Street Art

I found this on Cesar Chavez and Eastern on the side of a liquor store. I first saw it riding the bus going to school and this sign stood out like the jewel that it is.  I made some edits on photoshop, but only to bring out the colors. To me, this says it all right here. The tagging of gang bangers, crews, tagging crews and corporate companies. The dog eat dog competition of getting up, being seen and having your stuff be seen by everyone. Being a rockstar right ? It’s funny that this piece of advertising, covered in tags from head to toe, seen as an eye sore by everyone, never got taken down. Even as the wall it’s next to it gets buffed out every morning after it’s tagged up, they leave advertising like this alone because if it were to get painted over, the city could possibly be sued by the company or the store owner. I’m not entirely sure how the laws regarding murals/advertising works. No one does and that’s part of the problem right ? The city is so desperate to stop this problem that they’ll make an example out of anyone they catch. Even if you may or may not be beautifying the city with cool kitty cats.

Resistance Is Fertile: I Got Your Deductions Right Here!!

Does your boss work less than you but take home a bigger paycheck? Is somebody zipping around in a private jet at your expense? If the corporation is making money at the end of the day, that means they’re not paying you the full value of your labor – that’s where corporate profit comes from! So if you need something in your workplace, take it. You earned it!

It could be a paper clip, or some cash out of the register, or full-on embezzlement. If you’re a barista, grab a bag of coffee; if you work at a garage, get a wrench set. If you’re unemployed, take something from someone else’s workplace! Unemployment works for the bosses, too – it forces people to take any job they can, and sends the message to other workers that if they don’t knuckle under they’ll be in for it too.

You could share it with your friends, or give it to your family – the family you never see because of your job. You could use it yourself, to do something you’ve always dreamed of – maybe something making use of all that potential you would fulfill if only you didn’t have to work for someone else all the time.

Steal something from work! Break down the divisions that separate you from your co-workers. Work together to maximize your under-the-table profit-sharing; make sure all of you are safe and getting what you need. Don’t let the boss pit you against each other – in the end, that only makes all of you more vulnerable. Build up enough trust that you can graduate from taking things from work to taking control of your workplace itself!

Chances are you already steal from your work – if not physical items, at least time on the clock. Good for you! But don’t stop there – think of how much more you could take, how much more you deserve.
(text by someone else. I “borrowed” it.”)

Daniel Hernandez at IMIX

From one of LA Eastside’s favorite bookstores, IMIX:

IMIX Books Presents: Talking Mexico And Blogging With Daniel Hernandez

Wednesday, April 14, 2010 at 7pm
5052 Eagle Rock Blvd (@ Colorado) Los Angeles

Let’s welcome award-winning Mexico City-based journalist, Daniel Hernandez back to his old stomping grounds in Los Angeles for “Talking Mexico and Blogging with Daniel Hernandez: On the narco war, the political scene, and ‘who gets to tell the story’.”
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Radio Sombra presenta…

Broadcasting out of somewhere East LA comes Radio Sombra.  Their site says:

“From the shadows comes the light!”

An independent community internet radio station that will bring a new voice to the communities in East Los Angeles.

Programming will be open and accessible to the community.
From community organizations to political artists like Zack de La Rocha, Radio Sombra will keep it real on the dial.

As a way to fund the project, Radio Sombra will  be presenting Film Nights on varied topics at Centro de Comunicación Comunitaria.

This Thursday brings :

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American Lit

Reading about John Fante Square being inaugurated on 5th and Grand I remember the passionate racial fights between Bandini and his Mexican girlfriend. Soon after, Kerouac comes into mind smoking marijuana in the desert heat of a Mexican afternoon, the gratifying pleasure he felt after eating the refried beans made by his Mexican girl. These page-turned memories rising on the same heat-rippled smoke of mirage like driving on the 15 into The Cajon Pass. Back in the city, Hunter Thompson’s friend, Oscar Zeta Acosta’s, attorney-rants in Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo, the Juarez prison cell, the judge demanding for him to learn his father’s language: Spanish. How many other aspects of American literary culture have been ignored, or forgotten, even by Chicano Studies courses, let alone more traditional literature classes, I ask myself?

Submitted by M. Saldivar Galindo

Bravo Gustavo!

My sombrero is off to UCLA for “¡Asking A Mexican!” to be their keynote commencement speaker this year. Congratulations to our esteemed friend,  Gustavo Arrellano!

“Gustavo Arellano is a keen observer of life in America — in particular the culture and diversity of Southern California,” Judith L. Smith, dean and vice provost for undergraduate education at the UCLA College, said in a statement. The columnist was recommended by a committee of faculty, students and administrators.

Article, L.A. Times. April 9, 2010

Los Angeles Heritage Day

Sunday, April 11, 2010 from 11-4pm.
It will be held at Heritage Square Museum 3800 Homer Street, L.A. 90031

“In an area sometimes perceived as having no ‘real’ history, L.A. Heritage Day is an opportunity for people of all ages to learn about and enjoy the fascinating people, places and events that have shaped Southern California,” said Cindy Olnick, spokesperson for the Los Angeles Conservancy. “It is also a chance to learn about the incredible variety of local preservation groups, museums, libraries and historical societies serving today throughout Los Angeles County.”

More info here.

If you download the flyer, admission is free.