Maria Gonzalez(From left)Â , Garcia Enedina and Pablo Torres arrived at 10 a.m. Friday morning to be the first in line for the 27th Annual Miricle on 1st Street Toy give away. Sponcered by the Hollenbeck Youth Center, the give away helps out local residents in Boyle Heights by giving away gifts donated from various corparate sponcers. Gonzalez said that her family have been coming to the toy give away since they were kids and this year marks their 20th year coming. Even as La Crisis keeps getting worse, more families are expected to come and wait in line to compensate for their gifts. Gonzalez her family and other people waiting in line are going to be camping out over night in the freezing cold to keep their space. Of course their efforts are going to pay of in the morning when they’re one of the few families who will recieve a Nintendo Wii said Gonzalez. The gift giving starts at 10 a.m. and of course the line will be TONS of families there creating a mob scence.
Ajua! Someone has correctly answered all of the questions on the ARE YOU SMARTER THAN AN EASTSIDER? Quiz!
One very EastsideCulture savvy contestant has demonstrated a profound
knowledge of all things Eastside, and has proven to be truly deserving of the Grand Prize! A certificate good for Dinner for Two from: EL CONQUISTADOR RESTAURANT in Silver Lake!
(I wanted the prize to be a trip far away from THE EASTSIDE so I picked the very self-proclaimed hip Westside town of Silver Lake!) Que Gácho! Anyway, here are the answers to the quiz: Continue reading →
“No tienen valor” are the words that an older gentleman muttered to Ernesto de la Loza as he was working on restoring his mural on Cesar Chavez Ave. and Breed. For the last few months, idiots tagged up the mural pretty bad and Loza was called up by the store to come and fix it up. I was on my way home from school and I saw him painting.
If a tree falls in the hood, does it make a sound ? Hell yeah it does. My friend “Yesca” sent me this picture of the tree that fell over night in Boyle Heights. She said that the tree fell at 3 a.m. and seven fire trucks, along with paramedics and cops, showed up at the scene to help the family in the house. Turns out that two woman had to be pulled out from the wreckage. When my friend told me what happened I realized that the family is going to have to find somewhere to stay because the damage looks extensive. Not only that but I’m sure it’s ruined their plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Here’s a link to video from one of the local media stations.
Don Tosti on “Latin Eyes” a San Francisco news show, 2002.
Video courtesy of the excellent Proyecto Pachuco collecting oral histories of Pachuco culture for a future book and documentary.
Even before Julio’s excellent post on the value of urban language, I’d been thinking about the ephemeral variations of Los Angeles accents. When I was growing up, the typical (or stereotypical) Eastside Chicano accent was similar to the dialog you’d find in a Cheech and Chong movie. The words themselves are a mixture of Caló (derived from Gitano Caló and indigenous words), English, archaic Spanish and dashes of African-American vernacular. The accenting comes from Northern Mexico and their version of Spanish with it’s high and low, somewhat sing song tonal variations – regularly sounding as if a question is always being asked.
Don Tosti is a good example of this early way of speaking Chicano Caló. Born In El Paso, Texas and then moving to the Eastside when he was fifteen, he brought this unique argot with him. At Roosevelt High School I’m sure he found numerous others from El Paso who were also conversing in this cool, “Pachuco” slang. This patois has lived on in the Eastside until now, although the accents and the vernacular are quickly changing. Maybe it’s due to increased immigration from the central and southern parts of Mexico and from Central America. Or it could be the ever present influence of the global media and their official representations of urban lifestyles. It’s important though to capture this language before it’s gone, a project I’m currently working on.
I’m grateful to Don Tosti for recording his delightful dialect in-between the verses of his songs. It’s obvious that his Pachuco culture was integral to his music. The excellent documentary above explains more.
Many members of my family and many of my neighbors still speak a version of Chicano Caló. Even many of the college educated folks will slip back into it after awhile. One of my favorite speakers is Shorty, a 94 year old Chicano who is now living in South San Gabriel. You can listen to him speak in this clip.
 With the inception of the newly formed Asociación de Loncheros L.A. Familia Unida de CA.taco truck owners and workers banned together to fight for their rights to sell tacos. The community forum hosted by the union was held at the Casa del Mexicano and everyone and there mother showed up to support the trucks, the union and to bask with fellow taco lovers under a full moon and a full plate. During the meeting, the union reassured everyone in attendance that the union is organizing and working with both city and state officials to find a solution to the harassment the trucks face. The one of the biggest priorities mentioned during the forum was that taco truck owners and workers have rights that cannot be ignored and have to be respected. The trucks all operate with city and health permits that require rigorous regulations that require trucks to be within 100 feet of a public restroom and to house their at a commissary.
It makes me feel kind of Nostalgic to see stores like Sears, WalMart & Kmart starting to offer their customers the choice of LAY AWAY plans again. Can’t say I blame them, with all the credit related uncertainties these days. Back when I was a kid…. Continue reading →
Join me and other’s in this forum with the La Asociación de Loncheros L.A. Familia Unida de C.A. on Thursday at La Casa del Mexicano starting at 6 p.m. To provide information to community members regarding the recent events that affected the catering  truck industry.Â
It’s that time of the year again, grab your blankets, put on your schools colors and make your way to East Los Angeles College this Friday for the 74th Annual East Los Angeles Classic. 74 freaking years !!!!! It astounds me that Roosevelt and Garfield have been going at it on the football field for that long. For seniors at both schools, this is THE GAME to win. Last year Garfield lost after beating the Rough Riders two years in a row. You can almost literally feel the electricity in the air from both the players and the fans.
74 th Annual East Los Angeles Classic
Friday, November 14, 2008 East Los Angeles College
Frosh/Soph Game: 4:00 PM – Varsity Game: 7:30 PM
It’s been all over this site already but in case you haven’t heard, there’s a rally going on today at Lincoln Park 1pm sponsored by the Latin@ LGBT Coalition.
Today is the first of two days that staff and operations at General Hospital move to their new digs, on the right in the above picture. I know many of our readers have personal connections to this hospital, some even born there! Continue reading →
~ On the corner of Cesar Chavez and Soto Monday evening ~
I think one of the reasons Proposition 8 passed is because some people where too busy doing other things, while those against it were out in full force.
Maria Gonzalez(From left)Â , Garcia Enedina and Pablo Torres arrived at 10 a.m. Friday morning to be the first in line for the 27th Annual Miricle on 1st Street Toy give away. Sponcered by the Hollenbeck Youth Center, the give away helps out local residents in Boyle Heights by giving away gifts donated from various corparate sponcers. Gonzalez said that her family have been coming to the toy give away since they were kids and this year marks their 20th year coming. Even as La Crisis keeps getting worse, more families are expected to come and wait in line to compensate for their gifts. Gonzalez her family and other people waiting in line are going to be camping out over night in the freezing cold to keep their space. Of course their efforts are going to pay of in the morning when they’re one of the few families who will recieve a Nintendo Wii said Gonzalez. The gift giving starts at 10 a.m. and of course the line will be TONS of families there creating a mob scence.
