Category Archives: East Los

Quinceañeras, Jesus Malverde and Adan Sanchez Ohh my

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When I first got word about “Always & Forever” I was hesitant about it. At best, I’m a casual fan of corridos  and I don’t identify with it on any level other than it’s a life style for some and it has millions of fans. When Adan Sanchez died it was just another regular day for me, but to thousands here in L.A. it was the loss of a talented musician and a young man. I didn’t even know that the play first premiered in 2007 at the Ford Amphitheatre and it was originally conceived around 2004 at Casa 0101 by writer Michael Spillers in a writing workshop. Now coming full circle in 2009, the loss of Adan is still felt and his music is still being played by his fans. The play, inretro spect almost seems like on huge homage to Adan, his fans and everything else that is tied to Corridos and Bandas. “Always & Forever” revolves around a quinceañera as family traditions clash with a young girls passion and love for Banda music and Adan. The play follows the family dealing with their everyday drama and the quinceañera, ultimately culminating up to the day Adan died. Anyone who is a fan of Adan of Bandas will love “Always & Forever” and even people who don’t know anything about it can still relate to some of the antics the family gets into.

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Fiesta Shalom pics, part dos

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Chavo was so pressed for time that I didn’t even run into him after I got to the fiesta. I ran into everyone else and their mom, but not C. He’s sneaky like that. But yes I was able to get into the shul and get the quick 15 minute tour everyone was waiting for in the baking sun. I quickly sign a waiver and headed inside wanting to see the inside of the building I have live around and seen, from the outside all my life here in East Los.

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Legends Of The Eastside Sound- An Interview With Mark Guerrero, Part 1

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[audio:https://laeastside.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/get-your-baby.mp3]
Once upon a time, during the late 50’s to the 60’s, weekend nights at Eastside gyms, halls, and youth centers were taken over by dances featuring a young breed of musicians who got on stage and beat out the rhythms of Soul, Blues and Rock & Roll to frenzied crowds of teens making the scene.
That era and that music that became known as “The Eastside Sound” is woven into the historical and cultural fabric of Eastsiders. It has an identity, and a flavor that comes through in a rich shade of brown better heard while cruising in a Ranfla, or by spinning some scratchy 45s and dancing with your Háina.
There have been recent noteworthy chronicles about this Eastside musical heritage such as the book “Land of a Thousand Dances” and the recent video documentary “Chicano Rock! The Sounds of East Los Angeles”. Nevertheless, I have always felt that the Eastside scene was worthy and deserving of something much more in depth. There were overlooked people, places and details that I wanted to help discover, chronicle and preserve for posterity. And, since it doesn’t look like Ken Burns will be undertaking that project anytime soon, I decided to take some steps in that direction all on my own.
I sought someone from that era who could tell me more about it from a front lines, first-hand perspective. “Who could paint a mental picture for me of what those times were like?” I asked myself. Then, I came in contact with Mr. Mark Guerrero.
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Music is universal

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Thanks to the help of Volunteers of East Los Angeles, Wenceslao Quiroz and members from the community got permission and some funding to paint a beautiful mural on the side of Belvedere Middle school. The majority of the mural was painted on a Saturday a few weeks ago, which I knew about, but was unable to attend because I was at work. Quiroz said that they had a great turn out and residents are loving the art. Quiroz, who is an East L.A. native said that he loved the energy people brought and the enthusiasm for wanting to get their hands dirty and paint, specially kids coming to help out after school.

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Save Golden Gate Theater—here’s what you can do right now!

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Alright folks, eleventh-hour call to action here…

 If we’re serious about doing something to save Golden Gate Theater—the only remaining movie palace in East LA—we need to drop whatever “urgent” matter we’re dealing with now (like updating our Facebook statuses or, even more mundane, working), and figure out which of the following two actions we’re going to take between today and tomorrow.

A)    Plan on attending the hearing tomorrow (May 13, 9am) and expressing your reasons before the LA County Regional Planning Commission for opposing the destruction of this invaluable cultural jewel.

OR, if nothing else…

B)     Write and submit by 6pm TODAY your comments on this matter. You can send your remarks to agutierrez@planning.lacounty.gov

Hopefully, you’ll decide to attend the hearing. Below is the address. It’s the first item on the agenda, so be on time!

Health Services Auditorium
313 N Figueroa (corner street: Temple), Los Angeles 90012

Points to remember…

 *  The 1927 Churriguerresque-style theater is one of LA’s most significant movie palaces and the only one remaining in the future city of East LA…

 * Even if Latino and working class, doesn’t East LA deserve the enjoyment of historic and cultural preservation as much as some Westside neighborhood? The restoration of a beautiful old theater in the community could potentially house emerging cultural/arts organizations on the Eastside and serve as the anchor for an East LA arts district on Whittier Blvd. Why squander this opportunity??    

* If we don’t save the Golden Gate Theater now, the real estate development firm that holds title to it, the Charles Co., will gut the building in order to lease it to CVS Pharmacy—hardly a friend of the community (read all about CVS and their crimes at www.curecvsnow.org…

Brooklyn & Boyle issue 5

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Here it is, the newest issue of Brooklyn & Boyle fresh off the grill. So to speak. It was a long time coming, but the wait was worth it. The magazine keeps improving with each issue. AND YES I see the grammatical errors cabrones, mistakes like that can be easily remedied, but what can I, we just wanted to get this mag out and ready for your viewing pleasure. So enjoy. Ohh and click on the images to see a bigger, more readable version of it.

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Japanophilia, or the obsession with Japan

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Anyone here obsessed with Japanese culture (i.e. anime/manga, cherry trees, samurai, kendo, taiko, karate/judo/aikido, sushi, teriyaki, Kurosawa, “Beat” Takeshi Kitano) and things related to it (Little Tokyo, Comic-Con) and consider themselves or have been called a Japanophile?
I find America’s rising obsession with Japan so interestingly ironic. 20 years ago in elementary school and throughout high school, anyone who looked remotely Asian was called Chino or China.
My mother and other Japanese tenants in nearby apartment buildings in Boyle Heights were and still are called Chin@ by neighbors.
Nowadays, elementary and high school students carry “manga” (Japanese comics) books with them and are fascinated with Japanese culture. Some high school students I’ve worked with are so obsessed with Japan that they are studying the language via podcast and the internet on their own so that they can one day travel there.
An American Caucasian friend of mine who now lives in Tokyo with his Japanese girlfriend has told me that he feels most at home when he arrives to Narita Airport. Another Mexican American/Chicano friend has told me he believes he was Japanese in his past lifetime because of his deep interest in Japan and the culture.
Oh, how I wonder what it would have been like to be “cool” for bringing salmon and riceballs to school in my pink New Kids on the Block lunchbox while envying my classmates who had normal sandwiches and bags of pepinos.

An article by Oxy professor, Morgan Ptelka. http://www.discovernikkei.org/forum/en/node/1709

Los Juan Diegos

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edit-3Beautiful isn’t it ? I was amazed when I first saw it and I’m still amazed every time I see it when I pass by it on Chavez and Lorena. I love art and since I’ve been learning about the artists who helped make Chicano Art what it is today, I have a tremendous appreciation for it. I have great respect for any artist and Chomps is no exemption. Chomps has been working on his this mural called, “Los Juan Diegos” for quite some time. He named it after himself and his brother. Like any artist, he has to make a living some where else to pay the bills and spends what free time and money he has on his art. He ends up borrowing equipment to get the job done a lot.

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How Mexican are you?

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Prelude.

As a substitute teacher in public charter schools throughout Los Angeles, I have the honor and pleasure of meeting young students (K-12) – America’s future! – almost everyday. All of the schools I work at are 98% Latino/Raza (except when I get called to work in Inglewood, and rarely do I take the job – too far!).

I’ve worked in East LA, Northeast LA, South Central/LA, Pacoima, Inglewood, Crewnshaw, Korea Town, MacArthur Park and Downtown. The most fun I have and maybe the students have when I’m in the classroom with them is when I introduce myself. First, they have trouble with my name. “Kraus,” I say, “Miss Kraus. It rhymes with mouse and house. If you can say house, you can say Kraus.”

Then it goes into an impromptu Q&A session. “Where are you from, miss?” or “Where are your parents from, miss?” and sometimes just bluntly, “What are you, miss?” Elementary school students don’t care as much as the high school students. I say, “Guess.”
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Lies and Berries: Art Is Priceless Except When It Costs $1.75

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BookSale. Two words together that make me smile, kinda like job and blow. I got up on Saturday morning, a lazy morning, the best kind. Exercise, wash clothes, check e-mail, blah blah. Looked at my calendar and saw that the week of April 12 – 18 was highlighted. Of course, National Library Week! Ok, they weren’t highlighted, just kidding. I promise.

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East Los Punks

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Animal, Fruit Punch and Sed

Sed, Fruit Punch and Animal

This is Sed, Fruit Punch and Animal. This is a Photoshopped/Illustrated version designed by friend and local artist, Benny Gonzalez. We’re planning to make stickers, patches and shirts.

I found these guys on First Street near Evergreen Cemetery. It was winter – January of 2008 – in sunny Boyle Heights . While driving east on 1st, I spotted the trio walking past Haru Florist with their $5 pizza from Little Caesar’s. I just so happened to have my digital point-and-shoot camera and turned the corner to stop this fashionably dressed bunch for a photo op. I remember the conversation vaguely but it went something along the lines of this.

Victoria: “Hey guys. Can I take a picture of you? I know it may seem weird but I saw you walking from like 50 feet away and I just had to stop because you guys are dressed so freakin’ cool.”

Fruit Punch: “Yeah. Sure.”

Sed: “Yeah, so how do you want us to pose?”

Victoria: “However. Just stand against the wall. So are you guys off-track? You go to Roosevelt?”

Fruit Punch: “Nah… (laughs)”

Animal: “Yeah, we go to another school.”

As I took their picture, I wondered what minority laws I was breaking by taking their picture. I also wondered what laws they might have broken. I wonder what laws I’m breaking now by posting their picture.

Link to original photo:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/victoriaemk/2657976077/in/pool-laeastside