Huell Howser Visits a Lowrider Show

I’ve seen loads of Huell Howser episodes. But a friend recently mentioned this one that I had never seen. If I haven’t seen it, maybe you haven’t either. Huell visits the old Sports Arena (now the really nice home to the new Los Angeles Football Club) for a Super Show of Lowriders. It’s an awesome episode highlighting some aspects of Chicano culture. I really like the bike at the 14:00 minute mark, with the Jesucristo wheel, some fish in the bike seat, and a live scorpion to get some attention. Enjoy!

Click on this link to see the full episode.
https://blogs.chapman.edu/huell-howser-archives/1994/09/04/visiting-201-lowriders/

Fallen Anarchist Honored at Odd Fellows Cemetery…A Century Later

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Thanks to the hard work of the good folks at the IWW, the Black Rose Historical and Mutual Aid Society, some solid local comrades, and caring anarchists from around the world, Rafael Adames, killed by the LAPD back in 1913 during what came to be known as the Christmas Day Riot, finally has a marker for his grave.

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2 Minutes on Broadway and 5th

Not my usual 2 minutes of random street corners, but I thought this one might be of interest. A makeshift memorial for Olivia Gamboa, a bus driver killed in an early morning crash. People seemed to be moved by this tragic accident, showing their empathy for another working person, someone they might have encountered at some point on their way to and from work.

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Rest In Peace Olivia Gamboa, fellow worker that helped us get to our destinations.

More info here http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-bus-driver-killed-20130612,0,1359034.story

Cinco de Mayo: A Cultural Holiday

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We were driving thru the Westside today, somewhere along the border of Silver Lake and Echo Park, when we thought we saw something stupid headed our way. Sure enough, and cuz I had my camera handy, we were able to take a picture of some innocent dolt dressing up as a Mexican captain of sorts on his way to some shitty place to drink his shitty Tecate beers. Oh yeah, it’s Drinko de Mayo! We of the Chicano variety are not so learnededed on this American holiday so we decided to seek out an experience. Might as well get to know the Ethnic people that live in your city and figure out why they do the things they do.

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Sal Si Puedes #4 Publication Release

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I’d heard rumors oh for many, many years that at long last another issue of SSP would see the light of day. I didn’t believe it, and still don’t, but CT is so convinced of its resurrection that there is an actual “Publication Release” planned for Saturday, March 9th 2013 at 8pm over at Espacio 1839 in Boyle Heights. Seeing is believing buddy. Notice it doesn’t say Release Party? I did. O pues.

If you don’t know, Sal Si Puedes is one of the best literary magazines to come out of the Eastside. I did a review of issue #3 waaaaayyy back in 2005, you should go read it.

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See, doesn’t that sound interesting? It might take another decade for the next issue to come out so if I were you I’d hurry in to get my copy. The going rate is $10 but if you mention that you heard about it on LA Eastside, CT will let you have it for $9.99 and will throw in a free knock-knock joke. Yer welcome!

See ya there!

Check out the Facebook invite here.

Espacio 1839  
1839 1st. St (near Mariachi Plaza)
323.265.3730

Hello? Hello? Anybody there?

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Where were we? It seems like a bit of time since we last spoke. I thought it was a few weeks, maybe a month or two (tops!) but it turns out this lil’ site that couldn’t has been down for more than a year. Oh well, shit happens. Mostly it was a bunch of stupid spambots and viruses, lots of digital cleanup to do, but there was also the chance that we were going to go full throttle and GET A NEW THEME! PUNCH IT UP A BIT! GET BACK IN THE GAME! but sadly the writing was on the wall. Or wasn’t actually. Posting was getting scarce, many of the LAE participants were doing other things, and who has time for blogs anymore anyways?

We did this for fun and to bring some attention to some of the (still) overlooked communities in our metropolis. It was also to counter the crush of new LA residents jumping off the turnip truck and declaring anything East of the beach communities as “Eastside”, an erasure of history some of us found unacceptable. Since most of us were either students or workers the demands of this miserable world constantly increased taking away what little disposable time we had for posting stuff on a blog. Besides, life is elsewhere.

I didn’t want to pull an LA City Nerd and deny access to some useful posts, so I finally got the site back up so you can go back and see some of the smart, thoughtful, and incisive commentary we contributed to the discussion of our city. As well as all the silly, controversial, crass, and pointed articles that were probably even more important. There might be some new posts happening at some point since there is still much to say, and not many people are saying the things that need to be said, but the LA Eastside you once knew is no more. Pour one for the homies.

In conclusion: the site is up, it is no longer the same, only the cards know what is to come.

Nos Vemos Pronto!

The Spectre of City Hall

 

So the official encampment of OccupyLA has come & gone. And the bail has been set at an exorbitant, but unsurprising $5,000. La Opinion informs us that some people have set-up shop down the street at la Placita Olvera, and the HuffPost says that some “occupiers” tried to reconvene at the Corn Fields but were pretty quickly rebuffed by the LAPD.

As many have mentioned, the eviction flew in the face of a pending court injunction to stall the eviction (though the judge later ruled it “meaningless”). Since I am never surprised that politicians, bankers, and other powerful actors in our society use the law solely for their benefit, it does surprise me when others are surprised:

8:21 pm, Lucero:  [INTRODUCES OUR ‘SOLIDARITY CLAP’]. We are Occupy LA and our First Amendment rights are being trampled on and that’s what we are standing up for. [Occupy LA “minutes,” source]

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Undocumented Event, Friday December 2 in Boyle Heights

Chicano Studies Research Center (CSRC) of UCLA is holding its first “Undocumented Event”

In conjunction with the ongoing L.A. Xicano exhibitions, CSRC will hold “Undocumented Event No. 1” on Friday, December 2, 3:00–8:00 p.m., at the Boyle Heights Farmers Market. Coproduced by the Mobile Mural Lab, an art space on wheels created by Los Angeles-based artists to foster dialogue and engage the community around matters of public art, this free public event will focus on muralism in Los Angeles.  Artists will be on hand to discuss the history of muralism, its role in community development, and the L.A. City Council’s mural moratorium, which was instituted in 2002 but is currently under review. The Mobile Mural Lab will offer outdoor video screenings and a mini-exhibition, and attendees can record their comments on the truck’s exterior—a portable mural space. The Boyle Heights Farmers Market is located on Bailey Street at East 1st Street , near Mariachi Plaza .

The Undocumented Event series will continue with pop-up events and activities. Each will be different in nature, involving community members and Chicano artists in varied capacities and covering a range of themes, including paper fashion, music, muralism, and other visual arts. The events will take place at public sites throughout Los Angeles through February 26, 2012. 

Don’t miss the next Undocumented Event — Friend CSRC and L.A. Xicano on Facebook!