The reigning kite champion tells all

Good morning. It’s Thursday, May 7, and you can expect wonderful ‘take a stroll’ weather in the 70s with a high of 82.

In today’s newsletter, the man who brokered Kanye West’s apology for antisemitism is having legal troubles, Rick Caruso’s voters consider where to put their support in this mayoral race, and the most Los Angeles of dishes is coming to town. But first, the annual Kite Festival’s official Kite Artist.

In Francisco Ramos’ home country of Guatemala, kites play an important role in the annual Day of the Dead tradition. The day would begin before sunrise, with families arriving at the cemetery to clean and paint tombs. By mid-morning, they would be flying kites, which they believed communicated with the spirits of loved ones who had passed.

Ramos’ eyes welled up as he recalled his mother, who died in 2021. He last saw her 19 years ago, shortly before he left Guatemala for Los Angeles. He said his greatest hope is that wherever she is, she is proud of who he has become.

Today Ramos, 37, works in the region’s sprawling garment industry and is the father of three daughters. He has also become one of L.A.’s leading kite artists, an achievement that will be recognized this Saturday when the arts non-profit Clockshop holds its annual Kite Festival at Los Angeles State Historic Park. 

The festival was created five years ago as an artistic protest over a proposed gondola from downtown to Dodger Stadium: The idea was to send hundreds of gorgeous, hand-made kites winging upward to make the point that the sky above the park belonged to the people. It was a soaring success, and these days attracts thousands of people (The contentious gondola project remains in the approvals process).

There are workshops for children to make ribbon and parachute toys, even windchimes. This year will also include a cumbia dance lesson and a DJ set by Azucar LA. 

Another highlight is the adult kite makers’ competition, judged by “kite masters.”

Ramos is the festival’s two-time reigning champion, but he won’t be competing this year. Instead, Clockshop bestowed him the title “Kite Artist” and commissioned him to create a kite based on this year’s theme, “Take a Breath.” (He joked it crossed his mind that organizers did so to give someone else a chance of winning.)

Ramos learned to make kites from his brothers; he is one of 12 siblings. Growing up, he made kites using tree branches and thread stolen from his mother, a seamstress. He remembers her yelling, asking where it had gone, only to find it in the air.

On a recent lunch break, he went to a nearby park in Gardena and brought a small purple kite featuring characters from K-Pop Demon Hunters. It looked like something you could buy at Target, but in fact he had made it himself from a plastic table cover and skewers he bought at the Dollar Tree. K-Pop Demon Hunters is his daughters’ current favorite movie.

Ramos’s day job is making sample jeans — determining the right amount of washing, rinsing and stonewashing (like putting clothes in a washing machine filled with stones) to create a uniformly distressed look. He is a master of materials but eschews a materialistic lifestyle.

“What is the point of having lots of things?” he mused in Spanish. “If, by owning certain things, we step on the dignity of others?”

He likes kites because “everyone can make and fly them.” But, he also noted, “no cualquiera le pone el sentimiento.” Not everyone puts the emotion into it.

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With less than a month before the June primary election, the candidates challenging Mayor Karen Bass are all scrambling to woo the nearly half a million voters who backed developer Rick Caruso in 2022. 

And so, Spencer Pratt is downplaying political labels and  is emphasizing quality-of-life issues such as sidewalk repairs and potholes. Adam Miller is talking about speeding permits and building roads. And Nithya Raman is talking up her plans to help businesses succeed. 

L.A. Material contributor Maeve Reston has the story.

The high-profile meeting last year between Kanye West and Rabbi Yosef Pinto, in which West apologized for his past antisemitic statements, was brokered by a 28-year-old L.A. man currently facing trial for running an underground gambling operation, according to a court filing that became public this week.

The man, Yarin Cohen, was among several charged in 2025 with orchestrating illegal poker games at the Encino home of Gilbert Arenas, the former NBA star. Others charged include Yevgeni Gershman, described by prosecutors as a “suspected” Israeli organized crime figure. 

Rabbi Pinto wrote a letter to a federal judge in which he vouched for Cohen and said he was “significant” in bringing about the summit with West, who is now known as Ye.

In his bid to get out of jail before trial, Cohen turned to the rabbi, who told the judge about Cohen’s ongoing treatment for gambling addiction. Pinto also told the judge about Cohen’s work with West. 

"Mr. Cohen's quiet work to make that meeting possible helped create an opportunity for dialogue, reflection and contrition," Pinto wrote. 

Cohen's defense lawyer, Harvey Steinberg, told L.A. Material that his client knew West through "mutual acquaintances," and that the rapper had no involvement in any gambling alleged by federal prosecutors.

Despite the support from the celebrity rabbi, a judge on Wednesday ruled that Cohen must  remain in a downtown L.A. jail.

–Matt Hamilton

If you haven't already, you can enter to win tickets to Indigo Girls at The Bellwether on May 14th HERE. The giveaway closes TONIGHT, Thursday May 7 at 6 p.m. PT. We’ll notify the winner via email Tomorrow, Friday May 8. Share with a friend and hope they take you as a +1 if they win.

DEBATE NIGHT (AGAIN): Reality TV star Spencer Pratt — who was lobbed relatively soft questions — had a surprisingly strong night in his first mayoral debate Wednesday against Mayor Karen Bass and Nithya Raman. Raman, meanwhile, contended that Bass and Pratt were teaming up to attack her because “they want to run against each other,” suggesting they feared facing her in November.

An hour later, viewers who hadn’t gouged their eyeballs out yet were treated to the fourth (!) debate of the week, with seven gubernatorial candidates. There were testy moments, particularly between Xavier Becerra and Antonio Villaraigosa, whose long friendship first soured 25 years ago, when they ran against each other in the 2001 L.A. mayoral race. And Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco insulted Katie Porter’s parenting, saying she “might” need a lecture from him about being a mother.

ONLY IN L.A.: Tuesday morning, activists with the Stop LA Spying Coalition, who were holding a press conference to announce they were suing LAPD, found themselves surrounded by fake activists who were filming a scene for Amazon Prime’s police procedural Ballard. @infernoenigma posted footage of the encounter on r/LosAngeles.

TED TURNER DIES AT 87: The media mogul responsible for the advent of the 24/7 news cycle has died. He had been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia. Despite not having been an Angeleno, his work had a huge impact on the media industry here including the preservation and celebration of Hollywood history through the Turner Classic Movie network.

GREENWASHING VARSITY BLUES SCANDAL: Private equity executive Bill McGlashan served time in prison for his role in the “Varsity Blues” scandal. He was convicted of committing wire fraud as part of a scheme to get his son into USC. The New York Times has an in-depth look at McGlashan’s attempt to rehabilitate his reputation through a business venture aimed at combating climate change. 

SF BOOMING WHILE L.A. STRUGGLING? Is San Francisco’s growing population and L.A.’s declining one a sign that the cities’ prospects are moving in opposite directions? The L.A. Times points to SF’s AI boom and Hollywood’s flailings as a sign of the times. 

THE MOST L.A. DISH: LAist reviews L.A.’s latest fusion creation: birria soup dumplings, a limited-edition collab between Paradise Dynasty and Burritos La Palma, available starting May 11. 

THE HIDING MAN: In case you missed it, a guerrilla artist has made the Eastside his canvas. His medium: strange signs. L.A. Material contributor Anna Holmes has the story.

For today’s peek inside our subscriber-only Discord server, @seqarts on what celebs she does and does not want to see in the public library.

AND FINALLY… A poem to pair with your morning coffee: “Tonight’s Quarry” by D.A. Powell.

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