Here is A READER'S (not my) view of Downtown redevelopment, via the Plaza Theatre. Whaddaya think?
In all of the back-and-forth about the Downtown redevelopment plan, there has been one thing I hadn’t been able to understand: the outright anger.
It’s one thing to not like some of the details of the plan, I thought, but why the seething anger and the hatred directed toward the people who just seemed to want to make El Paso a better city?
But, thanks to an appalling new advertisement from The Plaza Theatre, I finally understand.
The full-page Plaza Theatre ad, which I found in a local magazine, makes it plenty clear there are two kinds of people in El Paso. And the kind of people who used to enjoy cheap movies at the theater are no longer the kind of people welcome there.
One would expect an ad for the theater to try to get people to attend, perhaps talk about what a welcoming place it is. Instead, the new ad features a long essay, lecturing people about how very different the theater is now. And different behavior is expected. And, not too subtly the ad whispers, a different class of people is expected, as well.
It all but comes out and says it: Poor people, with your bad manners and loud children, stay away.
Some excerpts from the ad:
“In the good old days, you could hop on a bus and ride downtown to visit the crocodiles at San Jacinto Plaza, then stroll over to the Plaza Theatre to take in a good matinee. No matter if the movie had already started, you took the best available seat and tried not to spill your popcorn or soda on any of the other patrons along the way. ... Those days are gone with the wind.”
Not too hard to read between the lines there, now is it? In the old days, maybe you could hop on a bus and enjoy the theater. Now you better roll up to valet parking in your Hummer.
“Having undergone something of a sea change along the way, the grand old theater now asks its patrons graciously to observe a sense of etiquette that did not apply in the past. At today’s Plaza, one simply does not show up late.”
Indeed not! I suppose that’s why you can’t take the bus to the Plaza anymore. Sun Metro is not exactly known for getting everyone to their destination right on time. Your memories of attending the theater, with your lack of grace and etiquette; well, your memories are simply not welcome anymore. There’s been a sea change after all.
“And you’d better be finished with your refreshments because it’s unheard of for food or beverages to be allowed out of the lobbies. That’s the rule in all of the best live theaters, whether in New York or Paris or El Paso.”
Seems like the theater would rather see Parisians or New Yorkers in their precious lobby than real, live El Pasoans. Fly in from Paris, but don’t you dare take a bus in from the Lower Valley to see a show.
And remember, all of the above quotes came from an actual Plaza Theatre advertisement. Does it sound to you like the point is to bring more people to the Plaza?
The ad makes it pretty clear that the folks who actually gave the theater its history are no longer welcome. I doubt the well-heeled, well-mannered people attending Plaza events now ever set foot in the old theater. Probably wasn’t enough parking.
And so when you see the anger rising over the downtown development plan and wonder what it’s all about, take a look at some recent history.
The barrio has seen the movers and shakers in action. They’ve seen their old, beloved theater remodeled. It had fallen into disrepair, and everyone was happy to see it brought back to glory.
But now they see they’re not welcome.
And they have a feeling that the new downtown, to be filled with bistros and upscale shops, probably won’t be too welcoming either.
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