And it was the 33-year-old’s first game action in more than a month.

No matter. As gravity brought Palacios’ perfect pass above his head, Bale somehow elevated his 6-foot-1 frame over the charging 6-foot-6 Elliott, flicked his head with bull-like force and redirected the ball toward the left side of the goal.

Union goalie Blake dove, stuck out his right arm and nicked the ball with two fingers. Had those fingers been an inch or two longer, the ball likely would’ve caromed out of bounds.

Instead, it sailed into the back of the net. Score tied, 3-3.

Bale, Palacios, Freedman, Thorrington and everyone wearing black and gold inside BMO Stadium erupted – including Will Ferrell and Magic Johnson, two of LAFC’s co-owners.

It wouldn’t be their last eruption. At the conclusion of stoppage time, the match went to penalty kicks. Backup LAFC goaltender John McCarthy, who once played for Philadelphia, stopped all three of his former team’s attempts.

LAFC missed its first penalty kick but buried the final three to secure the MLS Cup.

“To be in that moment with 22,000 lunatics, most of whom had been on this journey for some portion of our eight-year history, it was exquisite – just exquisite,” Freedman said. “I wish I could bottle that feeling.”

The Lakers. The Dodgers. The Kings. The Rams. USC football. UCLA basketball. The Galaxy. Los Angeles is known as the City of Champions

SOCCER, SPIRIT AND SOCIAL GOOD

San Manuel Band of Mission Indians tribal citizen Rico Jeffrey Garcia knows a winner when he sees one, which is why he joined the LAFC Foundation in 2018. Here he shares a little about the efforts of the nonprofit organization.

What is the LAFC Foundation’s mission?

The LAFC Foundation is dedicated to supporting local organizations, partners and infrastructure that bring the world’s game to more young people, as well as the life skills and resources they need to be successful off the pitch. Our superpower is our ability to leverage our LAFC brand and our passionate community of fans and stakeholders. Bringing the indomitable Black-andGold spirit wherever we go helps make our good work even better.

How did you get involved with the LAFC Foundation?

I knew a few of the owners and thought it would make a lot of sense for the team to work with Yaamava’ Resort & Casino at San Manuel. I secured a sponsorship deal between the club and casino prior to season one and towards the middle of that season, as I got more familiar with the club and the foundation, I knew I wanted to be involved as a board member. Everything about the club, its ethos, its culture – everything – spoke to me.

What are examples of things the foundation does throughout the community?

In partnership with MLS and local public schools, we installed 25 futsal courts at schools in underserved communities across the greater-LA area. Members of the Foundation staff visit principals, physical education teachers and after school staff at each site and are always inspired to see how these courts are used for learning, play and wellness.

We also operate the Youth Leadership Program in partnership with the Bresee Foundation. It serves 30 high school leaders and more than 200 elementary students annually at four local schools in South and Central Los Angeles. The leaders coach character-building soccer clinics and they participate in college, career, socialemotional learning and leadership workshops to develop as mentors, role models and young professionals.

for a reason.

And on Nov. 5, 2022 – exactly five years and one week after the club was born – LAFC nudged its way into that prestigious club.

“Certain years we’ve achieved more of our goals than others,” Thorrington said. “But by and large we achieved our main goal of building a club that’s competitive, sustainably successful and a player on the global landscape.”

Not that the mission is over – not by a long shot.

Because winning the 2022 MLS Cup was a goosebump moment, one that Thorrington wants to experience again. For himself, for his players and coaches, for his owners and, of course, for his hometown – especially LAFC’s passionate supporters.

“Our players and staff deservedly enjoyed and celebrated – as did our supporters – an incredible season in 2022. But now we’re focused on what is to come in 2023,” he said. “The thirst for winning is never satiated. And now that we know what that feels like, we want to feel it again.”

We’re also proud to be members of the Alliance, a joint diversity, equity and inclusion initiative led by LA84, in partnership with all 11 LA professional sports franchises. Together we address racial injustice and issues facing communities of color.

What has the foundation accomplished that you are most proud of?

Our engagement with diverse communities in greater LA, including the Inland Empire, through our numerous safe-play futsal courts, our leadership program and our cultural arts activations. I’m a product of disenfranchisement and success. And I know how impactful access to resources and mentorship can be for a kid.

What is the foundation working on now?

A public-arts initiative to provide grants to local artists and supporters of the club to create work that will be displayed in and around the stadium. Each piece will become part of the permanent collection of the club and foundation for the benefit of the local communities. Although the stadium is a place of gathering for sporting and entertainment events, it can also be a place to view one-of-kind, local art.

If you’re interested in learning more or donating, please visit lafc.com/culture/foundation.

(muh-chish-chk)

FAVORITES

Müčisck: your favorite things. A word to acknowledge all those things in life you find yourself drawn toward.

This section explores the indulgences found at Yaamava’ Resort & Casino at San Manuel and the newly revamped Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. Both resorts offer delights at every turn: food and cocktails that captivate the best of the season, intimate theaters to catch favorite bands and luxurious treatments at high-end spas to help you reach your wellness goals. We’ll also meet a chef at Palms who places as much importance on a welcoming atmosphere as he does on top-notch dishes and a few team members who make the Las Vegas resort a favorite among visitors and locals alike.

Our roots run deep.

And

It’s GAME TIME

THE

ULTIMATE SPORTS FAN EXPERIENCE DEBUTS AT YAAMAVA’ RESORT & CASINO AT SAN MANUEL.

Everyone has their own idea of the perfect sports-watching experience. For some, it’s a double cheeseburger, an IPA and touchdowns. For others, it’s a California roll, a Boba and college hoops. For still others, it’s pizza and a trifecta. Whatever your preference, Yaamava’ Resort & Casino’s The 909 sports bar and food hall is ready to play.

BY LISSA TOWNSEND RODGERS

With a few dozen dining options, a few hundred beers and an armada of screens in 15,000 square feet of space, The 909 takes its place as, what Vice President of Food & Beverage Christopher Fava described, a world-class sports bar.

“We’ve got an entire calendar worked around major sporting events – Super Bowl, March Madness, Kentucky Derby, World Series and NBA Finals,” Fava said. “And because of Yaamava’s partnerships with teams like the Dodgers, Ducks, Kings and Raiders, we’ll be bringing in cheerleaders from time to time, doing activations and giveaways and shirt and jersey signings. And ESPN has already done multiple on-site broadcasts.”

Watching a game at The 909 is a 21st century technological experience, from the 12-by-50-foot screen to what Fava described as “the latest-and-greatest sound system and LEDs.” There are even kiosks that eliminate having to wait in line for food: sports lovers place their order, then play games, check scores or have a drink. When the order is ready, they receive a text and pick up their food.

And what about that food? Yaamava’ Executive Chef Everton Clarke described it as a takeoff on Yaamava’s greatest hits.

There’s Thai Chi for Asian food, JBQ for barbecue, Get It Grill for burgers, dogs and wings and Pizza Mayhem for pies and pastas. “Most of the offerings are unique to the venue,” explained Fava. “Like the Mega Dog, a 22-inch hot dog that comes with its own carrying case.”

“The JBQ was one of the original venues in this space, so we brought it back, finetuned the menu and touched up some of

Pizza Mayhem

Classic burgers and sandwiches plus gourmet salads and delectable desserts like Kentucky Bourbon Pecan Pie and Texas Mud Pie.

Tasty starters like Crispy Ravioli and Mozzarella Sticks, salads, subs, pasta and pizza by the slice.

DO YOU KNOW?

JBQ

the recipes,” said Chef Clarke. “For Pizza Mayhem, we went out and got one of the best Italian pizza makers – not just from a human standpoint but from the mechanical standpoint,” he said. “You get your pizza in about 120 seconds. The oven is around 800 degrees, so the pizza comes out fast, crisp and sizzling hot.” His personal favorite is the Stella Mayhem pizza, a jumbo-sized pie with mozzarella, mortadella and a ricotta-and-pesto stuffed crust. “It’s to die for.”

The beer menu at The 909 also goes big. Really big. “We’ve got seltzers, ciders, lagers, red ales, brown ales, IPAs, porters and stouts,” Fava said. “There are 32 craft draft beers, 60 or so canned craft beers and around 400 specialty beers in what we call the ‘Vintage Collection 86,’ a selection of rare, cult items – like oak barrel-aged beer or framboise – you

won’t find anywhere else.”

The beer is mostly sourced from small, family-owned breweries in the Golden State: “There’s a tremendous amount of craft beers in the So Cal market and most of our players come from the area, so we appeal to them. And it gives our out-ofstate guests a taste of California,” said Chris Fava. There’s also a robust wine selection, full bar and exotically flavored sodas, like blood orange and agave vanilla cream.

Still, the essence of The 909 sports bar and food hall isn’t the craveable food, curated beverages or high-tech upgrades. “You go to the second floor and see this huge, illuminated room, it pulls you in and you want to see what's going on,” Chef Clarke said. “Once you get there, you see the fifty-foot screen and you hear the fans cheering and you think, ‘This is fandom.

Thai Chi 2

’”

The Mega Dog is a one-of-a-kind Kosher and Vienna Beef frank custom made for The 909. Almost two feet long, it comes three ways: Classic, Chili Cheese and LA Street Dog style with bell peppers, onions, bacon and cotija cheese. Grab one and a side of waffle fries.

BBQ plates, sandwiches and all the sides you just can’t get enough of like corn bread, baked beans and coleslaw.

Savory Asian fusion stir fry, rolls, noodle dishes and boba delights.

Take Care

Personalized plans to achieve long-term wellness, top-notch service and luxurious touches make the newly renovated Spa at Palms a can’t-miss stop on your next Vegas getaway.

By Dakota Kim

Entering the reception area at The Spa at Palms, which also includes a full salon, you already feel the tension flowing from your body. Your purpose here is clear from the first moment: complete and utter relaxation. From the earthy tones of the decor and the moss wall behind the desk to the smiling receptionist, you feel entirely welcomed as you arrive. From there, a luxurious journey awaits that traverses the 17,000-square-foot spa, whether you’re there for a hairstyling, pedicure, manicure or a full day of pampering.

Each of the three floors presents a different mood, from the soothing, welcoming ground floor to the lively communal second floor, to the quiet, dark treatment rooms of the third floor. Energizing crystal accents adorn the spa, from large geodes to crystal artwork, and the treatment rooms feature intricate mirrors hand painted with roses.

The Spa at Palms was recently brought under the management of Trilogy Spa Holdings, and the resulting renovation is stunning. Trilogy operates spas at other fine hotels throughout the world, and the company’s thumbprint is visible here too, soothing guests with the color therapy at play throughout the spa, blushes and gentle greens popping against creamy neutrals.

The new spa menu features popular treatments like the Recover Deep Tissue Massage, where a therapist applies a healing arnica oil blend and employs a percussion device called the Hypervolt on extra sore and tight spots. Guests will also

love the ultra-hydrating Intraceuticals Oxygen Facial and the Signature Body Ritual, which lasts almost two hours and includes a full-body exfoliation, Himalayan salt massage, Knesko gemstone mask and fullbody wrap to cocoon you in hydration. Couples may opt for the popular 80-minute deep tissue couples’ massages, followed by twin Knesko facials.

At The Spa at Palms, the conversation between the massage therapist and the guest is essential. “It’s about listening to the guests and educating them on what our findings are,” said Jennifer Noble, Executive Director of Spa & Salon Operations. “If a guest has tightness in their shoulders and wants to work on their golf game, the massage therapist will cater specifically toward those needs.”

As far as skincare, The Spa has a number of options to help guests reach their goals. “If a guest has hyperpigmentation, lines and wrinkles, the therapist will provide options for working on those target areas,” Noble said. “Over time, the therapist knows you better than you know yourself. They can recommend treatments to help you reach your goals and design a weekly regimen to benefit your skin.”

Though the spa has been open only a year, Noble said regular guests are already loyal to the same providers and encourages new guests to find a therapist they love. “Therapists are highly vetted to provide not only skilled service, but that magical touch every guest seeks,” Noble added. “Someone’s

“Because of our stressful lives, people are realizing that life is bigger than just working, and they need to take time out.”

personality comes across in an interview, but in my 20 years, I’ve learned that touch is the most important thing.”

With Trilogy ensuring a high level of customer service, guests can expect efficiency and quality of treatments, according to Erin Stremcha, Vice President of Marketing at Trilogy Spa Holdings. The Spa at Palms will ensure dedicated providers who bring deep knowledge of healing and relaxation techniques, along with convenience factors like easy booking and checkout. “The key item guests can focus on is, ‘How do I take care of myself?’ Stremcha said. “Here, they’ll experience a feeling of self-validation like, ‘It’s important for me to do this and to take this time out.’”

According to Noble, we have entered a new golden age of the spa, when we’re prioritizing wellness. “Especially since COVID, we are looking more at wellness as a whole, and at what we can do to make ourselves feel better from the inside out,” Noble said. “Because of our stressful lives, people are realizing that life is bigger than just working, and they need to take time out.’”

One of the biggest new trends at The Spa is for men to prioritize wellness, and they can find ample options to accommodate their needs in the luxurious space. “Recently, there has been an uptick in men coming in,” Stremcha said. “They love relaxing in a chair, getting a pedicure and putting a Knesko gemstone face mask on.”

Providing exceptional service is a given but caring for guests and their needs is what The Spa at Palms excels at. Guests will find that The Spa staff remember their preferred therapist, their allergies, their birthday, anniversary and scent preferences. If you love a cup of hot peppermint tea before or after your massage, it will be waiting for you. If you prefer clary sage over lavender, you won’t have to remind your therapist, because she will already know.

“The team we’ve built is really caring and each therapist is in this industry because they want to bring joy to a stressful life,” Noble said. “They’re all very intuitive individuals.”

An ideal day of luxury at The Spa at Palms might start with a workout at the fitness center, including mat Pilates and sun salutations to wake up your system. Those on a more spiritual bent may want to practice pranayama, or breathwork, in a guided seminar at the Zen Studio.

Afterward, breakfast at Serrano Vista Cafe offers an array of healthy options curated by Executive Chef Marcus O’Brien. Then, it’s off to the steam room and sauna to prime your muscles for relaxation so your massage therapist can work deeper and more effectively. But getting to the spa early offers other benefits too.

"We like guests to come early to take a minute and gather themselves,” Noble said. “They go from 100 miles per hour to stopping in for a massage, and it’s helpful to take a step back and breathe first.”

Before or after a treatment, you can stop by the communal second floor for a nibble on healthy but indulgent spa snacks like fresh fruit, mini muffins, granola bars, homemade trail mix and puffed rice and nut bars. You also have the option to soak up some sun by the sparkling pool. In the evening, guests could return to the spa for a sunset breathwork or yoga class. If you’re planning on a night out, the salon offers makeup, hair and nails.

For guests who come to the spa from the nearby VIP lounge, there’s a VIP room in the salon where they can get foils and other hair services in private. They can also have spa services performed in-room, as some villas have massage tables ready. Brides and grooms will find specially tailored spa packages that include hair, makeup, nails and massages.

After guests leave the spa, Noble suggests they continue the experience at home with superior products, which your therapist will help you select the best products and learning how to use them. The retail shop at the spa highlights the best in skincare today, including Noble’s personal favorite, Dr. Dennis Gross. “It’s my favorite product line, it’s what I use, and we can’t keep the daily peel pads on our shelves,” Noble said. She also highly recommends Intraceuticals serums, creams and hydration gels, and TARA Spa Therapy products, which are aromatherapy-based and include massage oils and bath salts. The shop also carries haircare, candles, athleisure wear, bathing suits, bags and hats.

In the future, the spa hopes to host events, from fashion shows by the pool, weekend breathwork retreats at the Zen studio and special holiday events. Events can be customized to your needs, like couples’ meditation with champagne and strawberries or “Spa’rties” for bridal showers, baby showers, birthdays or anniversaries.

Guests will find that The Spa at Palms is a nurturing environment for relaxation, growth and renewal that continues to support them after they’ve left. “Guests come here stressed out, and they leave like someone just scooped them up and took care of whatever they were struggling with,” Noble said.

“Guests come here stressed out, and they leave like someone just scooped them up and took care of whatever they were struggling with.”

The Spa of the Future is Here

In February, the Forbes Five-Star Serrano Spa at Yaamava’ was reborn as an even more lavish space, featuring high-tech adaptations that set the spa on the cutting edge of luxury relaxation. The spa, which originally opened December 2021, has transformed its lounge, evolved its treatment menu and turned its innovation dial all the way up.

Now when guests enter the spa, they’ll find a remodeled Tranquility Lounge, with spaces for both women and men, infrared ceramic loungers in the Water Sanctuary and an option to take a virtual reality journey with an Oculus headset.

“You can put on the Oculus and pick any location anywhere around the world, like Indonesia, and then slip on your Sony noise-canceling headphones and go a world away,” Summer Barron, Salon and Concierge Manager at Serrano Spa, said. “Whether you meditate for 10 minutes or stay for an hour, it takes you out of your present element and to a place of gorgeous escape.”

Even massage tables have evolved with a new calming sound and light therapy feature, using

state-of-the-art Bose speakers. Massage therapists choreograph therapeutic movements to the sound and light. Afterwards, guests can take home the SD sound card generated during their treatment to extend their calming spa experience.

Serrano Spa has also evolved its spa menu, adding new element rituals and more potent ingredients like QMS’s biocollagen, which is 97% identical to the body’s collagen. “QMS is much more impactful than other collagen treatments, and you really do get immediate results that are long lasting, because the body is able to use what’s put on its surface,” Barron said.

When considering the spa refresh, the team wanted to keep the menu impressive but more relatable. “We asked ourselves, ‘What is that point of difference? What can we bring in that is clean, unique, beautiful and sustainable?’” Barron said. “There were so many factors to consider, and we were targeting an audience that we really hadn’t known yet,” Barron said.

If a haircut, styling or nails are on the menu, guests can head to the salon, where they can receive treatments like an Advanced Keratin Complex, Gel X

and The Diamond Dust Manicure and Pedicure. On the way out, guests can take home Natura Bisse, QMS, Makani, BABOR, ZENTS aromatherapy and Well CBD products.

The spa experience doesn’t end when a guest walks out its doors. Just like its sister location, The Spa at Palms, Serrano Spa provides homecare solutions to get the most out of the spa experience, even from home. “It’s the only way for guests seeking a results-driven service to have that maintenance between one visit and the next,” Barron said.

Going forward, Barron said the spa is pivoting from monthly events to grand seasonal events, where they will showcase the pool and spa services together. “We love the beautiful indoor luxury spa experience, but it doesn’t have to be indoors only — we can bring the spa poolside and highlight our unique cabanas,” Barron said.

At these events, Serrano Spa will showcase not just its core retail lines, but also exclusive items available for one night only, such as the Natura Bissé Vitamin C skincare line. In April, a fashion show will take place on the pool deck, highlighting the talent of the hair and makeup team at the Serrano Spa, as well as the retail team’s talent for showing off their luxurious goods. A May event is in the works that will feature pinks, oranges, florals and corals. The event will welcome those celebrating Mother’s Day, but also those just celebrating the bounty of spring.

Innovation and luxury are hallmarks of the rebranded Serrano Spa at Yaamava’ Resort & Casino at San Manuel, where lavish treatments are woven with high-tech touches.

collected COOL

Each issue we gather a few things that stand out from the rest. This time we’ve found a few things to complement a sun-kissed glow. Find these warmweather must haves at Yaamava’ Resort & Casino at San Manuel.

A BRIGHT FUTURE AHEAD

Ready to have some fun? Ditch the black and go bold with these hot-hued accessories.

Pia Rossini JUNO Bag available at 1891 Boutique

MYTagalongs Computer Case available at Cache & Carry

Charbonnel et Walker Vegan Oat Milk Chocolate Bar available at Decadence

Mary Frances Fresh Squeezed Crossbody Orange Handbag available at 1891 Boutique

Versace Unisex Medusa POP Silicone Watch available at HERS

Jimmy Crystal New York ADA Oval Sunglasses available at 1891 Boutique

Soak up the Sun

With a tote for sunscreen and soothing balm; a clutch for lip gloss and your phone; and sunglasses and hat to create your own shade, you can post up by the pool like a pro.

Pia Rossini PORTO Hat available at 1891 Boutique

Shiraleah Beach Zip Pouch available at 1891 Boutique

Jimmy Crystal New York RAYA Geometry Glasses available at 1891 Boutique

Shiraleah Liza Tote available at 1891 Boutique

ZENTS SUN Concreta Balm available at Serrano Spa

Shiraleah Allegra Zip Pouch available at 1891 Boutique

Coola Classic Sunscreen Spray Peach Bloosom and Skinny Dip Sheer Mineral Liplux available at 1891 Boutique

Shoot for the Stars

Create a little mystery by layering necklaces, earrings and rings with mystical and celestial motifs.

Sydney Evan Gold & Diamond Celestial Tableau, Saturn, and Moon & Star Charms available at HERS

Sydney Evan Pearl & Diamond Starburst Earrings available at HERS

Left to right: Sydney Evan Gold & Diamond Heart Marquise Eye Signet, Baguette & Bezel Eternity, Icon Eternity, Bezel Anniversary Cigar Band, Vertical Marquise Eternity, Evil Eye Eternity Rings available at HERS

Sydney Evan Stars & Planets Multi Charm Necklace available at HERS

Sydney Evan Little Loves Mini Starburst Studs and 14k Diamond Fringe Huggie Hoop Earrings available at HERS

FRESH FARE

Celebrate the year’s first bountiful harvest at Yaamava’ Resort & Casino at San Manuel and Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

Luscious strawberries, tender asparagus, sweet onions, English peas and blood red oranges are evidence of nature’s full bloom. And at Yaamava’ and Palms, we find vibrant salads defined by these seasonal ingredients. Mind you, these aren’t delicate salads for the dainty diner. These are bold, bright and funky and showcase the boundless creativity of the culinary minds behind them.

“I’m extremely excited for our new menu,” said Yaamava’ Executive Chef Everton Clarke. “We source our fruits and vegetables from local farms in Santa Monica, Santa Barbara, Mission Hills and Cypress, California to name a few.”

Marcus O’Brien, Executive Chef at Palms Casino Resort, added, “The season brings bright colors and ‘garden’ fare. It also brings a lot more picking, blanching and pureeing.”

Everton’s rules for using these ingredients in a salad are simple: it should be balanced, robust and full of crunch. It should also have significant eye appeal. To Chef Everton, a good salad is an unapologetic triumph, not just a side to your steak.

But seasonal produce isn’t only important on the plate; it's crucial for a good cocktail, too. “Our mixology team creates drinks that reflect our beautiful Southern California weather. This philosophy is on full display in our menu,” said Nicholas Dukes, Manager of Yaamava’ Beverage Team. And by incorporating fresh ingredients at every turn, whether as a garnish or infused into the drink itself, both Yaamava’ and Palms maintain updated cocktail menus. Celebrating the season with a flavorful salad and whimsical cocktail pairing is a more modern, sustainable approach to dining and here we’ve gathered up a few ideas for your next meal.

Written by Danny Palumbo

Photography by Alan de Herrera • Styled by Judean Sakimoto

Tuna Nicoise Salad + Mango Tango Cocktail at

Tuna Nicoise proves that old school is the best school. What goes into this classic French dish exactly? That’s a debate often settled by the chef themself. At Serrano Vista Café at Palms, it’s sesame spiced and savory. The grilled sushi-grade ahi is served on a bed of greens with briny kalamata olives, tender fingerling potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, thinly sliced red onions,

fresh cherry tomatoes and crispy green beans. An orange vinaigrette finishes it off. Complementing the citrus notes in the Nicoise, the Mango Tango cocktail is tangy and refreshing and features Absolut Mango Vodka, triple sec, sour mix and a splash of Sprite. This bright concoction comes garnished with a fresh orange slice and a sugar rim.

Serrano Vista Café at Palms

Blackened Salmon Bowl + Watermelon Sugar

at Serrano Vista Café at Palms

Sometimes you’re craving carbs but think a salad will be a better choice. The Blackened Salmon Bowl at Serrano Vista Cafe at Palms provides the best of both worlds and will fuel you up without weighing you down.

Blackened salmon and bulgur wheat are topped with feta cheese, roasted butternut squash, dried cranberries and apples. And the goat-cheese, ginger-sesame vinaigrette is a complicated blend of flavors that hits all the right notes.

Playing on the foodie-favorite pairing of watermelon and feta, The Watermelon Sugar is the perfect complement to the salmon bowl thanks to the addition of Watermelon Absolut. This warm-weather favorite also features tart Deep Eddy Lemon Vodka and sour mix with a splash of grenadine.

Thai Summer Roll + Garden of Eden

at Hong Bao at Yaamava’

At Hong Bao at Yaamava’ the Thai Summer Roll (available by special request) is chock full of crunchy, leafy vegetables. Spring rolls are both light and filling and a vessel for fresh vegetables and herbs like cucumber, Thai basil and shredded carrot. Served with a side of peanut sauce, the Thai Summer Rolls are the perfect option for those looking for a light appetizer that still packs a flavor punch.

The ingedients in the Garden of Eden – cucumber, mint and fresh lemon – complement the Thai Summer Roll expertly. Featuring a prestigious Japanese floral gin called ROKU (which means six in Japanese), it is infused with six botanicals blended to produce a beautifully bright and fragrant spirit with a deep-rooted heritage.

Strawberry Feta Salad + Honeysuckle at Rock & Brews at Yaamava’

The Strawberry Feta Salad at Rock & Brews at Yaamava’ balances crispy endive and crunchy toasted walnuts with soft feta and succulent strawberries. The intense flavor of fresh-picked strawberries make this dish all the more captivating. Add salmon or grilled shrimp for a more robust entreé.

As Yaamava’s bar program explores modern mixology, we can expect creative yet deceptively simple cocktails such as The Honeysuckle, featuring honey whiskey, hard apple cider and a splash of ginger beer. The resulting combination is spicy, effervescent and warming all at once and complements the sweetness of the strawberries and the earthiness of the walnuts.

Salad Lardon Soft

Poached Cage Free Eggs

+ Strawberry Melody

Bacon and eggs aren’t only for breakfast. Just ask the French. And a salad topped with fatty, crispy pork lardon and soft poached eggs is about as French as it gets. This exquisitely constructed salad at Rock & Brews (available by special request) includes peppery endive and crunchy croutons and celebrates all that is wonderful about classic French technique.

For a lovely contrast to the many textures and flavors of the salad, try the tequila-based Strawberry Melody, featuring orgeat, lime juice and Fever Tree sparkling grapefruit. “The sugar brix in these berries is completely different from what you’ll find on the market later in the summer,” Chef Everton explained. That means the fresh muddled strawberry makes it a uniquely joyous experience and one that can only be had now.

at Rock & Brews at Yaamava’

Spicy Thai Salad + Desert Heat Buster

at Serrano Vista Café at Palms

Spicy flavors and fragrant notes are staples of Thai cuisine, as evidenced in the Spicy Thai Salad available at Serrano Vista Café at Palms. This dish sees peppery arugula, napa cabbage, sweet corn and crunchy cucumbers tossed with fresh cilantro and basil. A spicy peanut dressing that packs a nice wallop tops it off.

Once you’ve had all the spice you can take, cool down your palate with a tropical drink. The Desert Heat Buster blends Dragonberry Rum, pineapple juice, prickly pear syrup and creamy Coco Real to create an island getaway in a glass.

A

WELCOME

BY MELINDA SHECKELLS

Very few restaurants can claim panoramic views of the Las Vegas Strip among their attributes. And when you add the criteria of “seating under 100” and “helmed by one of America’s most lauded culinary names,” the field narrows to one: Vetri Cucina at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

Chef Marc Vetri’s namesake 75-seat restaurant recently reopened on the 56th floor of Palms, and local connoisseurs as well as visiting gourmands rejoiced. The first iteration debuted November 2018 to rave reviews, building up serious cred for off-Strip resort dining thanks to the chef’s stellar reputation and precisely executed Italian dishes. Other credits to his name are Vetri Cucina in Philadelphia, an institution for more than 25 years and the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef Mid-Atlantic in 2005.

Now ready for its second act at the all-new Palms, every meal at Vetri Cucina is like stepping into the home of a good friend who happens to be an excellent cook – and who warms your soul with their hospitality.

The experience begins when you take the dedicated elevator all the way up Palms’ Ivory tower, step onto the ornate stone-tile floors and catch a

glimpse of that billion-dollar view from the floorto-ceiling windows.

“The room sold me – I’ve been offered other restaurants in Las Vegas over the last 25 years,” Vetri said, but none were quite like this. “When I stepped off the elevator, I said, ‘this is amazing. You can look over the whole Las Vegas Strip.’”

Stop at the bar for a refreshing aperitivo like the Spritz Bergamotto with Grapefruit Vodka, Italicus liqueur and Fever-Tree Grapefruit soda and complement it with light selections from the happy hour menu, which include trios of oysters, a daily pizza selection, pasta, antipasti or prosciutto.

“We welcome you into our home and, with only 75 seats, it’s intimate for a Las Vegas restaurant. We make you feel like you are in Italy. It’s like having friends over for dinner, the food obviously has to be amazing, but it’s also about how we make you feel,” Vetri said.

The chef notes that the warm feeling has been extended to him by the San Manuel Gaming and Hospitality Authority and Palms President Cynthia Kiser Murphey – all who have made Chef Vetri feel like a member of the family.

A perfect meal at Vetri Cucina might unfold as such: a sip of Vermentino at the bar, a bite of freshly sliced mortadella from the marble-topped

The newly reopened Vetri Cucina at Palms Casino Resort brings stellar cuisine and unmatched hospitality back to Las Vegas.

center island and a twirl of Chestnut Fettuccine with Wild Boar Ragu to electrify the taste buds.

Or perhaps a trio of starters such as the Foie Gras Pastrami with Toasted Brioche and Mostarda; the 24-month Prosciutto di Parma with Savory Zeppole and Black Pepper Honey; and what might be Vetri’s most famous dish: Sweet Onion Crepe with Truffle and Parmesan Fondue.

“It was something I saw in Italy. Every day, we do a 50-pound bag of onions and reduce them for about six hours. The sweetness of the onions is all that’s left,” he said. “And then we make this crepe and roll it up in a parmesan fondue.” Vetri added that this practice was originally a family affair, as it was his very own father, Salvatore, who sliced the onions every day for years at the Vetri Cucina in Philadelphia.

For the perfect sharable intermezzo, the Spinach Gnocchi with Ricotta Salata and Brown Butter and Almond Tortellini with Parmesan and White Truffle are at top of the list for many Vetri devotees. For the main course, Vetri recommends the Goat over House-Milled Polenta and the Heritage Pork Milanese, both unique items, especially for Las Vegas. The sweet finale comes from a Rum Baba with Apple Conserva and Honey Gelato.

While Vetri lives in Philadelphia with his wife and three children, Vegas diners will see him moving through the dining room, greeting guests and maybe even pulling up a chair when he’s in town, every four to six weeks. He asserts that it’s all in a day’s work for a chef.

Whether it’s in the kitchen, the dining room, on television or out in the community through his nonprofit organization, Vetri Community Partnership – empowering families to lead healthier lives through fresh food, hands-on experiences and education – Vetri is a man of the people.

“Every day, I stop at this restaurant, I have meetings and then my line cook might ask, ‘Hey, chef, you got a minute?’ and we’ll just talk about life,” he said. “It’s all about being around and being available for those who need me.”

We welcome you into our home and, with only 75 seats, it’s intimate for a Las Vegas restaurant. We make you feel like you are in Italy.

Start HERE FROM THE

By Lissa Townsend Rodgers

November 2001 feels a million miles away. George W. Bush was in the White House, Alicia Keys and the Backstreet Boys were topping the charts, Monsters, Inc. and Shallow Hal were playing at the multiplex and cellphone still had those stubby little antennas.

And, in Las Vegas, Palms Casino Resort opened its doors. Twenty-two years later, a lot has changed – not just the president and the phones. Palms added a tower and a music venue, opened and closed restaurants and nightclubs, survived COVID and found a new owner in the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians through the San Manuel Gaming and Hospitality Authority.

But amidst all the changes, lots of faces have stayed the same, as dozens of employees who were at Palms on opening day happily accepted the offer to return once the doors reopened for good.

COSME MONTENEGRO, Banquet Server

Cosme Montenegro had been working at Palms for six months when his son was born. Now his son is turning 21 years old. Cosme laughed and said, “I was telling my wife the other day, that I can’t believe I’ve been here for two decades – and I can’t believe how fast the time went.”

What kind of service and food do you offer?

CM: We do everything from simple continental breakfast to plated dinners with five or six courses. In one day, you can go from level one to level seven: you do breakfast and then a plated dinner with wine service. Our chef is great, and we serve anything you want: Mexican, Italian, French, Chinese. It’s an amazing experience to see the faces of the guests when they taste our food.

How is working in banquets different from working in one of the restaurants?

CM: The best thing about banquets is you never get tired of doing the same thing because we move around. We don’t just use one room – we do work at Ghostbar, we do work at Moon, at Greene Street, the pool, the meeting rooms. It’s not a nine-to-five job, same hours, same area – it’s different every day. It’s a unique department because we do so many things in so many places. We’ve done events from five people to 15,000; we moved everything around the casino to accommodate them and we used KAOS, the casino, the restaurants, the pool area. It was amazing.

What’s your favorite thing about working here?

CM: I get to meet different people every day. We get groups for two, three days, they leave and we get to meet new guests. It’s constantly changing. That’s the reason I keep doing the same thing – I’m not really doing the same thing. I love it.

When it comes to workplace happiness, Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas is the place to be. Now three team members share why they’ve stayed for more than two decades and what’s changed along the way.

GWEN WATTS, Environmental Services Porter

Gwen Watts started at Palms Casino Resort in November of 2001 and has stayed through four owners for one reason: Everybody is like family at Palms.

You must have seen some interesting things in two decades at Palms.

GW: I’ve seen a lot of celebrities; I’ve seen everybody because I do the recording studio. I see celebrities, I talk to them, they talk to me, and we laugh. Basically, I make sure everything is clean, the studio is ready to go and everyone’s comfortable, that’s my job.

You take care of everyone – the guests, your teammates…?

GW: I’m the kind of person who, even though I’m just meeting you, we’ll feel like friends in a minute. That’s my vibe. You can just walk into the hotel and say, “Hey, do you know Gwen?” And they’ll say “Yeah! Hold on, you want her?”

Lots of team members have been together a long time. How do the newer employees fit into that?

GW: A lot of them say, “I love it here! Everyone is so nice.” Some people are shocked because a lot of the newer team members come from places where the people aren’t as friendly. Here at Palms, we’re family: we know each other, we help each other. If you have a baby, those are our babies too. We see them come in with mom, we see them come in with dad, they become part of the family too. We’re there for each other, we all laugh and cry together. That’s why I’m still here.

OMAR JOYA, Bartender

Omar Joya started at Palms on November 1, 2001, as a bartender at Center Bar, rebranded as the Unknown Lounge. In 2013 Omar moved to the Sports Book, where he gets to interact with his regulars and guests who come just to relax and have fun.

What kinds of drinks were you making when Palms opened?

OJ: A lot of Cosmos. Kamikaze shots, Purple Hooters and things like that. The tequila trend was just starting up. Patrón was just starting up. Vodkas were evolving, we were just getting all the new flavors.

How have people’s orders changed?

OJ: Tastes are changing. The way people are more foodies now, it’s the same with cocktails. They want a higher-end spirit. They want a more flavorful beer, they’re exploring, they know the difference between an IPA, a lager and a pilsner. People’s education has really ramped up, the same way it has with food. Also, ladies drink more beer now than they used to. When I first started, ladies ordered wine or cocktails. Now it’s nothing for a lady to order a beer and a shot.

Do you think being off-Strip gives Palms a different vibe?

OJ: A lot of people who come to Palms have been to Strip properties and expect the same – but they get a different experience. I think our bar offers a friendly and personalized experience with a neighborhood feel. That’s also why we have a lot of regulars.

From left to right: Cosme Montenegro, Gwen Watts, Omar Joya

TAKE THE STAGE

With a smaller size, luxury perks and top-of-the-line equipment, two theaters create an atmosphere that has redefined how fans experience entertainment.

BY MELINDA SHECKELLS

The stars always seem to shine a little bit brighter in the desert, much like the stunning celestial bodies that emerge over the San Bernardino and Las Vegas valleys. Now we can find a different kind of shining stars – on two stages that take the best in music and comedy and present those acts in intimate venues for the ultimate fan experience.

Yaamava’ Theater at Yaamava’ Resort & Casino at San Manuel debuted spring 2022 and since then, the biggest acts in live music and comedy have played to sold-out crowds. Not to be overshadowed by its counterpart 225 miles away, Pearl Theater at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas reemerged fall 2022 to offer major star power and continue the history it began writing in 2007. Here’s a look at the performances, moments and magic we’ll never forget.

YAAMAVA’ THEATER

Yaamava’ Theater opened April 14, 2022, with a performance by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, one of the year’s top touring acts. The difference between this show and the rest of the tour? About 42,000 fewer people were in attendance at the intimate 2,600-seat Yaamava’ Theater, thus providing an up-close experience with a stadium-level act.

“Starting off with Red Hot Chili Peppers was definitely a game changer for us and really defined our image and the acts we’re looking to book,” said Drew Dixon, Vice President of Entertainment at Yaamava’. “It’s unbelievable the level of performances we’ve been able to put out there in our first year.”

Kevin Hart, Adam Sandler, Duran Duran, P!nk and more all stopped by to christen the venue, which is part of the resort’s expansion.

“We get icons, including the largest comedians ever,” Dixon said. “For them to play here and connect with the audience and control the room with their cadence – it is a wonderful thing to see.”

Some of Dixon’s favorite shows from the first year include Maná and Leslie Jones.

“With the level of production and professionalism we provide, artists and their teams know when they come here to perform, it’s going to be with seasoned pros,” he said. “And it’s going to be a top-level experience for

their fans. Every single artist that’s played here has asked to come back.”

Dixon added that from the artist’s perspective, Yaamava’ offers unrivaled sound and video innovations. “Not only do we have great toys, but we also probably have better gear than what they’re carrying,” he said. “They get to come in and play on the newest and greatest and have exposure to a demo-like setting where they can produce a show and find out if that’s something they want to incorporate for their future tours.”

With the theater now booking out as far as October 2024, there is a lot to look forward to across all genres of entertainment. “Our exposure is so wide with the events we’re producing, like top pop and rock tours, hip hop and R&B icons, Latin legends and multicultural acts, as well as the biggest names in comedy,” Dixon said. Upcoming shows include Maluma, Incubus, Andrea Bocelli, Janet Jackson and Dave Matthews Band.

And Yaamava’ Theater serves as a major draw for entertainmentloving guests up and down the West Coast.

“This is a place where people come and have a true getaway, where it’s very luxurious and really allows them to relax,” Dixon said. “We’ve seen a big swath of people from all over Southern California and beyond coming in for the shows. I think people who are true fans want to see these artists in an intimate space and they are making the time to come and experience Yaamava’ in a big way.”

P!nk Bush Sarah McLachlan

Steve Miller Band

Alanis Morrisette Duran Duran

PEARL AT PALMS

Pearl reopened with a show that re-established its icon status in the world of live music: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees

Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo. From there, Christopher Cross, the late Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp in one of their last shows, St. Vincent, The Used, The Black Crowes, Michael Bolton and Latin artist Lupita D’Alessio also graced the stage.

“We went from classic rock to yacht rock right into Latin,” said Crystal Robinson-Wesley, Vice President of Entertainment and Activation at Palms. “It was great to see the different audiences but also the common threads and their excitement about seeing their favorite artist in an intimate venue.”

One of her favorite events occurred during fall 2022’s “When We Were Young” festival. Pearl was home to the festival’s “side shows,” but that took a different angle when the main event’s first day was canceled due to weather.

“We got a call from promoter Live Nation that morning saying, ‘We see your theater is open, and you don’t have a show going on tonight, would you be open to hosting one of our headliners? And if so, we’re going to build the show in a day,’” she recalled. “During the next six hours, our entire team mobilized, and we hosted another sell-out show that night for Bring Me the Horizon and a couple other acts. People flew in from all over the world to see their favorite bands at ‘When We Were Young,’ and it went from disappointment with the cancellation that morning to being able to have a successful, safe and fun show that night. It was really amazing.”

Pearl holds 2,500 attendees and the stage is just four feet from the floor with the farthest seating area being a mere 120 feet from the stage. Private and semi-private skyboxes are located on each side of the venue offering private bars, lounges and restrooms. Robinson-Wesley noted that personalized bottle service, private lockers and other insider perks are amenities slated to roll out in the future.

The right act, according to Crystal, is the one that the customer wants.

“We try to bring in a variety of acts we think our customers will like but then also be on the cutting edge with emerging artists,” she said, noting that entertainment lovers should look for the lineup to diversify in the coming year.

“We will have more comedy and sporting events. We partnered with Top Rank Boxing last year and we are looking into MMA as well,” she said. As for the versatility of Pearl, BMW even booked it out for almost three weeks during the Consumer Electronics Show to unveil their new cars. A route between Pearl and Yaamava’ Theater for touring shows is also in the works – something that will encourage fan trips between Las Vegas, Nevada and Highland, California.

Robinson-Wesley added that seeing Stevie Wonder on the Pearl stage would bring out the fangirl in her, or a certain British pop group. “I think Coldplay would light the place on fire,” she said.

Pearl’s upcoming shows include Iggy Pop, Counting Crows, Robert Plant, Alison Krauss and Kenny Loggins, just to name a few.

REO Speedwagon

Pat Benatar A Day to Remember

Christopher Cross

A Day to Remember Lupita D’Alessio

The Last Bite

For Marcus O’Brien, Executive Chef at Palms Casino Resort, the beauty of gazpacho, cold soup, is twofold: it’s an elegant addition to a spring or summer menu; and mastering the techniques and concepts of this flavorful dish – like macerating and balancing sweetness with acidity – opens a world of possibilities to the blossoming chef. Based on a soup his mother made from her garden when Chef O’Brien was a child, this dish can be made ahead, meaning less stress and more time to enjoy your guests.

Makes 2 quarts

1¼ cucumbers (peeled and deseeded)

½ green bell pepper (deseeded)

5 scallions

½ parsnip (peeled, stem off)

4 tomatillos (no hull)

2 yellow or green tomatoes

2 celery stalks (keep leaves for garnish)

1 cup fresh spinach

½ jalapenos (deseeded)

½ cup cilantro (leaves only)

½ cup parsley (leaves only)

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

½ lemon (juiced)

½ lime (juiced)

¼ cup granulated sugar

2 sprigs fresh thyme (leaves only)

1 sprig fresh oregano (leaves only)

¼ tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. white pepper

5 fresh basil leaves (leaves only)

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

2 cups filtered water

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

OPTIONAL:

Greek yogurt

paprika

tabasco

Directions:

• Medium dice all vegetables

• In a medium bowl, add cucumber, bell pepper, scallion, parsnip, tomatillos, tomatoes, celery, spinach, jalapenos, cilantro, parsley, thyme, oregano and basil

• In small pot, add apple cider vinegar, lemon and lime juice, sugar, salt, cayenne pepper, white pepper, oil and water; heat until sugar is dissolved; mix well

• Pour dissolved sugar, spices, vinegar and citrus mixture over vegetables and coat and/or submerge vegetables in liquid

• Cover bowl and refrigerate; let macerate for 24 to 48 hrs.

• Add ingredients to blender and blend until smooth; strain if desired

• Add ice-cold soup to chilled small soup cup or dish; top with tablespoon of Greek yogurt, pinch of paprika and/or dash of Tabasco, if desired.

• Garnish with celery leaves and drizzle with olive oil

• Serve and enjoy!

GREEN GAZPACHO

MEMORY

James R. Ramos

“Fly’s With the Wind”

April 23, 1941 –

September 8, 2022

Acting on our beliefs

Building a brighter future for all

For generations, our Tribe has answered to Yawa’—the call to act on one’s beliefs. It’s the reason we donated $300M over the last 20 years and why we continue to partner with communities across California. Because when we work together, we all prosper.