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The Memories That Nourish On This Strange And Dark Holiday Season

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Noche Buena at Tia Ramona's was an epic affair, as LAist columnist Erick Galindo remembers from his childhood days. There was "the giant Christmas tree, the live banda playing out of the garage, so many bottles of Cazadores tequila, and the drunken adults making scenes."

And joy, and food, and family. And that sense of safety that little children feel when everything is right with the world, and promises to forever stay that way. He writes:

These epic parties were so wild and warm. And best of all, they had the best collection of Mexican antojitos and dishes you could ever find in one kitchen. I'm talking tamales, champurrado, birria, pozole, buñuelos, taquitos, pan dulce, flan, frijoles puercos, you name it.

Those memories are part of what has nourished me this strange and dark holiday season when people are dying at heartbreaking rates.

Because these pandemic days, in a year of pain and loss, everything is not right with the world.

In his latest Mis Ángeles column, Galindo goes down the social media rabbit hole in seach of covers of "Navidad Sin Ti," a holiday classic from the iconic Mexican band Los Bukis about heartbreak and "the day that I lost you." The lyrics unexpectedly drive home the difficulty of this holiday season.

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