In Other Families, This Would Be a Big Fuckin' Deal

First watch this trailer:



The motel featured in this movie is the El Monaco. My grandfather bought the place two weeks after the events of this movie took place. He owned it for 35 years after that, selling it in 2004. He died in 2005, and in 2007, the town tore part of it down to build a clocktower.

I always knew Woodstock took place at Yasgur Farm, close to the El Monaco, but I never knew the extent of the restaurant/motel's role in the logistics of festival planning. In fact, when I first saw this trailer, I thought "Wait, did he just say 'El Monaco'? Could it possibly the same El Monaco that belonged to my crazy Italian family?"

Sure enough it is. And for the record, it looked nothing like the place in the movie.

And sure enough, my crazy Italian family never told me about the place's unique history. I just knew it had a vague connection to Woodstock, nothing my family played up. Crazies. I shake my head.