Are you ready for some football !?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

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Can you believe it’s time for the East Los Angeles Classic all over again ? I can’t because this year has just flown by. Serio. The other day I thought it was February. This year the classic is going to be turning 75 years old so both schools are going to be pulling out the stops.

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Dia de los Muertos hosted by Self Help Graphics at the East LA Civic Center

The 36th annual Dia de los Muertos event was held at the East LA Civic Center on Monday, November 2. An incredible gathering of a few thousand, the use of green space around the lake and the lake’s floating stage gave East LA a taste of Woodstock – in my humble opinion – without the sex, drugs and Santana. Locals of all ages, families, friends, couples young and old, enjoyed the non-ticketed event’s music and various art activities and vendors. Beloved local bands Ollín, La Santa Cecilia and Killsonic performed favorites. Texas trio, Girl in a Coma closed the event.

My ride on the LA EASTSIDE Linia de Oro

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All I have to say is, eh. That’s right eh. But I’m being to harsh,  so let me take you along for a ride and let you form your own opinion about the new line. All aboard !!

(Editor’s Note: I uploaded all the pics on here through my phone the first time around, but I fixed it now and everything should show up. Sorry for the glitch.)

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Your Dia de los muertos guide

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Don’t know how to spend Dia de los Muertos this weekend ? Need some help deciding where to go ? Well stop worrying your pretty little calaca head and let me give you a taste of all things Dia de los Muertos happening in the City of Angeles. It’s a doozy of a list and if anyone wants to add anything, please feel free to post it on the comments on send it to us OR even better yet, submit your own post under guest. So, with that being said, on with the celebration of life.

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Putting an end to hunger in LA

Various religious groups across the city have come together to put an end to hunger in Los Angeles.  A food drive took place at Hollywood Forever this month, school children are choosing this campaign as their class project, entertainment people are joining in and volunteering at the various community food programs is being encouraged.   The organizers point out that food banks and collections are mere band-aids on the situation.   They have three major ways to end hunger in LA (check out their website at  Fed Up With Hunger –below is one of the methods and the results of an assessment made on our side of town.

A community food assessment by Project CAFÉ that mapped 1273 food establishments in three low income neighborhoods in South and Central Los Angeles found that 29.6% were fast food restaurants, 21.6% were convenience/liquor stores and less than 2% were full service food markets. In Boyle Heights, there is one supermarket for the 90,000 residents of the neighborhood. Tragically, families in these neighborhoods have the highest rates of obesity, overweight and other diet related health problems; cheap foods may ease hunger pangs, but these foods also lead to chronic malnutrition, an emerging health crisis that impacts us all.

The Action: Ask your City Council member to make grocery stores, farmer’s markets and community gardens a high priority in all land-use planning, especially in central and east Los Angeles. Visit the City of Los Angeles’ website and find your Council member in the “My Neighborhood” box.

Volunteer at Self Help for Dia de los Muertos

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This year, Self Help Graphics & Arts celebrates its 36th Annual Dia De Los Muertos in a new location–the East Los Angeles Civic Center, in Belvedere Lakeside Park. With so much space we are able to expand SHG booths to accommodate more of our faithful vendors, increase the kid’s arts space, and expand the entertainment area. This year, we need many more volunteers than ever before. As an experienced Day of the Dead volunteer, we are asking that you join our efforts by giving us your time to make our signature event a dynamic and memorable evening for all who participate. Our main event will take place on Monday, November 2, 2009 between 5 PM-11 PM. We can use your help with event set up, event design and décor installation, face painting, vendor assistance, entrance guardians and event breakdown. For those who cannot assist in the main event, other opportunities to volunteer at Self Help Graphics & Art (in the Upper Level of the building located at 3802 E. Cesar E. Chavez Ave., Los Angeles, 90063) are:

· Workshop assistants on Saturdays in October between 12 PM – 4 PM

· Noche De Ofrenda, Saturday, October 24th, 2009 5 PM to 10 PM

· Deadly Stylish Art Exhibit Opening, Sunday, November 1st 4-8 PM

· Deadly Stylish Art Exhibit Docent, Tuesday, November 3-28*

*Additional training required, Docent schedules to be determined upon availability. As you can see, there are many opportunities for you to participate in. We are requesting:

· A three-hour commitment per shift and

· Attendance to one brief Volunteer Training Session at Self Help Graphics on:

Tuesday, October 20, at 7 PM or Thursday, October 22 at 7 PM. If you’re interested in volunteering, please read and fill out the attached volunteer form, email it to volunteer@selfhelpgraphics.com.

Click here to download volunteer application

Muy Agradecidos,

Day of the Dead Volunteer Committee

Self Help Graphics & Art

Festival de la Gente CANCELLED !!!!!!!!!

Through the electronic grapevine, I.E. I first read it/RT on twitter then I saw the press release on facebook, this years festival, which was going to be at Hollenbeck park is CANCELLED 🙁 This is what I personally consider a huge loss for not only Boyle Heights in terms of making some feria, but also, in a way, robbing the community of this kick ass Dia de los Muertos event. I loved that this years festival was going to be this weekend because it meant that I didn’t have to choose between going to Self Help and here. So why was it cancelled ? Because of $$$$$$ problems. From their press release, “Councilman Jose Huizar’s Office Unable to Waive Safety and Park Fees For What Would Have Been the 10 Annual Festival De La Gente LOS ANGELES, CA – The producer of the Festival de La Gente announced today his organization has been forced to cancel the festival that was to be held this weekend, on October 24 and 25, 2009. The producer was able to secure corporate sponsorships from GOYA FOODS, WELLS FARGO, HOY/Los Angeles Times, the WALT DISNEY Company and local art and food vendors for the budgeted costs. However, last-minute add-on fees from the City of Los Angeles for public safety and use of Hollenbeck Park were not covered by the City of Los Angeles as they have been in the past. Tony Dominguez, the producer of the event and Executive Director of Arte Calidad Cultural Institute, the non-profit organization that produces the festival, has said, “In good faith, I began this process of partnership with Los Angeles City Council District 14 back in March of 2009. Per their request, I pursued a new location for the festival at Hollenbeck Park in Boyle Heights. Last week I was informed of the additional fees associated with the new location and the Department of Recreation and Parks. Those costs were more than 30% of the event’s current budget and we could not raise replacement funds with such short notice. The Councilman Huizar’s office representative, Ana Cubas, stated, “Our office, like the entire city budget has faced major cutbacks,” in explaining why it could not support the festival this year although Mr. Huizar name is used in all promotional material including the web site. Marketed as the nation’s largest “Día de los Muertos” commemoration, the free festival typically includes a display of giant paper maché skeleton characters joining in the fun. Día de los Muertos is a Latin American cultural tradition that honors life and the spirit of family and friends who have passed on. The iconic playful skeletons were made famous by Mexican artist Jose Posada and are recreated by famed L.A. based paper maché artist, Tony Dominguez. In an effort to build community pride and acknowledge biculturalism, the 2-day cultural festival would have featured children’s themed arts and crafts, an altar contest, and traditional foods. The festival has also been a venue for local bands. In 2008, festival attendance exceeded the expected 60,000 per day.

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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