In between gift-giving and watching Oscar contenders,
Listening to Beyoncé and holiday party benders,
Zócalo took a break to take a look back in time,
To bid a fond farewell to 2013 in rhyme.
This was the year of the e-cigarette, the golden age of twerking,
When “lean in” was the mantra for every woman working.
Edward Snowden blew the whistle, the NSA came under fire,
Spying on Americans was pretty bad, but things just got more dire:
Angela Merkel of Germany, Dilma Rousseff of Brazil,
Mexico and France plus Ehud Olmert of Israel—
Our allies we rewarded by listening to their phones,
Our enemies by targeting with our secret drones.
It was a stumble for Obama, but later came a chance
For our second-term president to break out his victory dance.
Unfortunately for him, the fanfare was scotched
As Obamacare’s rollout was nothing less than botched
By glitches and bugs and grumbling galore:
Health exchange enrollment was this year’s biggest chore.
Two Texans loved the filibuster—Wendy Davis and Ted Cruz.
He read Dr. Seuss aloud; she called for a woman’s right to choose.
North Korea tested missiles, purged, and made threats,
The European Union still couldn’t escape its debts.
Intervention in Syria was averted at the 11th hour,
California Edison cut San Onofre’s nuclear power.
We bid goodbye to DOMA and sayonara to Prop 8.
Same-sex marriage became legal in seven more states.
L.A. fell in love this spring, broke out champagne and confetti,
But not merely to welcome new Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Dodger fans were woeful as the team limped into June,
But just a few days later they were singing a different tune:
Yasiel Puig was the chorus and the melody, too,
This 22-year-old from Cuba would surely save Big Blue.
He didn’t take them all the way; that’s what next year’s for,
But for now his rookie season goes down in L.A. lore.
Britain got a royal baby, America got North West,
Denmark’s president got a selfie, Brazil got protests.
A telephone call gave way to a U.S.-Iran nuclear deal,
Kobe Bryant was felled for months by his Achilles heel.
The Rim Fire burned the Sierra Nevada—400 miles gone.
Everyone was listening to that one Daft Punk song.
White smoke rose above the Vatican; speculation mounted,
Would the Church at last admit the world outside Europe counted?
The pope was from Latin America; Argentinians rejoiced,
Though Francis still seemed like a pretty conventional choice.
Then he started talking—about healing and compassion,
And why the stern tone of the Church had gone out of fashion.
He refuses to judge people, he drives a crappy car,
A guy who washes poor folks’ feet has become a superstar.
Devastation came in many forms and to many places:
A typhoon in the Philippines, a bombing at Boston’s races.
A gunman at Santa Monica College, another in D.C.,
Three kidnapped women in Cleveland were finally set free.
The world lost Nelson Mandela and came together to mourn.
A coup took hold in Egypt; Cairo remained strife-torn.
Fire took lives in a Bangladesh factory and the Arizona wild,
But a dose of love and goodwill took the form of a San Francisco child.
The Batkid saved Gotham in a celebration of survival.
Was there anything better in 2013 that went quite so viral?
Amazon showed off its drones, Twitter’s IPO was huge,
L.A. celebrated its aqueduct with an anniversary deluge.
(And then there was the JFK love, 50 years later,
If you didn’t mourn on November 22 you must’ve been a hater.)
Federal employees got an unexpected vacation,
As a nonessential shutdown followed sequestration.
Jason Collins left the closet, Google Glass debuted.
The Mulholland Bridge opened at last; 405 construction continued.
Voyager 1 went interstellar, we kept up with our fracking,
At the airport USC sent Coach Lane Kiffin packing.
Paula Deen went off the air, will Duck Dynasty be next?
Anthony Weiner tried and failed to make a comeback post-sext.
L.A.’s City Hall was left with just one woman standing.
Russia’s anti-gay laws had Americans demanding
A boycott of the Sochi Olympics and of Stoli, too.
Instead we got gay athletes in our delegation crew.
Jeff Bezos bought a paper; the LAT left bankruptcy.
Will Janet Napolitano be the one to rescue the UC?
Zócalo put on some kickass events, published more than ever,
It seems to be working pretty well, this Ideas Exchange endeavor!
You found us across the country, from Miami to Chicago to Phoenix.
We got the scoop on bicycle travel and on Rupert Murdoch’s genius.
In honor of our 10th birthday, we shared our founding story.
We reveled in the Midwestern mall in all its dying glory.
We hosted Greuel and Garcetti in a mayoral debate.
We launched a fantastic column that travels around the state:
Joe Mathews connects California for us on a weekly basis—
Riding a train to Sacramento or singing Central CA’s praises.
We asked the former head of Intel to talk computer chips,
TMZ’s Charles Latibeaudiere gave us hair care tips.
Linda Greenhouse discussed SCOTUS, an NFL boycott was explained.
Jason Bentley talked pop music, the state of L.A.’s plate was ascertained.
Immigration reform and game theory—our topics stayed eclectic,
The legendary Debbie Allen was nothing less than electric.
We teamed up with UCLA to tell the stories of the city.
A veteran explained why we’ve misplaced our pity.
We’re grateful for the support we got to get so much done.
Thanks to all who read, watched, and listened—it was always fun.
We’ll see you in 2014, big things for Zócalo are coming soon,
We can’t say anymore right now, so be sure to stay tuned!