Butoh of East LA

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Pictured is a Butoh dance entitled Cihuatl 15 performed by endy, at a Prayer for Juarez on Saturday, March 20.  Her endurance piece on Saturday offered time and opportunities for inquiry, contemplation and processing in response to the femicides in Juarez.  In preparation for this dance movement, she laid still on the sidewalk in front of Casa 0101, as sand was poured over her body, representing the women who had died in Ciudad Juarez and buried in shallow graves.

Butoh’s source is the Japanese avant-garde of the 1960s, a period when Japan struggled with the lingering effects of the atomic bomb detonations at Hiroshima and Nagasaki that ended World War II. Originally called “ankoku butoh,” or “dance of darkness,” the medium created a space for the intensely grotesque and perverse on the stage. In Japan endy studied  “Sankai Juku” which means “studio by the mountain and the sea,” and implies the serenity and calm which is characteristic of the work.  She also studied and has performed with Guillermo Gomez-Peña.

The savages

The savages would gather in their main plazas, men, women and children, to watch the sacrifices as families.
They made great speeches and had lots of rituals read from their sacred texts.
The crowds would sing ceremonial songs.
They would grant final requests to those about to be sacrificed for their gods named money, private property and the law.Lynching
And they believed God had blessed them above all others.

Special Public Meeting to Determine the Future of the City

Voice your thoughts on the City’s decision to partner out the Barnsdall Gallery Theater, the Junior Art Center, the Barnsdall Art Center, the Warner Grand Theater, the Madrid Theater, the Willam Grant Still Art Center, the Vision Theater, the Watts Towers Arts Center, and the Charles Mingus Youth Art Center as well as a 50% reduction in the Department of Cultural Affairs budget.

What: Arts, Parks, Health and Aging Committee Special Meeting
When: Monday, March 22 at 10:00 am
Where: City Hall, 200 N. Spring Street
Details: Discussion of the Department of Cultural Affairs’ current budget, Department’s submittal for 2010-11 Budget, impact of the Early Retirement Incentive Program, possible restructuring of Department operations, and other related matters.

Click Here for the Agenda

Random’s Rundown: Chicano/a socialites unite

It gets harder and harder each week to keep up with everything that’s going on sometimes you know. I gotta deal with student life at taco tech, activism work with the team I’m a part of and of course keeping up with my community reporting. Then some how in between all that I gotta make time to earn some cash here and there moonlighting.  Such is the life and I am forever thankful for it. Idle hands are the devils play things you know. In fact, a friend commented to me that I was dropping the ball on my reporting, which is kinda true. So, with that being said, here’s a list of things to do with weekend East of the river. I’ll catch up on here when I’m on spring break next week. In fact, I should be studying rather than blogging. Fuck it.

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GO FLY A KITE!

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GO FLY A KITE!

It’s March, the windiest month of the year, when I was a youngster places like “Flat Top” in Lincoln Heights, Elysian Park, Belvedere Park, the LA River bottom, City Terrace, Elephant Hill in El Sereno, they were all full of kids flying kites. Those kites were cheap and fun, you could have kite fights, do loop de loops, scare the hawks, see who could fly their kite the highest until the kite string almost came of the stick, you can do all kinds of tricky shit with a kite. Do kids still fly kites?  Kite flying is one of the best ways to spend your time or time with your kids, “Man In The Moon” kites, homemade kites (it’s easy!), a box kite, or one of those fancy tetragon kites. It gets you out in the fresh air at this time of the year when the grass is green and the wind blows the smog away and the views are spectacular.

Hey listen up! Go Fly a Kite!

don quixote and son flying a kite on  Flat Top, Lincoln Hts 1975

 

Movie Screenings–All Weekend in Boyle Heights!

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“A Prayer for Juarez” has been a month long of international events raising awareness on the Femicides in Juarez, Mexico. After the slaying of three embassy workers this past weekend in Ciudad Juarez this tragic situation intensifies.  Filmmaker/Producer Dianna Perez is hosting two evenings of FREE film screenings  March 19 & March 20 at Casa 0101 Annex, 2102 1st Street, Boyle Heights. These films are rare and hard to get a hold of, and really amazing.  We invite you to join us!

Friday, March 19th, 8:00 pm
Senorita Extraviada by Lourdes Portillo
Missing Young Woman tells the story of the hundreds of kidnapped, raped and murdered young women of Juárez, Mexico. The murders first came to light in 1993 and young women continue to “disappear” to this day. The evening begins with a short film Sangre y Arena by Rigo Maldonado & Shakina Nayfack, followed by Q&A. This art film shot on location in Lote Bravo (a cotton field irrigation ditch) where 8 women were found at one time in 2001.

Saturday, March 20th, 8:00 pm
Border Echoes by Lorena Mendez Quiroga
Border Echoes-Ecos De Una Frontera, is a documentary that tells the story of the slayings of girls and women in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, through the eyes of investigative reporter Diana Washington Valdez. [Save the date! Award winning El Paso Times reporter Diana Washington Valdez will present in person at Casa 0101 Annex on March 27, 8pm) The evening begins with a short performance called Cihuatl 15 by endy and a screening of Sangre y Arena.
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Boyle Heights Paranormal Project’s Meet and Greet


Boyle Heights Paranormal Project at Linda Vista Hospital

As I mentioned previously, I was too chicken to attend BHPP’s meet and greet/website launch party at the creepy Linda Vista Hospital but a LA Eastside reader attended and gave this review:

“The meet and greet was really interesting and informative. From the big crowd outside to the standing room only inside… One could feel the chills just being in line outside…Once inside you sure felt this creepy feeling alright. They held their main event inside the chapel of the hospital. I couldn’t help but wonder how many people sat in there with their health fears at hand.
It was pretty overwhelming for me. You got a few jerks in line of course cracking jokes..They quickly shut the hell up once they made their way in. I was pretty mad at myself for not bringing my camera. Also for wearing heels…So not recommended by the way. Never the less the fact that I was actually inside Linda Vista made it all worthwhile. There’s some pretty cool pics on BHPP’s Facebook page.
From the music, they played (Ink Spots) to the BHPP cookies they made to the wannabe meds (mints) they served, all was well thought out.
As I walked down the hallways, I peeked through the lonely rooms and noticed an old school baby incubator. Boy I’ll tell ya, that was an intense moment for me. But if I were to be asked to go back, I sure would. Don’t know why…but I would.”
-Pistol Pack’n Momma


BHPP’s pics from the event

Boyle Heights Paranormal Project has been getting some good press lately including features on KNBC TV and KPCC. Hope it inspires them to investigate more places on the Eastside!

Come on down

post-insurrection

[audio:https://laeastside.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Godspeed-You-Black-Emperor-FAInfinity-01-The-Dead-Flag-Blues-Outro_.mp3|titles=Godspeed You Black Emperor! – F#A#Infinity – 01 – The Dead Flag Blues (Outro)_]