Video: May Day march in Half Moon Bay

I followed the protesters for two or three hours, trying to capture a little of the feel of the march. They went all over—from 92 all the way down Main Street to Highway 1 at the south end, turned around and walked all the way down Main the other way, crossed 92, and came in the back way into the Albertson’s parking lot. Then back up Main, down Kelly to the Catholic Church. After a short break they headed out again, down Kelly, across Highway 1, and then through the Baskin-Robbins Plaza, then off to the Longs/Safeway Plaza. Then back to 92 to line the road.

At 7:00 pm they were still going strong!

I don’t speak a word of Spanish, but I was told by two different marchers that the phrase they keep chanting ("Sí se puede") translates as "We can do it!"

The police in the video look a tad ominous, but according to the CHP officers I spoke with (who were watching and waiting to be called if needed—they weren’t) there was no advance notice of the march so the HMB police were scrambling to escort the marchers to avoid injuries. In the video you’ll see the marchers approach the police vehicle—that was the first encounter. There’s a part I had to cut out where a female marcher says something like, "Oh no, the police are waiting for us," and male voice says, "Don’t worry." If you listen close to the video you can hear the police officer tell the marcher to march in the right lane and they will protect them. Later (on video) a police officer stops and asks them for the next part of their route—this happened several times.

Anyway, the cops did an awesome job of keeping up with the marchers and their winding path.