Category Archives: culture

Coachella. Layaway. YES YOU CAN!

Posted on by
8

layaway

I’m listening to cheesy 80s music streaming via yahoo and I hear this commercial for Coachella and not that I’m a big Coachella person or get in a car and go to the desert to listen to crappy music kind of person, even in my 20s that was not me. I have always been a read a book, drink a bottle of vodka, go to sleep, wake up at 9pm and go to a dive bar and argue with you kind of person.

But what caught my ear was apparently this year’s Coachella is offering a layaway option.

Layaway to go to sit in the desert where there are all kinds of rules like:

No chairs
No food or beverages (you have to buy the overpriced food and alcohol there, though I didn’t see anything about alcohol and I’m really not seeing the point of an alcohol free festival unless it is a Mormon Music Festival.)
No stuffed animals (what the hell is that “no” for…)
No drugs or drug paraphernalia (to me there is no point in going to the desert without taking drug, if god didn’t want us to use drugs in the desert then why did he make meth grow there?)
No parking overnight. No overnight parking…??!!! Nearest bus stop is three miles away, nearest train station three miles away…so I guess you spend 100 bucks on a hotel to sleep at for five hours. I wonder do the hotels also have layaway? Continue reading →

Tonight & Sat: Boca Escupiendo Sangre / Mouth Spitting Blood

Posted on by
3

yosi_partyla1

From RAQUEFELLA:

I’m pushing about ten years here in Los Angeles doing the community based queer Latina/o arts organizing thing that continues to move, baffle, inspire, exhaust me. Me da vida. I believe in making space for queer Latino/as living in Los Angeles to share creative work at an emerging level that often goes unseen and unheard. Oftentimes that’s the least of our troubles in the cacophony of violence that surrounds our realities as either gender-non-conforming outlaws trying to make a home in the communities we are from. We remember Gwen Araujo. Lawrence King, presente.  Sakina Gunn, RIP. These youth did not have the chance to spit their truth and so we, as poets and artists, render their struggles poetically to remember.

I hope L.A. Eastside readers can pause and think about the LGBT gente in their lives–have you ever thought about the struggles that they face as they remain true to themselves while occupying spaces with family, friends, and institutions like church and school. Have you ever stopped some bullshit language flying around the schoolyards or did you let the slap in the face go unpunished? Did you ever not talk to somebody because the gender line was crossed in such a way that…ni porque decirlo?

Continue reading →

A.R.T.E.S.

Posted on by
9

artes

The planning and development for an Art’s District in Boyle Heights is underway. Artist are uniting and getting the ball rolling on making sure this opportunity doesn’t get shelved and tossed to the side. The projects origins can be traced back to local council member Jose Huizar approaching a teacher at UCLA.  From there, 12 urban planning students surveyed Boyle Heights and presented their findings to Huizar a while back. Alfredo Huante and Carolina Martinez are two of the students and were at tonight’s meeting explaining what the current situation is and who their meeting with Huizar went. The students finished their commitment and got their credit. They explained that they no longer have a stake in the survey and said that projects like this usually go ignored because there is no one to pick up where they left off. That’s where A.R.T.E.S. comes in. With so much ground work already started, the students are passing everything on to them as they are getting organized and creating an infrastructure to make sure that the district meets the needs of the community and artist.

Continue reading →

Saving Los Angeles from Becoming a First World City

Posted on by
13

trat01

Many of America’s cities are in the crapper thanks to years of policy that’s favored suburbanites and their wasteful consumption habits. And LA has suffered the glut of gentrifying jerks looking for a lifestyle instead of a place to live. Buildings turned into condos, markets turned into  fancy t-shirt shops, restaurants with one word names. It’s like some invasion by rich asshole foreigners, quickly turning Los Angeles into a First World City, instead of an American city.  But this trend is reversible and the opportunity to clean up this city, and get rid of all the cleaned-up-ness, is achievable.

What’s the difference between a First World City and an American City? Let me show you the signs.

Continue reading →

My first days living in the barrio

Posted on by
12

Sunday:
Finally moved into my new place in an area called Boyle Heights. My writer friend that I met at writing/acting camp in Wisconsin hooked me up with her friends to get this small room in the back of these really nice people’s house. I’m like 15 min. from Hollywood, they say. The helicopter is hovering above. I heard a car zoom through the alley behind me and I’ve heard maybe gun shots. I don’t know about this, but it feels real.

Monday:
Woke up thinking for a quick second I was back home when I heard a rooster. Walked outside and saw my neighbor pushing a shopping cart with a big pot full of these things called tamaless (sp?). They didn’t have those in Taco Bell or Dell Taco back home. She said she sells them every weekday morning on the corner for a $1 each along with this really soupy cream of wheat, with lots of cinnamon, drink called chaumpoorrahdo (sp?). They were both very good, but the chili in the tamaless was too hot for me.
Later my friend April picked me up to go meet some agents and managers who might be interested in representing me. We didn’t get done til the late afternoon. So tired. My eyes hurt, I think its the smog.
She took me to her place in Echo Park. She said that she heard there were a lot of Mexicans living here before but they moved out to nicer places. A lot of cool edgy alt artists moved in because of the cheap rents. We ate vegan sandwiches on her porch. I like Echo Park.
Back at my lil place was quiet tonight.

Continue reading →

Hot on the Street: Huaraches

Posted on by
8

guaraches1
Authentic huaraches from Mexico

Spotted on the streets of Silver Lake, the hottest trend in fashion today, the humble huarache. Long used on the Eastside as fly swatters, rear end spankers and regular old house slippers, the huarache has been promoted to high fashion due to it’s green pedigree. You see, huaraches re-use the treads of old tires for soles. That means decreased rubber production and all the nasty toxic uglies that go with it. Wearers also report the added benefit of healthier feet as the open weave design allows the foot to breathe. Also, as the sandals are worn, the leather conforms to the foot shape creating a stylish silhouette.
Continue reading →

Hands Across The River…

Posted on by
8

east-of-the-river

There was a time when it seemed that some Westside Angelenos perceived life east of the river to be something like this…..

Apparently, there’s been some change of heart by our neighbors to the West. I received today the following email care of L.A. Eastside and I thought it would be worthy of sharing with our readers:
Continue reading →

Shepard Fairey Still Climbing Over

Posted on by
5

shgsf_small

In a stroke of genius, international graphic artist (from South Carolina), Shepard Fairey invents a new genre of art.  He coins the term “ChikanNOh” to describe this new artwork that draws from Mesoamerican myths and iconography, which he said, popped into his head when he was eating a maize round cake filled with meat, lettuce, cheese and tomatoes (in Hollywood).  In this new body of work Fairey attempts to unravel and support a fictitious place he calls Awshlawn (pronounced azLAN), where he will mentally dwell to contemplate this–his latest artistic break through.  Some of his ideas are to create art that turns away from the Eurocentric, because Europe is obviously overdone.  It is rumored that Art Forum Magazine will dedicate an unheard-of feature spread of 40 pages to extol this latest, ambitious and important work by the up and still climbing over us Fairey.  Pictured above, Fairey marks his newly opened art studio, which he says will be the birthplace of his latest ChikanNOh artwork venture.

By Wynona Richfield

Hello Eastside

Posted on by
22

collagefakeastside
The best of the Eastside. My new fav places!

Hello and howdy to all my new friends at Los Angeles Eastside. I’m a new writer here,  just moved to L.A. (to the Eastside, of course) from my hometown of Tucson, Arizona. I’m hoping, I suppose like many, to break into the entertainment industry (more on that later) but for now, I figured it would be a good idea to give a brief introduction about myself and what I hope to contribute to this site.

Before moving to Los Angeles, I heard a lot of buzz about the Eastside and how it was the happening place to be. Bars, bands and fun nightlife are definitely my kind of thing and isn’t that why people move to a big city anyways? I want to share my experiences of the Eastside through the eyes of a newcomer. For instance, I love the band Little Joy (c’mon who didn’t listen to The Strokes album 20 times in a row?) and now I’ll finally be able to visit this Eastside institution. Save a case of PBR for me Eastsiders!

Continue reading →

Ramblin’ On My Mind: I’m A Man. But, You Can’t Call Me That.

Posted on by
5

I always like the story that the term “man” as a slang gesture of affection or recognition came into vogue through jazz musicians of the 1940’s. That Gillespie, Parker and Miles used the term to destroy the humiliating use of “boy” is a powerful demonstration. We’ll just make up our own shit. Better, let’s call ourselves what we are.

I read this comment from El Chavo and it jarred a few memories:

BTW, I hate that fake bonding shit: I get some people in my work environment calling me ‘bro’ or even ‘brother,’ like I know them or something. It makes me want to punch them.

Continue reading →

FROM BEYOND

Posted on by
15

from-beyond-storefront

I drove by this place recently on Beverly Blvd. east of Atlantic, and I was intrigued by what appeared to be a very unique kind of video rental store. The décor and Horror film imagery of the storefront had me wondering; “Could this be a specialized, horror/cult film genre video store in E.L.A? The kind of place I dream about? –Wow!” Continue reading →