Listen Here/Cold Duck Time by Poncho Sanchez

Some Firme Music to enjoy a beautiful day in The Eastside……..

~A message I read on my way to work on the bus ~

A poem by Abelardo “Lalo” Delgado

stupid america, see that chicano
with a big knife
on his steady hand
he doesn’t want to knife you
he wants to sit on a bench
and carve christfigures
but you won’t let him.
stupid america, hear that chicano
shouting curses on the street
he is a poet
without paper and pencil
and since he cannot write
he will explode.
stupid america, remember that chicanito
flunking math and english
he is a picasso
of your western states
but he will die
with one thousand masterpieces
hanging only from his mind.

One of the first lessons I learned about life back when I was a wee little Random Hero was that you had to rock the right shoes. I have two distinct memories etched in my psyche about this. I was in the third grade and my mom bought me a new pair of shoes from pay less. They were a pair of Raider shoes. They had the team colors, logo and everything and I remember friends telling me, “Aww cool. Raider shoes.” Later on in junior high I learned that you got clowned on for having pay less shoes because it implied your ass was po’. I remember being in gym class in junior high and these two guys were making fun of people for their looks and/or clothes. I was sitting down next to them minding my own business and one of the guys starts eye balling me. He looks me up and down and thinks about making fun of me, but the guy next to him looks me up and down too and stops at my feet. He see’s that I have some Jason Kidd Nikes and says, “nah he’s cool.” As shallow and materialistic as it is, having the right kind of shoes makes or breaks a person sometimes. For some of us, sneakers are way more than just things we wear because we need to, it’s an extension of who we are and what we represent.

Kicks can say everything from what musical genre you listen to what barrio you from. Growing up, I knew that you had to have a decent pair of shoes, but nothing too fancy because then you’ll get robbed. Anything high end like Jordans and Nikes was always a target for all the punk cholo and bangers that would take them from you so they can have them. I also knew that you couldn’t wear certain shoes, like the Cortez because it was a signal that you were a cholo. You had to make sure you weren’t wearing the wrong colors and shoes por que sino, you’d end up dead and barefoot. My parents knew this as well and they made sure that even though we didn’t have money to buy a bag of tortillas, that we had a decent pair of shoes and looked presentable because if we looked bad and po’, they looked bad and po’. Weird how that worked. The Warehouse Shoe store has been theee spot for shoes for my entire family. For years, this store has always had the shoes we wanted and cheap. We used our school ID’s and coupons to save money here and there because when you have four kids that need new shoes for back to school, every penny counts. The WSS is easily the number one store for Latinos/as shopping for shoes outside mom and pop stores. Everyone knows it and it’s like a family tradition to go shopping there. Getting dressed in your Sunday best and looking for that new pair of shoes that you can show off at school the following week.  My taste for shoes changed over the years from basketball shoes that said that I wasn’t po’ and I was some what cool to wearing Adidas Samba and saying, “I know these are soccer shoes, but damn are they comfortable. I’m smart and into different things than everyone else.” It may be shallow and judgmental on my part, but when I meet someone I always check out what shoes they’re wearing and help tailor my mode of communication to match one that would be close to their personality. It never fails.

It’s also impossible to talk about sneaker culture without mentioning the influence hip-hop has had over the years. Hip-hop culture has thrust sneakers as a fashion accessory that made your outfit complete.  Starting from the late ‘6Os to present day, it’s become a life style in its own right and if you own more than five pair of sneakers that color match your outfits, chances are your a sneaker head. I’ve seen $500 dollar pair of shoes that looked like someone put them together blind folded with whatever materials were around. I’ve seen custom shoes that have jewelry encrusted in them. While I enjoy a good pair of sneakers, I’ve never paid more than $70-$80 for a single pair. No shoe is worth that much money in my mind.

In the end however, they all share they same fate, no matter what they say or cost. They’re just sneakers. We wear them to protect our feet from the brutal world and if you’re like me, then you wear sneakers for one reason and one reason only, for sneaking.

All take place at Casa 0101 (a new spot– 1 block east from the old spot), 2102 1st Street, Boyle Heights.  Both days of art protest are free! Also, another opportunity to check out the Juarez protest art exhibit.

Friday, March 12, 8pm to 10pm

Writer/performer Claudia Rodriguez

Discussion with Dr. Ana Nogales on Human Trafficking

Music performance by Ramona Gonzalez & Carlos Zelaya

Music Performance by Big Joe Hurt

Saturday, March 13, 8pm to 10pm

Poets: Maestras Gloria Alvarez & Judith Terzi, Poetess of the Water

UCLA Professor & Chair of Chicano Studies Alicia Gaspar de Alba reading from her book, Desert Blood, followed by Q&A.

Writer/Poet Consuelo Flores, reading from her art activism work on Juarez, followed by Q&A

New performance by artist Vibiana Aparicio Chamberlin!

Writer/performer reina alexandra prado

New performance by Liliflor Kozmica & SPACE Intruderz!

Next week March 19 & 20, film screenings FREE! Señorita Extraviada, on March 19 & Border Echoes on March 20, 8pm to 10pm on each day

I don’t know why I care. It actually makes me look bad, a so-called vegetarian succumbing to eating ground up shrimp powder? I mean, why not just go for some dolphin or tuna or shark or lobster instead of the roach of the sea? Cuz I’m an idiot, that’s why.

Yet here I am once again excitedly reminding you that during these few weeks of cuaresma you might consider trying that odd and irrelevant plate of Tortas de Camaron, a dish that will disappear for another year once the zombie Jesus squirms his way out of that tomb. It’s a strange seasonal option: the dish consists of tortas (or tortitas) which are fried shrimp-powder infused egg batter, topped with nopalitos and doused with a red chile sauce. Its the poor persons way of not eating land animals as an act of sacrifice (oh please!) meant to appease some Catholic tradition or other. I used to know, now I don’t care. It’s just a time of year with much more food options at Mexican restaurants for vegetarians. And bad vegetarians as well.

There’s something satisfying about the simplicity of this plate, its humble origins, and the pleasing contrast of textures. It just works.

It’s an option quite common all over the Eastside, might be hard to find in the rest of Los Angeles though. I once called 5 different “Mexican” places on the Westside of town, none of them seemed to know what I was talking about. Though I bet if I could have talked to the folks in the kitchen, then It might have been a different story.  This time I was checking out Lencho’s, that Lincoln Heights spot that has changed hands quite a bit in the past years, though I hope this current crop of owners and their Sinalo style fare stick around.

The requisite chips and salsa. At no extra charge. Aka, a proper restaurant.

Though it looks kinda boring and unspectacular, this is easily the best example of the dish I’ve had to date. Never mind that the rice and beans were perfect, which in itself is an odd occurrence. The tortitas were the right balance of nopales, tortas, and chile sauce. Even though it was a quite mild sauce in terms of spiciness, it was rich with flavor, the kind you just want to spoon up and drink. Plus these tortas were soft and pliable, though they kept their form. Too many as of late have been quite hard and tough to eat. Not at Lencho’s.

I may try other places but now I know where to cure my cravings.

Lencho’s
2657 Pasadena Ave  323.227.5752
Lincoln Heights, 90031

Be sure to check out this weekends list events. After reading some of my stuff this past Saturday and feeling the energy of not only the exhibit, but the crowd, you won’t be the same again. Trust me.

Friday March 12
Discussion with Ana Nogales on Human Trafficking hosted by Sandy Cornejo, 8 pm to 10 p.m. Performance by Ramona Gonzalez & Carlos Zelaya

Saturday March 13

Music Performance hosted by Sandra Canchola 8  to 11 p.m.

Poets: Gloria Alvarez, Judith Terzi & Poetess of the Water

UCLA Professor & Chair of Chicano Studies Alicia Gaspar de Alba reading from her book Desert Blood followed by Q & A.

Artist Activist Consuelo Flores will read from her work, followed by Q & A
Performances by Artist Vibiana Aparicio Chamberlin, Reina Alexandra Prado
Liliflor Kozmica & SPACE Intruderz.

The Prayer for Juarez exhibit will be open for viewing on both days.

Studio Ave. 50

The Avenue 50 Studio is participating in a world-wide call to attention.  As part of A Prayer for Juarez, a network of companion exhibits will take place in March.

Art work from: Alfonso Acevesm, Ismael de Anda, Antonio Escalante, Judithe Hernandez, Cindy Suriyani vincent mayakovsky, Angela Briggs, Laura Blanco “La China” and poetry readings by Abel Salas, Gloria Enedina Alvarez and Reina Prado from 7 to 10 p.m.

Sunday, March 14th

CORE MEMBER/CO-FOUNDER PANEL PLATICA @ 6 p.m.

SALON de la PLAZA (1st floor/exhibit area)
1866 E. First Street
Los Angeles/Boyle Heights, CA 90033

ECLECTICA @ 9p.m.
Mujeres de Maiz Dance Party
Eastside Luv
1835 E. First Street
Los Angeles/Boyle Heights, CA 90033

Botanitas is an ongoing feature bringing you stories and news from various sources, upcoming events and other bits of ephemera that might be of interest to LA Eastside readers. Suggestions welcome!

Click through for maestros con ganas, income gaps, history razing,  phantom raising and Mexican clovers.

***3/10/10: NEW EVENTS!***

::NEWS::

Jaime Escalante

Unless you’ve been living under a Westside rock somewhere, you’ve probably heard the unfortunate news regarding well-known and respected former Garfield High School teacher Jaime Escalante, he is battling cancer.  The situation has been made worse by the growing costs of his medical treatment and his rapidly progressing illness. Despite his struggles, he still fondly remembers his students and his belief in “ganas” as motivational tool for the young pupils of East Los. Best wishes to the Escalante family…

Read here for the full article on his progress.
Visit Edward James Olmos site for more information and to make a donation.

Jobless Discoveries

Sad to say, but the news is just as bad for Escalante’s former colleagues, LAUSD plans to lay-off 4,700 teachers. The jobless recovery just keeps on getting jobless-ier, LA County Superior Court will be laying off 329 employees by April 1. The City of Los Angeles has approved 4,000 jobs to be cut from the budget. The prospects for making money legally in Los Angeles are getting grim. People will find a way to get by though, and it might not be pretty.

We’re number #1, again!

And while we’re on the subject, we’re number one, in income disparity that is! According to a recent opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times,
“The sputtering recovery now underway is producing few, if any, jobs to replace those that have been lost. Meanwhile, a variety of factors continues to push wages and most salaries lower.” Yup, pretty grim…

That’s all of a piece with trends documented by economists Emmanuel Saez and Thomas Piketty, whose research into global income patterns shows that between 1992 and 2007, America’s 400 richest households increased their average income by 399%, while the bottom 90% of the country’s households gained just 13%. (Those percentages, by the way, reflect inflation-adjusted dollars.)

For a country that prides itself on creating opportunity and encouraging social mobility, those are distressing figures. And if you narrow the focus to Los Angeles County, the picture is even darker. According to figures compiled by the local chapter of the United Way, 1.47 million, or 15%, of the county’s approximately 10.4 million residents are living in poverty, which means an annual income of $22,000 for a family of four. Close to 100,000 of those families are getting by on less than $10,000 a year.

So what are we gonna do about it? Expect the banks and corporations to fix things? Does anyone still buy the ‘trickle down economics’ theory? I feel trickles of stuff and it ain’t money!

This Place Matters

The National Trust for Historic Preservation features an informative piece on their blog regarding the current battle to save Wyvernwood Garden Apartments from massive redevelopment.

Massive redevelopment threatens Wyvernwood Garden Apartments, the first large-scale garden apartment complex ever built in Los Angeles. Completed in 1939, Wyvernwood is located in East Los Angeles’ Boyle Heights area, and has been determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Residents oppose the complex’s demolition which would quadruple the site’s density and significantly impair its historic layout and park-like setting. These qualities paired with the close-knit community and family ties spanning generations have shaped Wyvernwood’s unique sense of place. Not only would Wyvernwood’s destruction mean losing an important part of the social fabric, architectural heritage, and urban landscape of Los Angeles, but it would also translate into a tragic loss for the city.

Full piece by Karina Muñiz here.

:::EVENTS:::

Don’t be shicken eh, go hang out with the awesome folks of The Boyle Heights Paranormal Project for their meet and greet and Linda Vista Hospital on Friday,  March 12  at 9pm.

Come celebrate with Boyle Heights Paranormal Project, in Collaboration with Linda Vista hospital in welcoming our family, friends and fans . Dare to experience the mystery and lore of one of Paranormal worlds most iconic haunted places, it is our pleasure to bring to you guest speakers, BHPP team members, and view snippets of the new documentary by BHPP titled ” My Boyle Heights Ghost Story ” , a collective account of personal experiences with the paranormal, by the people who experienced them. specifics and invite instructions will be posted on our facebook page. any concerns feel free to contact us.

Um, let me know how it goes cause I’m a big ‘fraidy cat and will not be in a attendance.

For more info, see their Facebook page.

In case you missed the interview I did with these fine folks, you can read it here.

San Patricio East Los Style

Eastside rockers Ollin will be performing for their annual Saint Patrick’s Day celebration across the river, at everyone’s favorite former Nayarit Nightclub, The Echo.

On St. Patrick’s Day, Ollin, the world-folk-punk fusion outfit from East L.A. will perform Rum, Sodomy and the Lash by The Pogues as well as many other traditional Irish tunes. This yearly tradition has a following unto its own. Ollin themselves have opened for The Pogues, in San Diego, LA and in New York on St. Patrick’s Day at The Roseland Ballroom 2008. Opening for this years show is singer songwriter Brant Bjork, a true artist of Mexican and Irish descent.

Mas info here.

Also Ry Cooder and The Chieftains have hopped on the San Patricio bandwagon (or is that the pattywagon?) with a new album full of Irish-Mex tunes.

Mas Exitos

The folks who put these nights together are not only innovative in their quirky cumbia song sets but also in their brilliantly detourned flyers. Tonight’s flyer has to be my favorite though, my love for the Eastside Stories oldies series is no secret. Ruben Molina of Eastside Oldies knowledge will be a guest DJ. All happening tonight at The Verdugo Bar.

Homeboys and Books

Fr. Greg Boyle will read from his book, Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion. Books will be available for sale, and Fr. Greg will sign all books. Friday, March 12, 7:00 p.m., Pasadena, CA: Reading and discussion at Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101. Open to the public. For further information, contact Jennifer Ramos, jramos@vromansbookstore.com, 626-449-5320.

Azteca New Year

Celebrate Aztec New Year at Xokolatl Cafe on Saturday, March 13th as part of our month-long celebration!

Event will feature a tianguis featuring over 20 local artisan vendors, spoken word performances, carnival style goodies like Xokolatl churros, and Elote Cups of corn, plus a special lecture by internationally acclaimed author EVERARDO LARA GONZALEZ who will discuss the connection between math, danza and the Aztec calendar.

Proceeds from our celebration benefit Semillas Community Schools, so please come out and show your support!

March 13: New Years Celebration Schedule:

12:30 – 5pm: Tianguis featuring over 20 artisan vendors, hand-made crafts, jewelry, pottery, local vendors, child activities and more.
6:30 – 7:30pm: Spoken Word featuring Mixpe Ley of Semillas and Lilia Ramirez, Semillas muralist and formerly of First Street Studios.
8- 9pm Lecture by internationally acclaimed author and mathematician Everardo Lara González, discussing the connection between math, danza and the Aztec calendar. Followed by Q&A and book signing.

Saturday, March 13, 2010
12:30pm – 10:00pm
Xokolatl Cafe
4987 Huntington Drive North (behind Cal State LA Credit Union)

The following is what I felt; what I saw. I lay no claim to objectivity: this is going to be heavy-handed. I am a student at CSULA. Been so for almost a decade. I have seen first hand the corrosion of the quality of resources, services, and education. I took no part in the organization of anything for March 4th. I was merely a participant at the march, as well as doing some acts of solidarity with the NO-CUTS COALITION at CSULA previous to the march. My lack of engagement was probably due to my tendency to not want to be an activist and also my perpetual business. As a student/worker, one is in a place that is extremely vulnerable: when one is not working, one is studying; and when one is not doing either of those, one is busy trying to get-by. This is a perfect place for the State and Global Capitalism to have us in: a place in limbo. The report continues after the jump…

My foray into March 4th’s event starts here in Lincoln Heights, right outside of Lincoln HS. I left work @ 12:30 and made my way to downtown LA on the 45. Before the start of lunch at Lincoln HS some students staged a sit-in of about 40 students at the flag pole.

I arrived at Olvera Street. Via Facebook an organizer of the CSULA contigency let me know that the meet-up point for various universities/campuses was to be the park in front of La Placita. Upon arrival, I was told we were waiting for others to arrive. The police presence at this point was not but a single squad car with a cop leaning against it just watching.

At this point people from PCC and a few other campuses had arrived. Also what seemed to be like some high school students arrived. It was awesome to see young people in the mix! One of them had one of the best signs!

A message worth taking to heart! The anti-capitalists were out in full-force at this march, but much too my own chagrin they were of the reformists/Statist sort: more on that later.

Having reached a critical mass, and all campuses arrived the air of the gathering turned festive with drums of all sorts and the chanting in full swing! Cheers met the newly arrived as they descended from buses or came out of Union Station. The part that bummed out was when someone was passing out “chants” on paper for us to do. Can’t we, us muddled-masses, be allowed to be creative and make our own? I know I am!

In awesome form, one of the organizers I knew, announced some of the things that we should all know when we are participating in a march so that we will have minimal hassle & intimidation from the pigs. For instance: state that you are exercising your first amendment right, you DO NOT consent to a search, and that you are engaging in political activity. I am not one for following pure legality, but the fact that many students are not “documented” immigrants necessitates this sort of dissemination of knowledge.

We marched our way up Alameda, turning on 1st street making our way through Little Tokyo. Here the police made sure that we stayed on the sidewalks (as did some of the organizers). A few on bicycles urged us to take to the streets but as soon as we did the cops made sure to block us and corral us onto the sidewalks once again. It was then I really wish my bicycle was in riding order so that I could help bring the march ONTO the streets. I know we had support from drivers because they greeted us with fists in the air and car horns blasting!

Here we are at the corner of 1st and Los Angeles St. As you can see the cops  became more plentiful. The bicyclists helped the march taunt the police by re-inviting us into the streets. Fantastic!

Some marchers atop the sign for City Hall South. If only sledgehammers were brought along! The march continued, with lots of the usual chanting & drums heading into Downtown proper and finally ended up in Pershing Square.

Here we are on the corner of 5th & Hill. This is where my spirits went downhill. I like protest as celebration and revelry not just “letting people know what’s going on.” It should inspire us to do take to the streets every day! Making protest streamlined by handing pre-made signs makes protesting feel like work, not joyous action. I did not have a sign when I showed up. I was given a piece of cardboard by someone, borrowed a marker and made my own sign! I wish I had documented it but it read: “BUDGET CUTS =  CLASS WAR / FIGHT BACK!” And I believe it. Making it more and more difficult for working people to enter into the universities is class war by the hands of the state. As I recently overheard at a discussion group: it is both the retreating and arming of the state because the money not used in public institutions are shifted to fund wars, prisons, and the militarization of the police.

As I said, I enjoy when protest becomes creative & joyous (why should it be anything else?). Here we have some performance art type stuff going on with tongue-in-cheek signs like “It must suck to be BROWN” & “Dear Governator, I <3 Debt!” Now some activists would frown at this kind of thing but most of the protest at this march existed in the realm of the symbolic and so why not at least make it interesting? Are we not just struggling against “Budget Cuts” but as well as struggling to regain the joy and freedom of our very lives?

Another great sign! And this time mocking how some punks probably only show up to protests for punk points! Although there weren’t that many punks here; the punks I did see somehow got tricked into carrying RED flags;  just by reading their patches I know they listen to anarcho-punk.  When I asked them where they got the flags they said someone just gave them to them. Don’t get swindled into giving someone else’s message! This is why I refused those pre-made signs that had websites to their respective socialist/communist organizations at the bottom. I am autonomous!

Here we are. Corralled in by the police. I could feel that the protesters just wanted to keep marching! They had a taste of running wild on the streets and wanted more! A few friends I met had the same sentiment. One said, “this all feels so controlled.” EXACTLY!

Here’s a truck. They had speakers on it. They were meant to rile up the crowd but I thought it was a bore. Some talked about taxing the rich to solve things. Why do State-Socialists think that that can solve everything? When they sleep do they dream only of taxing the rich? …so I turned my attention elsewhere!

Theses guys were doing some weird-ass dance moves. I’m into it. Subvert normality!

Eventually the people here joined the professors at their own march (?) a few blocks down. Here the mass of people seemed to be at least a thousand people. You could see the diversity of people out here: university workers, students, professors, etc.

I thankfully found the rowdy part of the march to hang out with. So rowdy they started to PROTEST the ORGANIZERS! See that truck in the background? It was blocking our way and blasting Rage Against the Machine (snore!). They started to chant: “START THE MARCH! START THE MARCH!” And this chant started to catch on.

Here, a bare-footed protester climbed up the wall and then proceeded to let down the fire escape ladder. His actions were greeted with cheers. I knew some here wanted more than just chanting and marching! He was inviting more to join him and I was hoping something more was going to happen but it stopped there. He came down and those Downtown security folks in purple shirts just seemed to give him a lecture as he walked away.

This is where I stopped taking photos.

Eventually we were allowed to head down to the Ronald Reagan building. Here a band played. And once again I could tell people just wanting to keep rolling through city but here we were, in front of a building.

CONCLUSION: Yes, most of this write-up was critical but what I realized is that I need to “ORGANIZE, NOT MOURN.” One cannot expect one’s desires to be realized by solely thinking of them. Soon, some of the organizers at CSULA will be meeting and I will be there to put in my two cents and see where this can go. My personal inspiration around this growing student movement comes from the wave of occupations and other direct-actions taken by students.

For more on that go here:

http://occupyca.wordpress.com/

& here:

http://occupyeverything.com/

For local stuff go here:

http://la.indymedia.org/crows/

Also do not let anyone, no matter where they are coming from, control what you want to do to express what you want. No one is the gatekeeper to your life. Just because someone has “organized” dozens of marches, demonstrations does not mean that what you feel, think is of any less value. Our dreams can never fit on a bill, in a ballot box, or on a protest sign. Keep dreaming, keep revolting! I was inspired to see anything go down to counteract what is going on.

NOTE: Feel free to disseminate, critique, and comment. I am but one voice amongst many!