Even on a chilly December evening, people pour into San Jose’s Mexican Heritage Plaza, known fondly as “La Plaza,” for the annual “Fiesta Navidena” holiday celebration. A mariachi band ends
Photo by Katie Lauer
Above the din of conversation and faint whiffs of cigarette smoke inside Caravan Lounge in downtown San Jose, Billy Joel s Piano Man serenades customers spaced six feet apart underneath party lights at the bar. I still feel like we should sway, Amy Conners says, arms outstretched to her fellow patrons.
It s only a Wednesday, but Conners is in a celebrating mood, because this is the first night residents of Santa Clara County can gather inside bars without the pretext of dinner in more than a year. The South Bay moved into the yellow tier, California s least restrictive set of rules for the pandemic, following record low Covid-19 cases and increasing vaccination rates.