Brutal Truth “Wilt”
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Despise You “Pig Mindset”
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Lack of Interest “Nothing”
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Spotted on Whittier Blvd. What is it?
While walking around Boyle Heights today, I came across this friendly rooster. He followed me as I walked along the fence of his house. His other feathered friends were curious, but those roosters kept their distance. So I decided to take a picture of him. A lady walking by with her son gave me one of those amused smiles like, what a loca/mensa, why is she taking a picture of a rooster? Hrrmph, señora, some of us have hobbies.
If you feel like walking around Boyle Heights and possibly have people laugh at you for taking pictures, join The Boyle Heights Historical Society this morning for a walking tour of historic buildings and the unveiling of the City sponsored Survey LA which “serves as the primary planning tool to identify, record and evaluate historic properties and districts within Los Angeles.” One of their pilot survey projects was in Boyle Heights.
Community Survey Unveiling & Tour
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Presentation, Open House & Free Refreshments: 10 AM
Free Walking Tours: 11:30 AM – 2 PM
Puente Learning Center
501 S. Boyle Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90033
More info at The Boyle Heights Historical Society
Woo. Hoo. It’s 2011. BFD. Probably gonna be full of the same old BS all the way until Dec. 31. Most likely. What to eat until then? Well, a torta is always a good staple sandwich to have, a basic unit of life giving sustenance and sometimes the source of a bit of gustatory pleasure. Let’s see some options I’ve had recently around the general vicinity of Los Angeles in case you might want to consider squeezing them into your busy, likely to be lousy, year ahead. At least you’ll have lunch to look forward to! Err, maybe.
First up, a much mentioned new Cemitas place (at least online) over in Koreatown: another outlet of Cemitas Pal Cabron.
My compa Don Ignacio SMC, inspired me to write this post because he had some videos on his Facebook page with old Rancheras/Corridos/Nortenas. While browsing through  the videos and listening to others on YouTube I noticed a common theme of old paisa bars, they seemed always pop up in the older videos. Artists such as Vicente Fernandez and Los Tigeres del Norte and countless others always had scenes in old paisa bars. Most of these are classic movie clips they starred in from back in the 1970s and 1980s.
No tengas miedo metete…..
As of late, I’ve been getting some attention online because of an essay I wrote for Zocalo Public Square. I got published on Dec. 5/6 and since it went viral on facebook and twitter, I’ve been getting emails and messages from other undocumented individuals whose life mirrors mine and from supporters to keep up the good work and that they enjoyed reading the essay. I was also fortunate enough to have an old high school friend connect with me again after reading the article, that’s how far it got. Secretly though, I was kinda hoping that some of the xenophobes and nativist that troll blogs to leave negative comments would spit their vile, but no luck yet. But someone did leave this comment, which I think is the best one thus far because of what it means, “I am a white republican american citizen and after reading your article I do look at the situation differently. You have put a personal story to the DREAM ACT and made me reconsider my position.”
Another fine contribution from guest contributor Jessica2cents. Check out her awesome new blog Mis Neighbors!
According to Big Buy’s Manager, Tom Rumack, Walgreens Pharmacies will be replacing the long-time grocers. Big Buy Foods, Inc. leased the property after the Walgreen Company bought it a couple of years ago—but the lease is up at the end of the month, and Walgreens did not wish to renew.
“We’re very sad to leave our customers,†said Rumack. His father and uncle opened the family-owned business-turned-corporation in 1962, when Boyle Heights was a predominantly Jewish community. Today, working-class Latinos make up most of the population and see Big Buy as a part of the neighborhood landscape.
As for the official closing date… “We’re taking it day by day but I’m pretty sure we’ll be closed by the end of this week,†said Rumack.
-Jessica Perez
While I don’t have the time to fully look into this right now, school and college apps beckon, I still figured it’s worth mentioning to everyone, as it’ll probably go main stream pretty soon as well. La Opinion has done a few stories and reports that the center is in foreclosure proceedings from a loan taken out in 2006 and failure to make payments by the directors Martha and Ruben Soriano. A group calling themselves the Committee to save the Casa del Mexicano have been in talks with Jose Huizar to get the husband and wife outed from their positions and to save the center. There’s a bunch of drama going on right now and it’s hard to say what’s really going on because even La Opinion is having a hard time making sense of it. The place has seen a lot of bad days and it’s not in the best of conditions, despite the new murals painted.
There are moments in my life in which I wish I was still considered an “at risk youth” or just “youth” for that matter. Back when I was in school, I wasn’t introduced to any kind of after school programs, internships, opportunities or anything extra curricular like that, that would help me do better in school and go straight to college or a profession. The closest I got was D.A.R.E. Is that program still in schools ? Any who, I’m passing on some information that will hopefully reach the intended audience. Please forward this to any teachers, teachers aid, principals, students, parents or siblings who would know someone who would want to be a part of this on going project here in Boyle Heights. It’s safe to say that I’ll be there of course since there will be free food. But that’s beside the point, which is to save the youth from whatever social problems and ills that are affecting our communities by giving them the opportunities some of us never had. To mentor them and all that jazz, cause you know, kids are the future.
¡Tu Opinión Cuenta! Let Us Hear Your Voice!
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Chances are you’ve seen them flying in the sky, ever so high, so high that it hurts your eyes to stare into the sky that high. It’s hard to miss them when they’re circling in the air, holding down their turf like sky like vatos locos. Picking off pigeons whenever they get hungry and no one can stop them. Up there, they have no equals. Except maybe the ghetto bird or planes that fly over the Eastside, but that’s about it. Continue reading
Considering how I got a lot of positive feed back from last years impromptu Day of the Dead guide, I was debating whether or not to make another this year too. I mean, I do have a life beyond my random ramblings on this here bloggito. But then again, I love DOD and I love sharing the tradition and parties with as many people as I can. My homework will still be there after I finish. So here it is, your 2010 Dia de los Muertos guide to events you probably already know about and some you may have missed. Also, Day of the Dead is also election day. So, after you vote between a @#!*% and a turd, which I won’t get into lest I be called childish names again, start making your way to Self Help Graphics for the original Dia de los Muertos celebration, going on its 37th year and it’s free. Free !! You can also print and wear this kick @#!*% mask made by Cuéntame, the ¡Latino Instigators!, for a get out the vote campaign. I think it’s hilarious because if you can vote and don’t for whatever reason you have, then you are a cabron and you have no right to complain about how bad things are either. Also, most of these events are pretty self explanatory, soo I’m gonna cut corners and just copy and paste info with flyers and pics really. Anyway, enough jibba-jabber, on to the festivities
I’ve had my fair share of bikes stolen. Usually it happens that one time I stray from my normal routine. Whether it’s locking it up right and in a “safe” location. Putting it inside my house because most bikes are stolen from peoples houses and back yards over night. Point is, theft happens when you fall asleep at the wheel and let your guard down, which is exactly what I did. Granted I had a few chelas and I didn’t want to ride my bike drunk or buzzed because it’s against the law. Even though I only lived a few blocks away, there is no excuse for riding any vehicle drunk. Unless you’re at someones house, then it’s hilarious.
But the point I’m trying to make, which is also a friendly reminder to everyone else too, is to make sure is that you should always secure your bike and be mindful of it. Have a nice, strong lock on it and lock it right. Don’t ride drunk or buzzed, even though I did that once from Chinatown and it was a blast, I could have gotten seriously hurt. And don’t make the mistake I made in thinking that just because you don’t have the best looking bike, no one would want to steal it. Take it from me, these bike thieves will steal ANYTHING. Putos. More and more people have been telling me that they’ve have their rides stolen too. Supply and demand I guess. It’ll take me a while to find another bike, but it’s the principality of the thing you know ? That and me being stupid for one minute, which is all it took. So, learn from my lesson and don’t get too comfortable cause that’s when they’ll get ya. And it sucks that I have to say this because I would like to have faith in people and trust them. But sadly, that’s not the way things are.
FYI ~ My bike was stolen from the front door steps of Corazon del Pueblo Friday evening. It was locked to the light post. It’s a woman’s, red Murray, 10 speed bike. Covered in taxi cab stickers in the back and various others on the frame. It had those plastic things that make noise when you ride. Only one brake on the left hand side, duct take on the left handle bar and went by the name “little kramer.” If you see it, holla at me. It occurred to me to make a report at the Hollenbeck PS, but I realized that the cops had better things to do than worry about my stolen bike.