The uproar over Tucker Carlson’s interview with white nationalist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes has sparked yet another round of MAGA civil war talk.
Full disclosure: I previously worked for Carlson at the Daily Caller, so I’ve had a front-row seat for this ongoing battle for a long time now.
In case you missed the latest: Carlson invited Fuentes onto his podcast. What followed wasn’t an interview so much as a warm bubble bath of mutual validation — the kind of “conversation” that helps launder extremist ideas.
Enter Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation — once the intellectual vanguard of conservatism, now something closer to an emotional support group for people who think President Reagan was too soft. Responding to whispers that Heritage might distance itself from Carlson, Roberts rushed out a video to reassure the faithful: Heritage will have no enemies to its right.
Roberts disagreed with Fuentes (good for him) but insisted Heritage didn’t become the top conservative think tank by “canceling our own people or policing the consciences of Christians.” He also called Carlson’s critics a “venomous coalition” who “serve someone else’s agenda” — which echoes one of the oldest antisemitic tropes in the book.
And then something surprising happened: People inside Heritage actually pushed back (a brave move, given Heritage’s Orwellian “one voice” policy). Some evenresigned.
Keep in mind: Then-former President Trump dined with Fuentes in 2022 and wrongly claimed immigrants were eating pets in 2024. As president, he told the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by” in 2020. And of course he launched his political career by questioning President Obama’s birth certificate. I could go on.
Despite all of this, Trump’s grip on the conservative movement only grew firmer.
Meanwhile, right-wing antisemitism has metastasized on Trump’s watch — despite his support for Israel.
Charlottesville, anyone?
The “alt-right” has shed its “alt.” They’re just “right” now.
This is especially observable when it comes to young conservatives who came of age during the Trump era. Indeed, one Heritage staffer told the New York Post that “a growing number” of Heritage interns “actually agree” with Fuentes.
And here’s the irony: The same conservative media figures now sounding the alarm helped build the machine.
Likewise, aside from endorsing Trump in 2024, Shapiro made conspiracy theorist Candace Owens famous when his Daily Wire hired her to host a podcast on its platform after she became buddies with Kanye West and after she suggested the only problem with Adolf Hitler was that “he had dreams outside of Germany.”
So if these more mainstream Trumpers are horrified now, it’s probably because they helped create monsters — and those monsters are now coming to devour their creators, as monsters always do.
Rest assured, though, this rot is not limited solely to antisemitism. In recent months, MAGA figures such as Vivek Ramaswamy, FBI Director Kash Patel and even Vice President JD Vance (who is married to an Indian American woman) have all been targets of racist abuse online.
It’s important to note that none of these folks are considered “Never Trump” or Reagan conservatives. They are Trump allies. The revolution devours itself. (First they came for the Never Trumpers.…)
Again, this is far from the first skirmish in the MAGA civil war. But all of these internecine fights obscure the root cause of the problem: Trump. And yet, the orange emperor himself? Off-limits.
The fever won’t break while Trump’s still around, serving as a magnet for the worst people and cultivating the toxic ecosystem that made all of this right-wing racism possible, if not inevitable.
So by all means, conservatives: Condemn Carlson, denounce Fuentes and scold Heritage for failing to police the right and only punching left.
But as long as you avert your eyes from Trumpism, your righteous outrage is just theater — the political equivalent of aggressively mopping the floor while the pipes keep bursting.
The following AI-generated content is powered by Perplexity. The Los Angeles Times editorial staff does not create or edit the content.
Ideas expressed in the piece
The author details concerns about Tucker Carlson’s podcast interview with white nationalist Nick Fuentes as an example of extremism being laundered into mainstream conservatism, arguing this represents a troubling normalization of radical ideology within the MAGA movement[1]. According to the author, Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts’s response was inadequate because Roberts defended Carlson while using rhetoric that echoes antisemitic tropes by suggesting critics pursue a hidden agenda, though the author notes that some Heritage staffers bravely pushed back against this position[1]. The author highlights that prominent conservative figures including Ben Shapiro, Ted Cruz, Mark Levin, and the Wall Street Journal editorial board appropriately condemned both Carlson and Fuentes, demonstrating that meaningful accountability briefly emerged[1]. The author contends that these condemning voices bear some responsibility for the extremist ecosystem they now critique, noting that Mark Levin’s radio show reportedly radicalized Fuentes himself and that figures like Shapiro previously amplified conspiracy theorist Candace Owens through their media platforms[1]. Most significantly, the author argues that Trump himself represents the root cause of this problem, citing his 2022 dinner with Fuentes, his 2020 comments to the Proud Boys, and his role in mainstream birther conspiracy theories as evidence of enabling extremism[1]. The author emphasizes that right-wing antisemitism has metastasized during Trump’s political dominance, with the “alt-right” shedding its “alt” prefix and becoming normalized, particularly among young conservatives who came of age during the Trump era[1]. The author concludes that condemnation of Carlson and Fuentes remains ineffective unless conservatives address Trump’s enabling role in cultivating the toxic ecosystem that made this extremism possible.
Different views on the topic
Conservative figures operating within the “America First” camp, including Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, argue that the debate over Israel policy represents legitimate political disagreement rather than antisemitism or extremism, contending that no other country’s interests should supersede American interests[1]. According to this perspective, questioning U.S. funding to Israel reflects patriotic concern rather than bigotry, with Greene arguing that fellow Republicans mischaracterize policy criticism as hate speech to silence dissenting voices[1]. Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon articulated this opposing view by criticizing Israel’s territorial expansion and arguing that the United States never committed to supporting such policies, positioning this as a question of national interest rather than antisemitism[1]. Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts defended Carlson by emphasizing that conservatives should not “cancel our own people or police the consciences of Christians,” framing concerns about extremism as an attempt to purge dissenting voices from the movement rather than as legitimate accountability[1]. This opposing perspective views the controversy as driven by what Roberts characterized as a “venomous coalition” attempting to impose ideological conformity and silence alternative viewpoints on U.S. foreign policy, particularly regarding Israel and America First priorities[1].
Author Steph Cha in the kitchen at Louisa’s Trattoria in Larchmont Village.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Marlowe Lee was off the clock, 12 more hours in the can, but Call-Me-Jessie had changed the closing procedure, and now, for the second week running, Marlowe had to do final cleanup and lockup after clocking out. It was 9, and she was starving, with another 15 minutes of unpaid work ahead of her. She hadn’t eaten since her lunch break, and as sick as she was of Charcuterie Girl’s sandwiches (The Best Deli on Ventura Boulevard, Human-Owned and Operated!), it was torture making and serving them on an empty stomach.
Los Angeles knows how to weather a crisis — or two or three. Angelenos are tapping into that resilience, striving to build a city for everyone.
She set two slices of baguette on the counter and stared at her options. Roast turkey and mortadella, vegan salami and imitation tuna salad. It was depressing, that fake tuna, the best on the market but still a vaguely unsavory amalgam of fish paste and seaweed powder — nothing like the tuna she remembered. It made her think of all the things she missed, those lost treasures of the recent past. Avocados, panda bears, temperate weather.
Her eyes landed on Charcuterie Girl’s crown jewel: a whole leg of ibérico ham in its own bespoke rig. How much longer would the world have black Spanish pigs, fed nothing but acorns and chestnuts? The jamón cost $70 an ounce, but rich people were too rich — they bought things because they were expensive, and those pigs were in higher and higher demand. Jessie named the sandwich the Trillionaire’s Ham and Cheese at the suggestion of the richest man in Los Angeles, who personally requested to see jamón ibérico on the menu. He bragged about it online, and now it was every local billionaire’s favorite sandwich in town.
Marlowe had yet to try the jamón — she wasn’t allowed to touch it, except to slice it by hand for high-value customers, who liked to record her slow, methodical movements as she handled the special ham knife. It came off in thin red ribbons that she piled onto baguettes with manchego and grated tomato. She tried to imagine the taste, and her mouth watered.
She eyed the camera, which transmitted footage to Jessie’s iGlass, with any irregularities flagged for immediate review. An irregularity could get Marlowe fired, never mind that the camera also logged hours and hours of labor violations.
She was lucky, she knew, to have this job — any job at all, when she was only 23. Just that day, a customer had asked how long she’d spent on the California Hourly Employment.
Marlowe answered, truthfully, that she’d gotten on when she was in college. The customer shook his head. He’d been waiting for two years — how could anyone be expected to go that long without work? Marlowe didn’t mention the exemption for small business owners, who could circumvent CHEW if they were willing to invest in superfluous human labor, or that her mom and Jessie had been classmates at Wellesley.
Marlowe looked back at the camera and picked up the ham knife. It slid easily under the oily meat, again and again and again. She worked until she had enough jamón for a half-dozen sandwiches, then pulled a last slice right off the leg and popped it into her mouth. She closed her eyes and laughed. Oh man, she thought. I could get used to this.
Steph Cha is a critic and author of “Your House Will Pay,” winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the California Book Award, and the Juniper Song crime trilogy.
Allnight Supermarket
By Ivy Pochoda
Ivy Pochoda, right, a novelist, and writer/activist Linda Leigh in Skid Row.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
I’m here to tell you a few things. Some are triumphs and some are facts. But first — let me welcome you to the first official meeting of the Skid Row Neighborhood Council. Doesn’t sound historic to you? Well, let me say, we’ve been trying for decades to get recognized. As a neighborhood. As a community. As people. The BID stopped us. The Downtown Neighborhood Council stopped us. I wouldn’t be surprised if a succession of supposedly helpful mayors hadn’t a hand in stopping us.
Let me also say there was a moment when I myself lived in the elements. That’s what I told my daughter. “I’m living in the elements.” Nevertheless, it’s part of my story — this story that brings us here today. Thirty long years after we first tried to get a neighborhood council of our own. What’s the big deal? Let me tell you the big deal. This is a real neighborhood — an actual community. We all know each other and what’s what and what’s up. Did people in Hancock Park know each other? Did folks in Beverly Hills help one another out? Nothing doing. Just strangers in big houses. It’s different down here. Always has been.
It took some doing to get recognized. We are the last ones not driven out by climate and prices. That’s what sent the rich people away. They gave up and made this city a ghost town of heat and poverty. But we stayed. Climate and prices don’t mean a lot when you don’t have a lot of choice. Not much we can do about the elements. Fact is — we are used to the elements. The elements are our thing. And rising prices don’t matter when you can’t afford anything anyway.
So when everyone up and fled, we got our neighborhood council charter. We are Skid Row proud — climate and cash be damned.
Things happen by default, you know. I got sick. I lost my home. I wound up on the streets. I got housed for good. So be it. That was a long time ago. Same with this council. We tried. We tried again. We got denied. The city got hot. The city got wet. The city became the climate crisis’ ground zero. Prices shot up. People didn’t want to pay for water rights. They didn’t want their kids suffering at recess. They didn’t want to pay soaring gas prices for their private jets to take them north. So came the great abandoning.
We could have moved into their houses. We could have swept into the Hollywood Hills and Brentwood. But that’s not a place. That’s not a home. That’s not a community. We are who we are and where we are. And with no one left but us, we got our council. And now we have plans, and plans are happening. You might think our plans are simple. But these small things are everything.
And so I’m proud to set in motion our first community market. All these years, and this is the first time Skid Row has an exclusive place to shop, hear music, get your hair cut. A place to get trained up to work, a place to give back. A place from which we will rebuild this blessedly emptied city in our own image.
Ivy Pochoda is the author of several novels including “Wonder Valley,” “Visitation Street,” “These Women,” “Sing Her Down,” which won the L.A. Times Book Prize in 2023, and “Ecstasy,” which was released in June.
2047: Meet David Allen, the Minister of Commemoration
By Jonathan Lethem
Author and MacArthur Fellow Jonathan Letham against a backdrop of Mt. Baldy in Upland.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Stanleg and I had long planned an expedition to meet the Minister of Commemoration. Very few people knew as much as we did, which made Stanleg and me famous frenemies. Stanleg was the Emperor of Dead People Hill. I lived in Bonelli with the Boaties. He liked org as much as I liked disorg, but we both remembered the floodtimes from when we were children, so the little amnesiacs liked to flock around and pepper us with queries, but our information was nothing like Minister Allen’s.
You could get by gondola up to the mouth of the Euclid trail, where the donkey trolleys dragged the sledges up toward Baldy. That was where the Minister lived. He liked the high places and never went by water. David Allen was made and lived in the Dry and still saw it all with the Eyes of the Dry: the Gabriels and the Wetness below. They had once named some of these places for the water, like Riverside, or the Wash, before the water came. But those who truly remembered the Dry wanted no part of the Wetness.
So Stanleg and I packed in and portaged through the Pomonliest swamp and then crossed the Downland gondoliers’ palms with bribes to get us to the shore where the mule sleds waited, and then we bribed the mule sledders. They had no interest in our tales.
The Minister of Commemoration waited in his temple, only lightly guarded by amnesiacs. He was deep and surprisingly tall, though crooked and bald, and his robes hung long. He greeted us with a magnificent smile. The lenses as well as the repairing tape on his spectacles were thick.
We had brought waterkale cakes and wild bird hand-pies, because we had been encouraged to believe David Allen liked these things. Perhaps he did, though he seemed to take no notice of our gifts.
“Stanleg is from Dead People Hill,” I said before Stanleg could get a word in. “He likes org, and he orgs those dead people pretty good. Maybe the amnesiacs not so good.”
“Fitchly hails from Bonelli Underwater Park,” said Stanleg, returning the favor. “He is an expert in disorg and keeping it real. I had to bake you those hand-pies myself.”
“Org and disorg were sitting on a fence,” said David Allen. “Org fell off, and disorg felt the bump.”
We were humbled by his wisdom, and all the rancor was relieved from our bodies. We wanted only to be suffused with his powers of Commemoration.
“Is it true,” asked Stanleg, “that where there is now a beach there was once a forest and a lawn?”
“It was a forest lawn, yes, on the top of the hill, when the lands surrounding were dry. But it took much watering to keep the Forest Lawn from reverting to yellow scrub. I know this might seem preposterous to you…”
“Watering is one of the old mysteries. Was it the watering that brought the flood?”
“Not in a direct sense,” said Allen.
“Will you give us a Commemory?” I asked.
“I have been thinking much about the Beach Boys,” said Paul Allen. He seemed to draw deep inside of himself to summon the Commemory. Perhaps he mused upon the chosen theme because Stanleg had mentioned his own beach, there at Dead People Hill. “There were many debates,” the Minister intoned, “back in the dry times, about the extent of their Inland reach. Some scant evidence suggests they came to Riverside in 1962. An autographed glossy or two. But did they actually perform?”
“What miracles might the Beach Boys perform?”
“At that time, they might have performed ‘Don’t Worry Baby.’”
“This would have been a consolation.”
“If they made it to Riverside and performed ‘Don’t Worry Baby,’ it would have been a terrific consolation, yes.”
“We thank you for this Commemory,” said Stanleg. “We don’t want to ask too much of you.”
“I am old.”
“Yes.”
“It may or may not have happened. Go now.”
“Yes.”
“And remember, and speak it to your amnesiacs.”
“Yes.”
“Tell them this. Tell them they are all Beach Boys now.”
Jonathan Lethem, a MacArthur fellow, is the author of several novels, including “The Fortress of Solitude,” and “Motherless Brooklyn,” winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, and several short story collections. “A Different Kind of Tension: New and Selected Stories,” will be published in September.
Stéphane Jouin, who moved to the UK nine years ago, shared the revelation in a video for his YouTube channel, ‘A French guy in England’, which showcases the two nations’ “cultural quirks”
Stéphane Jouin left his life in France behind and moved to the UK nine years ago (stock)(Image: Getty Images)
A French expat living in the UK has named a particular aspect of British culture that’s left him “amazed”. Stéphane Jouin, who swapped France for the UK nine years ago, divulged his findings on his YouTube channel ‘A French guy in England‘, which delves into the “cultural quirks” of both countries.
In his video, ‘6 Things I Really Appreciate as a French Guy in England’, Stéphane shared his observations from nearly a decade in Britain, touching on aspects such as our politeness and tendency to be “merciful”.
Among these UK insights, he highlighted his admiration for the British propensity for kindness, a trait he finds “amazing” and notes is even promoted by companies and organisations here. Stéphane expressed: “Number two is that people tend to be kind.”
He elaborated: “I’m actually amazed that people are generally ready to help. For example, if you’re stranded with your car on the road, and your bonnet is open – they call it ‘hood’ in the USA – they will come to ask you if you are okay, if you need any help. I find this amazing.”
Stéphane added that acts of kindness are “part of everyday life here.” He also pointed out that the UK is home to many charities that support people suffering from health issues.
Stéphane explained how an expression of this quality is encouraged (stock)(Image: Getty Images)
He pointed out that British firms and groups are known for rallying people to join events they organise to raise money for charitable causes.
On the flip side, in May, a Brit living in France took to TikTok to share five reasons why life across the Channel is “better.” The expat, known as Alex or “It’s moi” on the platform, presented her “household edition” of insights.
First up was the revelation that people in France tend not to have their washing machines in the kitchen, instead opting for the bathroom or elsewhere, meaning you “don’t have the eyesore or the noise” in the kitchen.
But there’s more; Alex also highlighted the convenience of having plug sockets in the bathroom, “square-shaped” pillows for extra headroom, and shutters on every window.
Alex said: “You don’t have to worry about blackout blinds or blackout curtains if you want to make the room dark. You just close the shutters, which is absolutely fantastic when you have children.”
Stéphane revealed some of the observations he’d made in his years in Britain (stock)(Image: Getty Images)
Finally, Alex claimed that a “lot of the houses around here” tended to be detached rather than semi-detached. She said they didn’t have to worry about any “potential noise problems” from neighbours.
However, not everyone saw things the same way, with one commenting: “I’d hate to have a washing machine in my bathroom.”
Another said: “How is square pillows better? Isn’t plugs in the bathroom dangerous?”
Some did agree with the TikToker, with one claiming that once you try using a square pillow, there’s “no going back”.
Attending a BTS member’s solo show is probably the best way to understand the power of the group beyond Western conceptions of boy bands and the limitations of the K-pop idol system.
Jin, the eldest member of the group, has become the third bandmate to solo headline a world tour with his #RUNSEOKJIN_EP. Tour, which brought him to Anaheim’s Honda Center on Thursday and Friday night.
At the outset of the septet’s 2022 break, Jin was on a time crunch. South Korea had raised the mandatory age of military enlistment from 28 to 30 years old(with legislation nicknamed the BTS law), and it was his time to go.
Without time for a bigger project before heading off, he debuted the soaring single “The Astronaut,” co-written by his favorite band, Coldplay, and paired with a nostalgia-tinged sci-fi music video.
Jin plays piano during his two-night run at Honda Center
(Bright Music)
After he was discharged from the military in June of last year, he got straight to work releasing the upbeat pop-rock EP “Happy,” followed six months later by his latest release, “Echo,” which veered in a more indie direction. Much of the songs on the tour’s 18-song set list come from both of these releases, sprinkled with a few of his earlier stand-alone singles.
On Thursday’s show, the over-18,000-capacity arena appeared nearly sold out, so far proving the group’s famous fandom will show up for each member.
Jin’s particular brand of quirky, humorous and suave energy was on full display at both shows, drawing out an element of the group’s alchemy that helps explain its broad appeal and devoted fans, while also showing how the group is a world unto itself.
Perhaps more than any other BTS member, Jin seems to want to deliver to existing fans rather than reaching for more. The tour is designed as an exclusive love letter to the fandom with nearly every element of its design.
Jin is especially skilled at merging elements of his personality and interests into an integrated intellectual property that transcends visuals, merchandising and format while remaining firmly in on the joke, as well as sincere and engaging.
The name of the tour references his solo variety show called “Run Seokjin,” which itself is an iteration of the group’s variety show, “Run BTS.” (Seok-jin is his birth name.) It provides a framework for the structure of the concert, as classic Korean variety-show elements are employed during the nearly two-hour-long set list.
Preshow, concertgoers could be found in either official or fan-made merch with a dizzying array of references to either the artist’s music, aspects of his personality or both.
A cute alien figure, the character created for the space-themed “The Astronaut,” graced headbands, while tuna hats and various fishing-related outfits nodded to the viral “Super Tuna,” an EDM-meets-trot love anthem to a tuna fish and his love for fishing in general. There are even a few ramen-themed outfits, as he is now the face of a famous Korean ramen brand that coincidentally shares his name.
A known gamer (some fans could also be seen in “Super Mario” costumes), he began the show sauntering onstage in silence only to slam on a game-show buzzer that launched both a blast of confetti and the first strains of “Running Wild,” the all-English-language pop-rock lead track off of “Happy.”
Jin changes into a country-western look during the song “Rope It” at the Honda Center
Within BTS’ vocal line, Jin’s ability to hit clear, clean high notes added to the group’s reputation for songs in a high register, with the lower tenor work picked up by bandmates V and Jungkook.
“Running Wild,” however, begins with a beautifully low resonant tone that Jin has been able to explore more on his solo efforts.
Throughout the show, he was anchored by guitarist Park Shin-won, bass player Yoo Hyun-wook, drummer Kim Dong-hyun, and keytar/keyboardist Kim Chang-hyun, all veteran players in the Korean music industry. But for the first half of the show, the band remained obscured by screens as the focus was on Jin, who cuts an almost young Elvis-like figure with hisfamously swoon-worthy good looks.
In a later rock segment of the set, the band took on more visible prominence but remained as supportive figures. Clad in a glittery Gucci jean suit (he is a brand ambassador), Jin then exuberantly launched “I’ll Be There for You,” an uptempo rockabilly-tinged pop song with a sing-a-long chorus, a style that seems to be his rock ’n’ roll safe space.
The orchestrated madcap structure takes hold when backed by a running instrumental. Relatively early in the show, he announced that a short break was in order. A giant clock appeared, counting down the minute and a half onstage while he sipped water, vibed with his band and exchanged “woofs” with the crowd.
Jin sporting his baseball jersey merch onstage at Honda Center
(Bright Music)
He transitioned into the lushly melancholy “With the Clouds” off of “Echo” — an interesting track with a cool “backpedal” transition that highlights his softer midrange tone. But before the audience members got too deep in their feelings, at its conclusion, he offered them his best Zoolander stare and blew kisses — which they loudly ate up.
“Every show is a challenge,” he said in English, referring to the game-show format, “And you and I have to do it together,” making it clear participation was expected going forward.
He was not joking. He read out the rules for what was essentially an arena-scale game of charades between him and the audience, in which his number of wins determined which costume he donned for the next act. “I have nine seconds to change my clothes, so be good and talk to the person next to you,” he quipped, leaving the stage with a countdown clock, popping up dutifully on time in a large fishing hat and boots.
After the insanely campy “Super Tuna,” he spun a “Price Is Right”-style wheel to determine what song the audience will karaoke to as he changes again. The audience chose “Anpanman,” a punchy BTS classic that played with lyrics as hilarious Y2K low-fi graphics of him singing bumps on the screen.
Upon his return, clad in black, he accompanied himself on the longing ballad “I Will Return to You” and transitions into “Abyss.” Credited as a songwriter on almost all of his solo songs, “Abyss,” a single released in 2020, delves into especially early feelings of self-doubt that are jarringly in contrast with his later confident demeanor. Both songs were not accompanied by subtitles, allowing the listener to focus on the particular beauty and comfort he embodies while singing in Korean and further underlining a focus on the fandom.
After the fan chants of “Kim Seokjin” died down, he switched back to rock mode with the gorgeous “The Background.” Whether or not he has experienced real-life heartbreak is unknown — BTS members keep their lives private — but he makes you believe he has: “Even if I call you / It echoes back and hurts me again / Even waiting / I try to convince myself it’s love.”
The massive Army crowd gathers for Jin at Honda Center
The campiness wasn’t completely over as he thrilled fans again with “Rope It,” a quirky, pop-country ditty where he gamely hip-swiveled and hat-tilted, channeling his inner Clint Black. A medley of BTS hits including “Dynamite” and “Butter” followed, where he danced a bit. Sexy frontman, variety-show host, rock star, comedian, he was everything for every fan.
With all of its wacky charm and big confetti budget, the show remained remarkably minimalist; no fancy choreography or set pieces. Jin is comfortable onstage and at his most charming when going off script and speaking freely to the audience in Korean through a translator.
It will be interesting to see where he takes his incredible vocal prowess as a solo performer in years to come — it’s exciting to think of the possibilities of even a harder-edged sound or a full country album.
But as the show slowly wound down, and after one last talk with the crowd, amid his trio of encore songs, perhaps lies the most compelling version of him. “Epiphany,” off the 2018 BTS album “Love Yourself: Answer,” offers both a sonic and mental self-actualization that has as he has transitioned from his 20s into his 30s: “The real myself inside the smiling mask / I reveal it entirely / I’m the one I should love in this world / shining me, precious soul of mine.”
The Skirball Cultural Center, an institution dedicated to exploring the shared ideals of American democracy and Jewish heritage, will kick off its 28th annual free Sunset Concerts series on July 17 with Latin music.
The courtyard stage will host the music of singer-songwriter Rodrigo Amarante from Brazil and the electronic sounds of Ecuadorian American musician Helado Negro.
“These [musicians] that we have invited to participate … present a return to tradition and elements of hope and discovery and creating new opportunities that reflect the American democratic ideals grounded in pluralism,” said Marlene Braga, vice president of public programming.
“Many diverse artists coming together from different parts of the world to celebrate the great [American] experiment and looking to create a more perfect union through lifting their voices and their identities through music,” she added.
The Skirball Cultural Center will kick off its free 28th annual Sunset Concerts series on July 17 with musical performances in its courtyard from Rodrigo Amarante and Helado Negro.
(Skirball Cultural Center)
In previous years, the series staged other Latinx artists like the Marías and were a stop during the U.S. debut tour of the Cuban son conjunto Chappottín y sus Estrellas.
Amarante, who has been a member of bands Los Hermanos, Orquestra Imperial and Little Joy, and who wrote and performs the theme song to Netflix’s critically acclaimed series “Narcos,” will open the series with his rock tunes infused with bossa nova and folk. His latest project, “Drama,” was released in 2021. On the 11-track album, Amarante sings both in his native language Portuguese and in English.
“[Music] is one of the most powerful political acts,” Brazilian singer-songwriter Rodrigo Amarante told The Times.
(Courtesy of Rodrigo Amarante)
“[Music] is one of the most powerful political acts,” Amarante told The Times. “Because when you are dancing … you’re opening up and moving your body and pretty much loving everyone that’s around you.”
Playing on the same bill will be the musician Roberto Carlos Lange, the artist better known as Helado Negro. Known for songs like “Gemini and Leo” and “Lotta Love,” Helado Negro released the critically acclaimed LP “Phasor” in early 2024.
Helado Negro, known for songs like “Gemini and Leo” and “Lotta Love,” released the critically acclaimed LP “Phasor” in early 2024.
(Sadie Culberson Studio / Sadie Culberson)
The first show of the series will also include a special DJ performance from KCRW’s DJ Jason Bentley.
The series will continue every Thursday through Aug. 17, and its lineup includes Latin musicians like La Perla, Frente Cumbiero and Mula.
