Hat spotted at Northern Southern Winds Pow Wow at Los Angeles Historic State Park
Botanitas is an ongoing feature bringing you stories and news from various sources, upcoming events and other bits of ephemera that might be of interest to LA Eastside readers. Suggestions welcome!
Click for more on historic buildings being turned into drive-through-warehouses-for-gluts-of-imported-merchandise, Reel Rasquache moving pictures with sound, Shalom at the Eastside Shul, fruity exchanges and other events and happenings around the Eastside and beyond!
Save the Golden Gate Theater!
You first read about the campaign to save the Golden Gate Theater here and the subsequent organizing to save this beautiful, historic Eastside structure. The Los Angeles Times contributes to the discussion:
“We don’t want to see the building torn down or changed,” resident Mark Martinez told the commission. “It would be a shame if they did this to this building.”
Martinez, who lives near the theater, attended the hearing in downtown Los Angeles to protest the proposed pharmacy.
Officials with the Charles Co., which owns the property, said they would not demolish the building and they would preserve its architectural elements if they were allowed to use the site for commercial purposes.
“We specialize in very challenging sites,” said Sarah Magaña-Withers, a spokeswoman for the Charles Co.
The Golden Gate Theater has been “vacant for more than 20 years,” she said, and a CVS could help revitalize the area.
A CVS could help revitalize the area? Pffft. Read the whole article here.
Reel Rasquache Film Festival
It’s this weekend at Cal State Los Angeles, don’t forget! LA Eastside blogger and artist extraordinaire Victoria Delgadillo will be screening her short film “báwrdÉ™r†on May 16 at 9pm.
Also recommended:
PROGRAM NINE
SUNDAY, MAY 17
1:00-2:30 PM
LAS GRANDES DE EAST L.A. AND BOYLE HEIGHTS
World Premiere
Director: Dionne Espinoza, Claudia Rodriguez
Writer: Claudia Rodriguez
Producer: California Council for the Humanities
(2009, 20 min., USA, Documentary, English and Spanish with English subtitles)
This inspiring portraits of five women from East L.A. and Boyle Heights – Josefina Lopez, JuanaGutierrez, Martha Soriano, Susana Reynoso, and Ofelia Esparza – highlights women’s contributions as community builders in environmental, arts and education activism.
More info at the Reel Rasquache website.
Fiesta Shalom at Breed Street Shul
WHEN:
May 17, 2009
11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
WHERE:
In front of the Historical Breed Street Synagogue
247 North Breed Street
Los Angeles, CA 90033In this unique community a historical bond between Latino and Jewish immigrants was formed, creating an ongoing friendship lasting throughout the years. In light of our rich history together in Boyle Heights, we plan to celebrate the Fiesta Shalom honoring the Jewish, Latino and Israeli Cultures on May 17, 2009.
Fiesta Shalom is a street fair and festival celebrating a tri-cultural connection with live performances of music and dance. Interactive activities for families and children of all ages, carnival atmosphere and food stands of tastes from each culture. Community and artistic activates and much more…
Come Dance, Taste and Create during our joint celebration.
The Consulate General of Israel, The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and Jose Huizar, L.A Councilmember.
I think the idea of this event is really cool, the rejoining of old neighbors and cultures. However this blogger won’t begrudge anyone for grumbling about one of the sponsor.
Being Fruitful
A new co-op is starting up in Highland Park:
Info Deleted.
If that’s not enough, there’s also a Fruit Exchange starting up in Northeast LA as well! I wonder what I can trade for a bag of withered loquats?
I recently learned about a neighborhood fruit exchange in Altadena that sounded wonderful. I just started a yahoo group for NELA to do the same. If you have fruit trees or a vegetable garden and ever have more than you can use this is a great opportunity to share your surplus, get some yummy produce in exchange, and build community! The idea is that when you have a glut of oranges, zucchini, or some other produce that you email the group and let them know your parameters (do they just come pick the oranges from your yard, should they find the basket on the front porch and only take 3 avocados, would you like something specific be left behind for the fruit) then when they have surplus you are welcome to enjoy the fruits of their labors. Yum! Send an email to the nelafruitexchange@ yahoogroups. com to sign up.
Here are the details:
NELAfruitexchange;
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NELAfruitexchange
Group email:
NELAfruitexchange@yahoogroups.com
Regeneracion: Drawing on Exile
click to enlarge flyer
Tuesday Night Flicks with LAIPA
2026 E. 1st Street
Los Angeles, CA. 90033
May 12th – Once Were Warriors (A Maori [New Zealand’s Native nation] family’s struggle with domestic violence and sexual abuse due to colonization)
May 26th – They Live (An 80’s movie about a hidden foreign alien people that run society)
June 9th – Cheech and Chong night (you all know what this is all about)
June 23rd – Children’ s Night showing Princess Mononoke & Spirited Away (6pm starting time)
July 14th – Politics of Food (Current political agendas over food production and consumption)
Come and enjoy a night of conscious movies every 2nd and 4th tuesday of the month at 8:30pm
$5 donation at the door/Snacks and drinks available
Sponsored and supported by the Los Angeles Indigenous Peoples’ Alliance (LAIPA)
Beyond November–Party with a Purpose
Ash Grove Foundation Presents …
Beyond November
Party with a Purpose
At Tropico de Nopal Gallery
1665 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
213 481 8112
Sunday, May 17, 2009
2:30 – 5:30 pm… Free
Featuring … Richard Montoya
with members of Culture Clash
Michele Shocked, Get Lit Players
Conjunto Los Pochos, Chicago Red
Slideshow/Center for the Study of Political Graphics
ashgrovemusic.com
ag50vols@mindspring.com
Beyond November–Party with a Purpose: recognizes the role of music in community organizing. The Ash Grove Foundation is committed to developing music festivals as an opportunity to bring people together to socialize and organize.
Museum of the Arroyo Day
It’s fun, it’s festive and it’s only one day a year!
Join us for the 20th anniversary of Museums of the Arroyo Day, where the six museums located along the Arroyo Seco in Los Angeles and Pasadena open their doors free of charge from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on May 17, 2009.
Each year, thousands of Angelinos have experienced the diverse mix of art, architecture and history of the Arroyo Seco area found in the six unique history-based museums that preserve and perpetuate early Los Angeles life.
The public can visit the MOTA museums during the day at no charge.
This year promises to bring bigger crowds, so visitors are advised to arrive early. We’ve added additional parking and you can easily use the Gold Line to get to MOTA Day, so click here for more information. Free and continuous shuttle service will also be available between museums.
We look forward to seeing you.
Visit MOTA museums FREE from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on May 17, 2009!
Make sure and check out LA Eastside contributor Edith Abeyta’s work at the Lummis House!
http://www.museumsofthearroyo.com/
—————
Phew, that’s a lot of things to do this weekend! If you’re bored in a city like Los Angeles, I’d say you’re lazy.
If you have events, articles or suggestions, please leave them at our online contact form.
I wish lived in a space where there were fruit trees for the fruit exchange. Chimatli, you’re more than welcome to hook me up with some mÃsperos (loquats)! As a kid I would go around LH and pick them off neighbors trees; but unfortunately I think I little to old to do that & would just be considered stealing (de los pobres).
When I went to Good Girl Dinette (which although being in Highland park, SURE doesnt’t look like it) and they had on a chalkboard that their loquats are local/organic…and I thought “DUH!, you’d have to be an idiot to buy them…they grow all over the Eastside for free!”
Loquat is that little yellow fruit w/the three pits inside? Them suckas is good!
haha bearnose, i got a tree of them!
I just found out Quetzal isn’t playing anymore 🙁 but I still wanna see the shull though 🙂 but there’s some politicos coming down 🙁 but there’s going to be food 🙂
^ Haha at the 🙂 and the 🙁 ‘s!
Don’t understand which sponsor you mean to begrudge: Huizar? He seems like a great guy!
Thanks to Israel for making this happen. I’m happy to see a diplomatic mission here which is not busy in cocktails and gala dinners only!
Love you,
Thank you to the Holy Land
I plan on checking out the Fiesta Shalom cuz I have respect for the Jewish history of BH, but I certainly don’t care for the way the Israeli consulate seems to be making this into a celebration of the state of Israel. That’s not right.