Monthly Archives: April 2010

MEXICO MEMORIES: CANICAS

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Man Uno and I were at a corporate lunch last year and were asked to share with the table a childhood memory.  A memory from Tijuana entered my mind immediately. Man Uno went first and his memory was about being in Tijuana too.  I realized at that moment we all have Mexico memories to share.

Here’s one of mine:  Canicas

I grew up in San Diego, South Bay to be exact, 2 exits away from the border.  When I was about 4 years old my abuelita still owned apartments in Tijuana and we’d go down a few times a week.  They were more like shacks that she rented with dusty wood floors, some with out houses and those with indoor toilets had to pour a bucket of water in them to make them flush.

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Guelaguetza Oaxacan Resturant

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The Guelaguetza (from the zapotec word “guendalizaa”) between the villages in Oaxaca means “mutual help” or “Shared Offering”


I first went to this spot last year,  my homie knew that I really liked mole, so he recommended Guelaguetza because he said the mole there was really good. I am used to more pipian style mole because it is spicier, so I wasn’t sure how I would like a sweeter Oaxacan style mole. To my surprise the mole, and everything else was delicious.

More juice after the jump!

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Feliz 2nd Anniversary

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Can you believe that after 2 years and 1,066 post later we would all still be here? Time is sure flying by. I just wanna say, in my own special way, thanks to everyone who reads and writes on this here little blog. In the 2 years this space has been around, we’ve managed to get attention from all over L.A. I, for one, am thankful for being part of this space, being able to write what I think and create conversations about the communities we live, their changing streets and the people who make up this great city east, west, north or south of the river. Here’s to another great year 😀

Ernesto Yerena: Hecho con Ganas

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Ernesto Yerena has ganas. At 23 years old, he is garnering attention in the art world for his unique artistic style and in the Latino/a community for his involvement and advocacy for immigrants rights. His visual style incorporates vibrant colors, blending backgrounds, stencils of iconic figures like Fidel Castro, Cantinflas and Cesar Chavez. Yerena’s work also highlights the cultural richness of the Latino/a community in his works by featuring everyday people like musicians. He’s currently working on his latest piece of astronaut Jose Hernandez, commissioned for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles. Individuals Yerena admires because of the ganas they have to accomplish the great things they are recognized and known for. It’s what pushes him to do what he loves and to continue to push his limits, his will to the next level, but Yerena admits that it isn’t easy.

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Terremoto

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(Jesus overlooks the hills of B.C. back in 2006)

Like everyone else in Los Angeles, I was watching the Santos (it is Easter after all) vs Jaguares match on Univision, and it all started shaking. Turns out its a pretty big quake from out of Baja California, our lil’ sister state down south. A whopping 6.9 quake to be exact, according to this government site.  And they’ve even issued a Tsunami warning. Ay caray!

Aguas con las aguas.

Update: Oops, no Tsunami warning after all.

Update 4:21 pm: 5.1 earthquake in So. Cal, near Brawley.

Crazy picture from Mexicali (via LA Weekly): http://tweetphoto.com/17203656

Update 5:37pm: Check out ABC Ch. 7 for the latest twitter updates. Seriously?

Update 9:05 : KCAL 9 “We’ve been monitoring twitter all day.” Great!

Update 9:24 : CBS 2 wants you to join their Street Team and email earthquake photos/videos of splashing swimming pools. Since when are we employed by CBS?

Update 11:13pm : Univision 34 has a live call with an official from Baja California. I guess they have Spanish speakers on staff.

Update 11:16pm : Telemundo 52 has Jorge Fregoso from Mexicali talking about the situation there. I guess Ch. 52 also has Spanish speakers on staff.

Update 11:19pm : Univision 34 reading messages from their facebook page.

Men, check your balls

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The first week of April, 1-7, is testicular cancer awareness week. If it wasn’t for the gals over at I heart guts, who made the awesome chart above, I wouldn’t have known this week was TCAW, I thought it was just Easter. So men, get to know your boys a little close this week and give yourself a self exam because early detection is the best way to stop and get rid of testicular cancer.  So what exactly is testicular cancer ? Google health defines it as, “cancer that starts in the testicles, the male reproductive glands located in the scrotum.” It seems that there are no detailed specifics on what causes the cancer in individuals, besides a family history or abnormalities in that region. Symptoms range from nothing to pain in that region, back/abdomen, enlargement of testis and the one you look out for the most is lumps or unusual swelling.

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Cafecito Organico

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Silver Lake’s Sunset Junction may hold world titles in hipster density and most trafficked trendy businesses but who wants to gamble with parking enforcement and wait in twenty-minute lines for a freakin’ cup of coffee just to sport Intelligentsia’s logo?


Gamble not and wait not for Cafecito Organico has arrived next door, literally. Well, at least for those who do live next door and in walking distance from the cafe in the mostly residential area of Silver Lake. Nestled on the corner of Hoover and Bellvue, Cafecito Organico is the newest cafe in the area and only a two-minute drive from the hip Sunset Junction block. Reminiscent of a typical Italian coffee bar, the cafe struts a standing counter inside for those customers in for a quick espresso stop. The backdoor patio lets the loungers sip on lattes and check their email.
A relaxed and welcoming atmosphere, Cafecito offers quite the opposite experience from neighboring often-overcrowded gourmet coffee shops. Customers will usually be greeted by the owners, Mitch Hale and Angel Orozco – both awesome baristas and the nicest, most humble people on the planet – and their friendly staff. Mitch, Angel and their staff can also be found at the Silver Lake and Hollywood Farmers Markets on Saturdays and Sundays, where their business started two years ago and has become so successful that they had to open a shop to supply the demand of their loyal customers.
Cafecito’s menu is traditionally simple with a couple of house originals – the Cafecito (hot drink) and Global Warming (cold drink), both made with Cafecito’s orignial espresso blend, choice of milk and raw sugar cane juice. Their coffee, all hand-roasted by Angel and staff near downtown, is ground and brewed one cup at a time.
Cafecito Organico has raised the bar in quality coffee, excellent service and a most genuine welcoming environment. It is soon to be a stop Angelenos will not be able to live without.
Cafecito Organico
534 N. Hoover Street (corner of Bellevue)
Los Angeles, 90004

Canasta Season

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It’s almost payday. Some dead vato will be remembered this weekend and the people need their supplies to help in the celebration. Why not make a bit of extra cash in the process? Every year there are different spots that bring you these glories of glory, with varying levels of craftsmanship, like these simple teddy bears ones. I got to see the soft opening of a few spots in Majestic Lincoln Heights. Click ahead if you want to see just a few more.

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Mexifornia here I come, right back where I started from!

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Wow! We must be becoming visible at last! Mexifornia, the paranoid fear of the Joe Arpaio’s, Walter “my radio is speaking to me in Spanish!” Moore, the forgotten Lou Dobbs, and the author of “Mexifornia” Victor Davis Hansen, who had to build a fence in front of his central valley home to keep the Mexicans from throwing beer cans into his yard.

On this xenophobic and paranoid produced Mexifornia driver’s license is a picture of one of the great actors in American and Mexican history, Alfonso Bedoya, who was a modern day Chicano, being born in Sonora, schooled in Houston Texas, residing for many years in Los Angeles. 

“Badges? Badges? I don’t have to show you no stinking badges!” One of the great lines in film history, from one of my all time favorite movies “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre”, about three gringo wetbacks that travel into the Sierra Madre of Mexico searching for gold but end up finding other treasures (except for poor Humphrey Bogart),

Seeing Bedoya on a driver’s license gives me great pleasure, I feel so good I feel like listening to a song to celebrate. I’ll also share it with you.

And get ready for an onslaught of this type of nativist racism when the coming ussue of immigration reform is debated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFbS_nVA-KI

West Meets East

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Isa mentioned moving out first.

“I’m looking to buy a house,” she told me. “I’ve got a realtor and everything.”

I was impressed and a little sad for what the near-future would bring, the end of five and half years of living together.

Adja gave her notice next.

“I need to move out. I’ll be returning to Senegal soon to visit my mom.”

“When?”

“Probably at the end of the year.”

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