“La Crisis” continues…

In a moment of historic drama in the Capitol and on Wall Street, the House of Representatives voted to reject a $700 billion rescue of the financial industry. ~ New York Times 

BAILOUT FAILS; STOCKS PLUNGE Dow Loses 777 Points After Vote ~ New York Times 

Washington Mutual Bank Failure Biggest in U.S. History ~ LA Times

On my way home Sunday from work I made it a point to stop by store and take a picture of it. It seems that “La Crisis” just keeps getting worse and worse. Even if that Obama poster is a bargain at $14.99, I’d rather use that money to buy food. I may not know much about the stock market or fully grasp what’s going on right now, but I do know that it’s going to get worse before it gets better. On the brighter side of things, “The Doyers” are in the playoffs. One way or another I feel a riot coming on.

Dionicio Morales, 1918-2008*

Dionicio Morales, longtime activist for the citizens of the Eastside and a man who created opportunities for many throughout the years, passed away September 24 at Beverly Hospital in Montebello. He was 89.

Morales founded the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation in 1963 “to provide for the socio-economic betterment of the greater Latino community of California, while preserving the pride, values and heritage of the Mexican American culture. This is accomplished through programs in early childhood education and family services, job training, and senior lifestyle development throughout the multi-cultural communities served by MAOF,” according to the MAOF mission statement.

The Foundation provides different services to the communities it serves throughout Southern California, among them English classes, job training, and support for child care and cultural programs, among them ballet folklorico and mariachi groups.

Morales received a number of accolades in honor of his work for the communities of the Eastside, among them a Gold Line Eastside station named in his honor.

A private funeral reception will be held tomorrow, September 30, at 9:30 a.m. at St. Mariana de Paredes Church, Pico Rivera. Funeral mass begins at ten a.m. A public memorial will be held Friday, October 3rd, details pending. For more details on the public memorial, contact Vanessa Velez at vanessa.velez[at]promericabank.com or check the Dionicio Morales website.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to:

Que en paz descance don Dionicio Morales.

UPDATED 9/30/2008: The public memorial will be held Friday, Oct. 3rd, at nine a.m. at Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral, Downtown Los Angeles.

*Updated with information provided by Urbanista.

For more information, read his obituary at the L.A. Times’ website. You can also read more at his personal website and the MAOF website. Image above taken from his website.

La Gripa

Photo Credit: Cynthia Goldsmith

I don’t believe in flu shots. I’ve never had one and I don’t plan on getting one any time soon either. Specially since I just finished getting over it this weekend. My thing about the flu shot is that eventually the virus will mutate into an extremely viral form that can have the potential to kill anyone regardless of age or health status. Except last year I got the “Super Flu” and I was down for a month. I found this really cool interactive description of how a super flu is born and how we get it. Still, I prefer to get over it the old fashion way, building up my immune system and kicking it’s ass. This practice works for me because I only get sick once a year. My body takes about three days to get rid of la gripa and it happens in 4 stages:

1. Body/head aches, congested and generally feeling caca

2. The water works start and a handkerchief becomes my best friend

3. My throat feels as if I was the lead signer of a death metal band and every time I cough my body aches

4. I’m back to normal, but still expelling what’s left over  

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Gustavo Dudamel cut his hair! LA Philharmonic.

Marco Anelli) from NY Mag

Gustavo Dudamel (Photo: Marco Anelli) from NY Mag

(Retraction: A reader has confirmed my wrongness. It was Jayce Ogren with a shaved head.)

My boyfriend and I went to a free LA Phil concert at Disney Hall and we got a real treat, Gustavo Dudamel was conducting! (Or someone who looked alot like him with a shaved head.) How very generous of him. Jayce Ogren was scheduled to conduct and from where I was sitting it looked like Gustavo. Gustavo conducting at that event would be like Brad Pitt introducing one his movies at the Arclight on a random Tuesday matinee.

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Yabba Dabba Doo!

Sarah Palin is quoted as saying that “…Dinosaurs and Humans walked the Earth at the same time…”

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-palinreligion28-2008sep28,0,1440865.story

It looks to me like the Governor has learned her Earth History from watching a certain TV family from Bedrock.

We can only assume then, that this may be Governor Palin’s vision for our country’s future in Science and Space Exploration…..

A Response Regarding the Eastside “debate”

I told Chuy90023 that his comment on Daniel Hernandez’s post regarding his flip-flop on the Eastside definition was worthy of it’s own post, and being the typical humble Eastsider, he put his response in the comment of a previous post. Vato, you need to learn from these paid journalists; the only thing that makes their words more meaningful is that they act like their words have more meaning. And since I know Chuy’s words really do mean more than those of guys that get paid to write, I’m reposting his comment here as its own post, on a website that doesn’t rely on web traffic as a source of revenue.

I posted the comment below on Daniel Hernandez’s Intersections yesterday but el Chavo and I thought I’d repost it here since probably not a lot of LAEastside.com readers visit the other site:

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Still going on

I grew up listening to music in Spanish, mostly anything with a mariachi, banda, or conjunto norteño, never even hearing those “oldies” organic to Los Angeles. I’ve had a musical exploration reverse to many people my age or of previous generations. Many I know grew up listening to music in English and started to explore music from México or Latin America later in life (if they ever did), while I started to explore music in English when I was about fourteen. Even now, I mostly listen to  and explore different music from México, but that’s due to me playing in mariachis for the past eight years.

Imagine my surprise yesterday when a post over at Guanabee came up on my RSS feed. I scour the internet for news relating to mariachi, especially this week, when the San José Mariachi and Latin Music Festival is on. [During mariachi festival time, new & interesting things come to light, like Rubén Fuentes, longtime former member and director of Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán (64 years and counting), and songwriter extraordinaire, gave an interview (he is very reclusive) and stated that the future of mariachi music was in the United States.] One of the festival’s concerts, last night’s, was headlined by Ersi Arvizu, a name I did not recognize. As I read on, however, it became clear I already knew who she was. Continue reading

The Best Thing About Boyle Heights? Some White Guy

Really? Really! At least according to LA City Beat, which picks “the best things in your neighborhood” in it’s latest issue. Who is it? Why, it’s Ron Gormon…whoever the fuck that is. Since you probably don’t know him either, here is the fascinating entry:

Boyle Heights
Ron Garmon
There used to be a real swing to Boyle Heights, they tell me. Most of this was just a quick whoosh of air from people ducking behind walls and flowerpots and lampposts and fat people when they saw Hunter S. Thompson coming toward them. Oh, it was also the case that Thee Midniters and Los Lobos brought wild nights and neighborhood pride to clubs that have since (of course) been murdered most foul. These days, there is little to commend in the sad, dingy nabe – except for one bright shining star: our very own Mister Ron Garmon.

You can see him, with his gleaming pale mull-hawk and fierce blue peepers, striding purposefully for a bus. (Just look for the guy who looks like Sting, or Rutger Hauer, or Rod Stewart, but mostly Sting.) You can see him, focused furiously on a far horizon, mostly because he’s on drugs. You can befriend him! He has many friends! He is kind, and handsome, and a man of talent and taste. Ron Garmon? So recommended. 5209 Wilshire Blvd., L.A., (323) 938-1700. (RS)

Oh, I guess he writes for them. Hey, and checkout his handsome face. Ay que chulo! Now I know who to congratulate for being the best thing someone could scrounge up about that “sad, dingy nabe” where I grew up.

Is this supposed to be a joke? Jaja, muy chistoso cabron.  If the media, blogs, westsiders, and newbies weren’t so consistently dismissive and confused about this part of town, maybe I’d laugh too. But reading such Dude-Bro humor as I was trying my first PinkBerry dessert (cuz I want to understand you Westies and your ways) just made me want to spit my yogurt out as an act of defiance. Thanks LA City Beat, you really made my day!

PS. The yogurt was good, but you Westies go crazy over nothing.

The rise of NELA

I remember way back when the hoods of Lincoln Heights, Highland Park, Happy Valley, Cypress Park, El Sereno, and Glassel Park really didn’t have a moniker to say: this is ____! But in the past year or so I’ve heard many an utterance of the acronym “NELA.” Now, I had in the past said “NorthEast L.A.” or even write it that way. Hell I even thought I made it up, but assuming their is a collective unconsiousness we folks in our part of the Eastside have come up with the same acronym. NOW people say NELA as in Neh-Luh. That my friend is pretty chido in my book.

Before I had to say oh, “I live north of East L.A., across the tracks.”  Now I can assuredly say I live in NELA.

What Will You Do if Obama Loses?

Recently, many people have said to me, “I don’t know what I will do if McCain wins?” Maybe voting Democrats should have a back-up plan just in case.

Since I don’t vote (see the Emma Goldman quote below) my life will in all likelihood stay the same – barely employed, no health insurance, don’t own property, no 401K, etc. So if McCain wins I won’t be doing anything different and if Obama wins my life will be the same. But for those who believe in the U.S.A.’s democratic system what will you do if your candidate doesn’t win?

“If voting changed anything, they’d make it illegal.”