Monthly Archives: October 2009

Happy Holidays!

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It’s my favorite time of the year, the Halloween/Dia de los Muertos holiday season.

A few years ago I went to Mexico to celebrate the Fiestas de Octubre. I was quite surprised by the fervor in which Mexico celebrates Halloween and how it’s been combined with many of the Dia de los Muertos traditions. There are many that may be dismayed by this change but not me, I thought the hybridization of traditions was inspiring and clever, most notably in the way people decorated their homes, altars and costume choices.

Just like all other holidays in Mexico, Halloween is not celebrated on just one day, I saw kids wearing their costumes up to five days ahead of the 31st and the school costume parades started on October 28th. And by the way, there’s no little princesses or cute frilly costumes in sight, it’s all ghouls, vampires, mummies and Dia de los Muertos inspired attire like La Catrina. I say we start taking our cues from Mexico and make Halloween a week-long holiday and stop dressing our kids like little cupcakes!

Since it’s right about that time when folks start preparing their altars and deciding on costume ideas, I’d like to share some of the photos I took while in Mexico. Hopefully, it will inspire you to try out some new ideas this year. I was particularly impressed by the altares created by the indigenous groups in Oaxaca, simple but beautiful.
Click the links below for more photos:

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS EN MEXICO
HALLOWEEN EN MEXICO
PAN DE MUERTO

This year I’m heading to Guadalajara and maybe Michoacan for the annual fiestas. I’m sure I’ll return with dazzled eyes and a mind swimming with ideas for next year’s projects!

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Halloween Horror Nights Pics

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So even though I already mentioned the Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights a few post ago, I’d figure I would post some of the pics form that first night. Man was t fun. But I’ll let you guys be the judge of that 🙂 Pics taken by the GF <3

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Slanguage Re-cap on “Dislexicon”

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Thank you to those that were able to make it to ” Dislexicon” this past Thursday @ MOCA. Our little video turned out okay despite the fact it was homemade stilo and we only had a two week period.

Raul Vasquez and Karla Diaz appear in our movie as random characters. They came out and performed spoken word on stage immediately after the movie.

The movie is old history of Wilmington California as well as street history with an art twist check it out.

More after that dark corner…

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Westside 101: West Hollywood Bookfair

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Some stupid company once put West Hollywood on an eastside map, which was a laugh riot. But after a ritual burning and casting of spells, they saw the error of their fake eastside ways and have now given West Hollywood their own map. Good for them. It’s not often I find myself in this community but how can anyone resist a bookfair? Pa’ los libros!

Even though this post is about a bookfair, there is a fair amount of pictures up ahead. You’ve been warned.

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7-Eleven Opens in Lincoln Heights

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Friday’s Grand Opening for the new Lincoln Heights 7-Eleven began a little slow, and the DJ and Laker Girls may have wondered if anyone would show up. No worries. Once the final civic representative arrived,  the ribbon was cut and samples were offered. It happened to be the same time Lincoln High School let out, and word spread via phones and twitter that there were free Slurpees nearby.

As for 7-Eleven, the North Broadway Business District is the kind of location they hope to expand into, as part of their seven-year corporate business plan to take back their convenience market domain. Still, this on-the-spot report shows community outreach by 7-Eleven and business development by Councilman Ed Reyes office is the point of the new store. At the end of the video, the most popular ambassadors of Los Angeles offer some goodwill to the neighborhood.

7-Eleven is located at 3201 N. Broadway, in Lincoln Heights.

Dia de los Muertos 09 at Self Help Graphics & Art

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~click on flier for bigger version ~ Image: Deadly Stylish by Diane Gamboa, 2009

I remember last years Dia de los Muertos. I got my face painted, got a kiss from Leo Limon, ate tamales, rocked out to the bands on stage and hung out with Viki D. and P-3000 through-out the night. I can’t wait to see what this years celebration will bring. That’s why I’m excited about the workshops because it’s like a count down to the big night on Nov. 1 and 2. These workshops are kick ass because you spend an afternoon creating art, something I suck at because the calavera I painted looked like crap. Any who, the workshops are on Saturdays from 1 to 3 p.m. and they’re always a lot of fun. So check self helps site for UP TO DATE INFO and what’s going on and mark your calender. No one does Dia de los Muertos like SHG. I wonder how many M.J. altars I’ll see ?? Continue reading →