Viva Calle SJ celebrated its 10th year anniversary of street celebration on Sunday, Sept. 7, marking a decade of bringing San José a dynamic celebration of local culture, community and unity.

The event provides San José residents with a program that closes the roads of the city to bring big communities together. 

Through walking, biking and skating, residents are able to explore miles of the city without being bothered by traffic.

Vendors lined the streets of Downtown Willow Glen, one of the three activity hubs, allowing for community members to engage with transportation cultures through sponsors like VTA. 

David Monza, a vendor for San José merch, was vending for the first time after attending the event for many years prior.

“These things are so popular in the city, some people gripe because you gotta find a way around it,” Monza said. “But look at the turn out it’s unbelievable – people love it.”

Dating back to 2018, Viva Calle SJ has been able to provide benefits for every community. The event supports local members by building connections and community pride, according to a April 9 press release from the City of San José.

The annual event also helps local small businesses get visibility through this recreational event.

“It’s too hard for small businesses to compete nationally,” Monza said, “You gotta start in your community.”

According to data from the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, in the first 5 years, 49.4% of businesses fail.

With such failure rates, Viva Calle SJ is providing vendors an opportunity to an open area with people who are interested in supporting them.

Aside from vendors on the street, volunteers also made their way to carry out this community event.

Russel Dikes, a volunteer with Viva Calle SJ, said he has volunteered with the group for two years. 

“Putting on an event like this takes a lot of preparation… I’m doing traffic and I’m putting this up (ribbon) so the bikes could stop,” Dikes said.

He said that this added safety measure is implemented to keep bikers from areas where cars are permitted to pass. 

In the downtown San José area alone, it ranked the second highest number of bike crashes with 57% occurring at intersections, according to Walkup, Melodia.

Dikes noticed while volunteering that bike riders got creative and brought out lowrider bikes throughout the event.

Lowrider bikes hold an important significance to the San José community. According to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library’s 2018 exhibit, lowrider culture has deep roots in chicano culture.
“Something that stood out to me today was a bike that was five feet tall,” Dikes said. “There was (also) another one that had built-in speakers.”

Raul Ramirez, a community member and attendee for several years, took note of this and how many people were at the event.

“It was a nice walk, (though) there’s a lot of people on bikes and not a lot of places for people to walk,” Ramirez said. “Everywhere is just crowded with bikes – going one way or the other.” 

While he expressed frustration over the cyclist and how they maneuver, California Vehicle Code (cvc) 21200 allows riders to have the same rights as vehicle drivers. 

Ramirez also spoke on how the event could have been easier to navigate.
“Could it have been a little bit more organized – probably,” Ramirez said. “Some people on bikes (I feel) don’t know anything about riding a bike or maybe bike laws in general.”

Even with the presence of bikes sparking mixed reactions in shared spaces – others see it a natural part of the community.

Chris Doty, who has attended the event for five years, was riding his bike with his son. 

“(The event is) definitely growing, we just got here (so) we are hoping to go as far as possible,” Doty said. “Of course the event closes in an hour or two so we’ll go as far as it makes sense.”

The event went beyond to clear up miles of traffic throughout San José neighborhoods including Willow Glen, Rose Garden and Watson park, all of which provided attendees with food trucks and restroom pit stops.

“San José has the perfect weather for it, why not, it’s not like Seattle where you are going to get five sunny days a year,” Monza said.