Author Archives: chimatli

About chimatli

In the fourth-grade, I won second place in the Humphreys Elementary School poetry contest. It's been all downhill from there.

Snow in Lincoln Heights

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Sorry for the photo quality, taken with phone cam

Well technically it’s ice but you can still make some mean snowballs from it.  I was “accidentally” hit by one while taking a photo, the things we do do for this blog!

By the way,  I say we can get rid of the gang problem in one season, just give boys a bunch of snowballs and let them get out their aggressions that way. It’s fun too!

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The snow should last for a few more hours  so head on down to North Broadway and Ave 20 behind the Bank of America.

Oh, and they have FREE PIZZA!

I bet HLP parade had none of the above.

Snow sponsored by the Lincoln Heights Christmas Parade Committee.

It didn’t take long…

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Eastside Gold Line train at 3rd near Rowan

Just read this on the LA Now blog:

L.A. NOW
Southern California — this just in
2 injured in collision between car, Gold Line train
November 26, 2009 | 11:05 pm

Two people suffered minor injuries this evening when their car collided with a Gold Line Metro train in East Los Angeles, authorities said.

The car turned in front of the eastbound train at a crossing near 3rd Street and Rowan Avenue about 8:20 p.m., said Sheriff’s Lt. Greg Hinkle. The two occupants of the car complained of pain and were taken to a hospital, he said.

A California Highway Patrol officer said the pair were riding in a Chevy Malibu, which was towed after the crash.

The one passenger on the train was uninjured.

— Jack Leonard

LA Eastside contributor Browne Molyneux pointed out some of the safety issues of the Eastside Gold Line Extension back in August. In particular she pointed out the nearby intersection where the above accident took place and asked why there weren’t more safeguards like crossing bars. Many of us felt that it would take an accident or worse for Metro to implement some of these much needed changes. How many accidents it will take before the area gets the consideration the residents of South Pasadena received?

GDL/LA: books y suavitel

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Promo video for the Guadalajara Bookfair

As some of you might know, The City of Los Angeles is the invited guest at this year’s La Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara appropriately taking place in Guadalajara, Mexico this weekend. There will be quite a few Eastside and other Los Angeles writers and artists heading down to participate in the various musical offerings, panel discussions and lectures. In particular, the Vexing exhibition will be making an appearance and artists Sandra de la Loza and Shizu Saldamando will be presenting Eighteen With a Bullet.

I recently returned from a trip to Guadalajara and have a warning for those heading down for the events. The GDL airport does not have x-ray equipment to search your checked-in luggage on your way back. Passenger luggage is picked through and examined by young, tough women with immaculate eye make-up who dig and pull your items from the suitcase in full view of everyone in the airport lobby. Be prepared and don’t end up like the poor ranchero who made a whole line of people gasp when a large homegrown camote was discovered and pulled out from the recesses of his bursting suitcase.

In case you are wondering what Guadalajara and Los Angeles have in common (that is, besides the hundreds of thousands of people that consider both of these cities home) you can buy Suavitel in both places. The guy who tried to bring his camote to Los Angeles obviously didn’t know this because the luggage examiner also pulled out a large bottle of the laundry detergent from his suitcase only to have the line of Tapatio-Angeleno passengers tsk tsk his ignorance. Hey, these things are good to know, right?

Just came across this blog following some of the LA folks in Guadalajara: Blogalajara, Vexico.

Calavera Fashion Show & Walking Altars 2009

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Okay, so I know I’m kinda late with this post. I mean, we already got a post up about Tropico de Nopal’s Calavera Fashion Show but seriously, what’s a full-time working gal who just came back from two fabulous weeks in Mexico supposed to do? Stay up late to edit photos and try and figure out which artist did which creation? Yeah, I guess so…(sigh).

Anyways, I’m not sure who the target audience for this fashion show is supposed to be. I don’t think it’s me, so I will refrain (or at least try to) from commenting too much on what I saw that night. I mostly went to support friends and to stand for hours in uncomfortable shoes and endure the constant leaning and pushing of a young girl behind me (who I hope was drunk because there was no other good reason for her getting all up in my personal space the way she did) but I digress…On to the fashion show!

By the way, my camera was being totally uncooperative that night.  It’s a cheap little thing not well equipped for nighttime photography so pardon the blurriness. Or just consider the fuzzy photos my artistic touch.  It won’t be the last time you stretch your notions of artistic good taste in this post!

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Cholo Ghosts

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Do cholo ghosts haunt your hood?

Cholo ghosts, phantom cholos and spectral gangstas, call them what you will. I asked last year if anyone has ever seen a cholo ghost and received some interesting comments. Frequent LA Eastside commenter Rolo claims they don’t exist because it takes at least one hundred years in the ghost world for a spirit to take shape. Or perhaps the lack of cholo ghost sightings is due to other factors? Maybe there’s discrimination in the after life too?

My mother claimed to see the ghost of Little Ray once, a young teenage vato from her neighborhood who had recently been killed. He stood at the foot of her stairs and then left. My mother like so many other Latina women is Catholic and superstitious so it’s no surprise she has these kinds of tales. But just to get it out there, anyone else have spectral encounters of the “ese” kind?

(I write this post in jest, inspired after a long discussion I had with friends the other night. You often hear stories about New England roads or old buildings haunted by the ghosts who left the world in an unexpected fashion and yet, there is so much death and murder in Los Angeles and the only ghoul we have is La Llorona. What’s up with that? Just for the record, I mean no disrespect to anyone who has lost a friend or family due to gang violence. It’s a serious and important issue in our community.)

Fourth Annual Los Angeles Archives Bazaar

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Bicycling on Western Ave from the LAPL archives. Western Ave used to mark the Western edge of the city. Eastern Ave is on the Eastside and runs through City Terrace.

This Saturday is the annual Los Angeles Archives Bazaar where you can discover and explore halls full of Los Angeles history resources. Representatives from local libraries, colleges and other archival places will be there to answer questions and share information. You can also pick up nifty postcards like this one from the City of Los Angeles Publishing Services Division. Film screenings, speakers and lectures will also keep you entertained and busy, so make a day of it!

The 4th Annual L.A. Archives Bazaar, October 17, 2009

Southern California history comes alive in exhibits by local historical collections and archives at the 4th-annual Los Angeles Archives Bazaar on October 17, 2009. Browse rare collections, consult with experts, and learn about the hidden stories of L.A. diverse neighborhoods and communities.

10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Saturday, October 17, 2009
USC Davidson Conference Center
Free admission

More information here.
Last year’s post on the event.
Los Angeles Times article can be read here.

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La Tree Hugger

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Trucha! La Tree Hugger has back-up!

La Tree Hugger should be my chola name. I already have a fake chola name given to me by my friends but it doesn’t fit me as well as La Tree Hugger. By the way, until the night I got my fake chola name I didn’t know I had a special talent for anointing other people with well fitting chola names. I’m just as good as the Facebook quiz. You can take me up on it, invite me for a cocktail and I will christen you with a firme moniker in a barrio baptism.

But back to the point of this post, I love trees. And one of my main criticisms of some of my fellow Eastside neighbors is their need to cut down trees. Why all the tree hating vecinos?

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Graphic from the excellent book:
The Tree Doctor: A Guide to Tree Care and Maintenance by Daniel Prendergast and Erin Prendergast

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Happy Holidays!

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It’s my favorite time of the year, the Halloween/Dia de los Muertos holiday season.

A few years ago I went to Mexico to celebrate the Fiestas de Octubre. I was quite surprised by the fervor in which Mexico celebrates Halloween and how it’s been combined with many of the Dia de los Muertos traditions. There are many that may be dismayed by this change but not me, I thought the hybridization of traditions was inspiring and clever, most notably in the way people decorated their homes, altars and costume choices.

Just like all other holidays in Mexico, Halloween is not celebrated on just one day, I saw kids wearing their costumes up to five days ahead of the 31st and the school costume parades started on October 28th. And by the way, there’s no little princesses or cute frilly costumes in sight, it’s all ghouls, vampires, mummies and Dia de los Muertos inspired attire like La Catrina. I say we start taking our cues from Mexico and make Halloween a week-long holiday and stop dressing our kids like little cupcakes!

Since it’s right about that time when folks start preparing their altars and deciding on costume ideas, I’d like to share some of the photos I took while in Mexico. Hopefully, it will inspire you to try out some new ideas this year. I was particularly impressed by the altares created by the indigenous groups in Oaxaca, simple but beautiful.
Click the links below for more photos:

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS EN MEXICO
HALLOWEEN EN MEXICO
PAN DE MUERTO

This year I’m heading to Guadalajara and maybe Michoacan for the annual fiestas. I’m sure I’ll return with dazzled eyes and a mind swimming with ideas for next year’s projects!

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Sal, chile y limón

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Just wanted to give a belated shout-out to all the fruteros who worked tirelessly this summer to provide the Eastside with much needed delicious and healthy snacks. Unsung heroes of la esquina, working daily, barely shaded by the cheap plastic umbrellas above you, tirelessly slicing fruit and swatting away pesky flies, thank you for being patient as you tried to get just the right amount of chile y limón on my order. May the upcoming season of champurrado y tamales be just as, uh, fruitful!