Gomidas Statue in Detroit
The calendar just flipped to August,
and I am feeling the growing excitement for the Olympics. No, not those
Olympics. I am watching those Olympics on TV. If you are Armenian and
an AYF member or alumnus, you know I am not talking about Paris. I am
talking about Detroit…the Motor City…Motown. I am talking about the 90th AYF Olympic Games.
There is something that happens to many of us around the time of the AYF Olympics. It happens more often every fourth year. In the course of general conversation, people ask me about my summer vacation and travel plans. My answer always ends with, “and then we’re off to the Olympics.” I forget, way too often, that I am not talking to an Armenian, and they, of course, think I mean the international Olympics. In the off years, often the response is, “What? There is no Olympics this year!” In years like this one, responses are similar to one I got today: “Cool! Wait…shouldn’t you already be there?” To which I say, “Not those Olympics. I am talking about the Armenian Olympics,” and proceed to explain what the AYF is all about.
The other Olympics, the bigger budget one, like this year’s Summer Olympics, is held every four years. Ours? We can’t possibly wait four years to see our friends and family, so we have an Olympics every year. Our Olympics take place over a three-day period on Labor Day Weekend. The other Olympics is about two weeks. The 33rd international Olympics is being held in the famed French city…the City of Love, the City of Lights, the City of Arts and Food. Paris was founded in 259 BC and became known as Paris in the fourth century AD. The AYF Olympics will be held in Detroit, which started off, coincidentally, as a French city with its distinctive French name. Detroit was founded by Antoine de La Mothe Cadillac on July 24, 1701. It was a British city between 1760-1796, when it became part of the U.S.
Speaking of Antoine de La Mothe Cadillac, his name, Cadillac, is a big deal in Detroit. Cadillac, of course, is the luxury brand of Generals Motors. There is the Book Cadillac Hotel downtown, which is a few blocks from Cadillac Square (was it ever an AYF Olympic hotel?). Yours truly went to Cadillac Junior High School, which I just heard is being torn down. There is a statue of Cadillac on the façade of Detroit City Hall and another in Hart Plaza.
Speaking of statues, there is
actually a statue of Gomidas Vartabed in downtown Detroit. It is located
on Jefferson Avenue near the Renaissance Center. It is also adjacent to
Hart Plaza and Cobo. The Arto Chakmakian sculpture was installed in
1980 by a committee led by Michael M. Assarian. The inscription reads,
“We Detroit Armenians dedicate this monument to the memory of our
1,500,000 Armenian martyrs massacred during the 1915 Genocide.” It is a
great photo op for those attending the Olympics this year. By the way,
29 years after the Detroit statue was installed, Paris put up a statue
of Gomidas Vartabed in 2009.Gomidas Statue in Paris
For me, going to the Olympics in Detroit is extra special. It is a return home. The Detroit “Kopernik Tandourjian” Chapter is the only AYF chapter I was ever a part of. Not surprisingly, the AYF and Olympics were a central part of our family life growing up. It became even more important when my father, Sonny, became the track coach for the Detroit AYF Juniors and Seniors back in the 1970s. It will be awesome to be in a downtown hotel again in the revitalized city.
I have never really thought about going to the other Olympics. I enjoy watching them on TV with enthusiasm, as I am right now while typing this little article. But for me, it is a prelude to the AYF Olympics. When the Olympics in Paris ends on Sunday, August 11, the world will have to wait four years for the next Olympics. We Armenians will only have to wait two and a half weeks for ours.
I can’t wait…tebi Detroit.
===
Originally published in the Armenian Weekly August 6, 2024
No comments:
Post a Comment