Eddie Cota

Four years ago, Eddie Cota had a problem. The then-24-year-old concert promoter and booker was hired to take the musically staid Pasadena and energize its live music scene. This was an enormous undertaking for the new booker of Pasadena's Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts. The free summertime shows were a reliable local draw, but the bookings had begun to feel uninspired. Though he'd thrived at internships at Capitol Records, Interscope Records and several radio stations, the nonprofit entertainment world was new to Cota, and he had to quickly instantly grow competent in a range of genres.

As dusk fell over the Levitt Pavilion at MacArthur Park one recent Friday, Eddie Cota drank in the scene with quiet satisfaction. On the lawn, kids and adults executed Brazilian capoeira moves while an impromptu drumming coterie tapped out muscular rhythms. Nearby, vendors selling tamales and pupusas did a brisk trade with Central American and Mexican families who were popping open picnic coolers, while clumps of twentysomethings spread blankets and snogged under the trees.

As dusk fell over the Levitt Pavilion at MacArthur Park one recent Friday, Eddie Cota drank in the scene with quiet satisfaction. On the lawn, kids and adults executed Brazilian capoeira moves while an impromptu drumming coterie tapped out muscular rhythms. Nearby, vendors selling tamales and pupusas did a brisk trade with Central American and Mexican families who were popping open picnic coolers, while clumps of twentysomethings spread blankets and snogged under the trees.

Four years ago, Eddie Cota had a problem. The then-24-year-old concert promoter and booker was hired to take the musically staid Pasadena and energize its live music scene. This was an enormous undertaking for the new booker of Pasadena's Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts. The free summertime shows were a reliable local draw, but the bookings had begun to feel uninspired. Though he'd thrived at internships at Capitol Records, Interscope Records and several radio stations, the nonprofit entertainment world was new to Cota, and he had to quickly instantly grow competent in a range of genres.

Drug cartel slaying: An article in the July 17 Section A about questions surrounding the shooting death of U.S. immigration agent Jaime Zapata in Mexico said that Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), who is investigating the case, was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Grassley is the ranking Republican on the committee; Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) is the chairman. Showman's killing: An article in the July 20 Section A about the killing of nightclub owner Emilio Franco said that Franco was a native of the Mexican state of Sinaloa.