“It’s official, SILVER LAKE IS NOT THE EASTSIDE” according to those who attended the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council meeting tonight. We thank our friends to the West for helping clear things up over on that side of the River.
The “Little Machin” of the Eastside bringing raspados, frutas and candy-coated fun to your neighborhood. Like everything else in Boyle Heights, a rainbow runs through it.
International Ladies Garment Workers Union, Spanish Speaking Branch. Los Angeles, 1933.
While the history of Labor Day is a sketchy one, it was meant to replace the more radical anarcho/commie tinged May Day, it is at least the one day people pay homage to the working class of the good ol’ USA. Except there’s not much ‘good’ around here anymore and – are you working class if you don’t have a job?
This photo is from a 1933 Labor Day parade in Downtown Los Angeles possibly near Olvera Street. It was common for many Mexicans of early Los Angeles to adopt Spanish style clothing when celebrating holidays. It was a fashion thing I think, maybe too much Ramona and Fiesta on their mind. Eighty or so years later and we’ve ditched the ruffles for huipiles.
August 25, 2011
A black widow spider and her soon-to-be-born offspring are taking in the sunny morning in my Lincoln Heights garden.
From Locas II by Jaime Hernandez
Spotted in a recent issue of Love and Rockets.
A few years ago I read an interview with Jaime Hernandez, one of the brothers who created the amazing comic Love and Rockets. He mentioned he had a post office box in Lincoln Heights and was surprised by how many punk kids he’d see walking out of Lincoln High School. I don’t think there are so many punks at Lincoln High anymore nor do I think he continues to have a LH post office box, but it’s nice to know his reference to Lincoln Heights will live on.
A recent post I did on Love and Rockets here.
A notice left last month by my mail carrier
I often get a chuckle out of the various misspellings I come across while andando around town. Many of them make sense, the English language is so odd with it’s pronunciations and grammar. However, you do kind of expect official organizations like the United States Post Office to get things right. Or do you? Let’s just admit that our whole society is crumbling before our eyes and this obvious misspelling is a harbinger of it’s impending destruction. I’m okay with that.
2011 Fourth of July time-lapse over Highland Park in Los Angeles, CA
This are time lapse photos of Highland Park on the Fourth of July. The fireworks are pretty impressive but you know HLP has got nothing on Boyle Heights. Video by Church of BK
My grandparents Jessie y Atanasio, circa early 1940s
I missed the anniversary by a few days but I’d still like to share this bit of my family history.
I was quite surprised when I came across this La Opinion clipping among my grandmother’s photos. I had no idea my grandparents were well-known enough in Los Angeles to be the subject of a social column. I had been aware of my grandmother’s active involvement with various local Echo Park civic groups in the 60s and 70s. But I didn’t know she did things like campaign to have an underground walkway installed under Temple St so that the students of Rosemont Elementary wouldn’t have to cross the busy street. Among her things, I found a letter from a local politician commending her for this effort, an effort I was totally unaware of.
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Saturday, June 25th
11am – 6pm
Art Share Los Angeles
801 East 4th Place
Los Angeles
anarchistbookfair.com
Some of you may be thinking “An anarchist bookfair? What is that all about?” Well, head on down to Art Share in the Arts District Downtown and find out! Radical and independent book publishers will be there selling their provocative pulpy wares including books you can’t even find in the library! (Okay, maybe in academic libraries or the Kate Sharpley Library but not in public libraries.) Publishers such as AK Press, PM Press, Tam Tam Books, C.A.L. Press and many others will entice you with their dazzling display of timely tomes on such diverse topics as radical politics, environmental issues, critical race studies, animal rights, counter-culture/subculture themes and other topics of interest to LA Eastside readers. LA Eastside will be set up with our own little puesto where we’ll have a contest going and will be giving away LA Eastside t-shirts as prizes. If you read this blog on a regular basis, the contest will be super cinchy for you.
When you get tired of book browsing, there are a number of engaging speaker panels, lectures and readings also happening at the bookfair. One presentation that looks particularly interesting is Crisis in California: Everything Touched by Capital Turns Toxic. Check out the full schedule here and plan your day accordingly.
The next day is a full day of activities happening in conjunction with the bookfair including a day-long Skill Share Free School.
Skillshare info:
Branching out from the DIY tradition of skill-sharing, this is an autonomous self-organized free school providing access to education free for all.
On June 26, 2011 the Centro Cultural Papalut along with the 3rd Annual Los Angeles Anarchist Book Fair will host a space of free knowledge exchange and skill-sharing with hands-on workshops and classes throughout the day.
Location:
Centro Cultural Papalut 3201 Maple Ave. L.A. 90055 C.A.
For a full schedule of all the exciting skill share workshops (lock-picking! stilt-walking! guerrilla theater!), see here.
And for those who are more theoretically inclined, The Public School in Chinatown will be the site of a number of thought-provoking presentations also happening in conjunction with the Bookfair weekend.
First up on Friday night, join Colectivo Acratas Los Angeles for a lively presentation and discussion featuring co-editor of Anarchy Magazine, Lawrence Jarach, Friday, June 24, 2011, 8pm. Topic of the evening: What is Post-Left Anarchy? An outline and development in modern anarchist theory followed by Q&A
Check the calendar for another series of talks on Sunday.
The Public School
951 Chung King Road
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Need more info? Wondering where to eat and drink in the Bookfair vicinity? Interested in finding out more about radical and anarchist projects in Los Angeles? Check out this nifty little website: A Radical Guide to Los Angeles.
Pictures and review of last year’s bookfair here.
In remembrance of the passing of Geronimo Pratt this past week, I’m posting this clip of the 1995 movie Panther by Mario Van Peebles. Most of the film was shot in locations around Lincoln Heights. How many places can you name/spot?
Humor can be found everywhere, even at work. Steal back your life, one air mop song at a time!
Whittier Blvd, Boyle Heights