Category Archives: Eastside

Sunday mornings in Lincoln Heights

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I woke up this morning to hear my neighbor blasting Cumbia del Rio from his truck and I told myself “Ah, another beautiful morning in Lincoln Heights!”

Back when I first moved to my street, I lived next door to a three house complex of paisas and their cholillo kids. I knew some of them previously as they used to be my neighbors on the street I had moved from a few blocks over. (In Lincoln Heights this is totally common for rental residents to move around to different blocks and inevitably you end up next to be people you left behind). Anyways, this was back in the mid 90s and like all good paisas, they had a massive sound system in their truck which they would blast every Sunday morning (the sound mingling with my other neighbor’s roosters.) I loved this auditory wake up call but what I couldn’t understand was why the singer they kept listening to had such an awful voice. I would go around mimicking it because it sounded so out of tune and nasal-y. Eventually, the bad singing grew on me and I became to find it kinda charming. Guess who that singer was? The infamous Chalino Sanchez.


Las Nieves de Enero-Chalino Sanchez

Have a great Sunday!

Decent article on Chalino Sanchez by LA Weekly.
First part of article here.
(Thanks, Soledad en Masa!)

The calm before the storm

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Jaja

Before the Gold Line extension opens, we must ensure we have transportation to infiltrate the enemy. We have expertly placed troops throughout various points in the Westside, always vigilant. However, we need more troops in the Westside to relieve some of the stress on our exiled troops. The Eastside and allied neighborhoods are some of the densest in the United States and we can afford to send more out west. Let’s call it Manifest Destiny.

We can encircle Silver Lake (two words, cabrones! If you live in the neighborhood, learn to spell it! I’ve seen way too many write it as Silverlake), but we have to move people over the Westside as quickly as possible. With no direct train out west past Western (unless you go northwest to Hollywood) and the 20/720/920 packed as ever on Wilshire, we must use our horseless carriages, especially for reconnaisance. If you’re not a member of Midnight Ridazz 2 or a paisa on a bici to work, you shouldn’t be on a bike over there for fear of being followed by the Neighborhood Jura. Even if you’re a paisa on your bici to work, ¡aguas!

I present to you the avant garde and fastest way to transport large numbers of people: the car trunk kept down with rope. Riding in trunks is no longer something you do when you’re drunk/high/desmadroso or to make it past Oceanside to Orange County. with this new technology, it will be a snap to release those in the trunk, just use a scissor or knife to cut the rope and BAM! you’re out! With a number of old Lincoln Town Cars/Ford Crown Victorias/Chevy Caprice, the Eastside will infiltrate the Westside with relative ease.

With enough Eastsiders/sympathizers in the Westside, we could hotwire their Prius’s GPS to talk like this:

This post was an excuse to use that picture. With La Crisis on us, people just can’t afford to drive to a junkyard and get a lock for their car. Sometimes the easiest way out is the best way out.

Otomi ~ Japanese Food in Boyle Heights ~

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I have loved Japanese culture ever since my mind was warped by The G-Force, Astro Boy, Dragon Ball Z, Pokemon and of course The Power Rangers..… Laugh it up all you want….Ok so that childhood love kept growing and I love Japanese food, except sushi. Don’t know why, just don’t ok. Anyway, Japanese is delicious and I love that it’s so close to home. I use to go to Little Tokyo, but then me puse las pilas and I remembered about Otomi.

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Mas Revolucion!

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VIVA LA REVOLUCION!
–Official Message from Department of Homeboy Security–North Eastern Division, to the Eastside Front
This Latest Communiqué from the Headshopquarters of General Chavo!
→All Troops to Remain on Brown Alert!

  • Warm up the Armored Taco Trucks!
  • Alert the Fundamentalist Eastside Radical group “The Tacoban” (AL Pastor is Great!)
  • Load the Elote Launchers!
  • Confirm enemy spy sighting rumors- (Huell Howser)
  • Beware of infiltration by over-rated Westside Street art! (Shepard Fairy)
  • Lindsay Lohan sightings
  • Confirm rumors that someone has asked if the Tortilla Chips are “Organic” at El Mercado on First Street.
  • Aprehend any persons working on their Laptops while sitting in the patio at “El Tepeyac“

In case of enemy invasion=retreat to the secret caves located in the Montebello & Rose Hills! General Chavo is to be Frozen Cryogenetically as a Giant Paleta de Nués to be thawed out at a future date!
Please Report immediately to command post if you observe any of the following suspicious activities taking place in the Eastside!:

  • Increased number of Dog Walkers on the Eastside and purebred doggy poop landmines
  • Sightings of baby strollers costing more than $9.99
  • 2 year olds wearing designer Dr. Marten’s shoes
  • Ask for Identification of anyone wearing a Tommy Bahama shirt
  • The opening of one-word named boutiques
  • Be suspicious of anything with the faux distressed look (highly redundant to E.L.A.)
  • If you are captured, eat this message cooked in a spicy Mole Poblano Sauce!—End Message—

The cityhood train marches on

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One hurdle on East L.A.’s path to incorporation was cleared on Friday. The County registrar certified the signatures on the cityhood petition, all 11,000-plus. What’s next? The fiscal study on the feasibility of cityhood, which should be complete by September 2009, according to the timeline in the official cityhood website. An initial study conducted in 2007 showed the possible City of East Los Angeles would be economically feasible.

If the new study finds East Los Angeles to be economically feasible, a cityhood vote would be held in 2010 and the city would be incorporated in 2011. If anything, the Gold Line will work in East L.A.’s favor.

My favorite part of this drive for cityhood is explained in this statement by Oscar Gonzales, the President of the East Los Angeles Residents Association:

Gonzales says the 140,000 residents are represented by a county supervisor whose district covers 2 million people.

State Senator Gloria Romero currently supports this process and Supervisor Gloria Molina has stayed quiet. I wonder when she’ll speak or abstain. Very interesting…

I know we got urban planners/awesome people who read this blog. Please, give your insight into East Los.

Image above taken from Cityhood for East L.A.’s Flickr. To learn more, visit their official website.

Bad News for El Sereno

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Elephant Hill (photo courtesy of www.lancissues.org)

Developer wins, yet again. Does Northeast LA Really need more above-market rate housing on the last of our remaining open spaces? I think not.

From today’s Los Angeles Times:

Developer wins suit against L.A. over El Sereno housing tract project

A judge rejects the City Council’s demand that Monterey Hills Investors, which sought to build 24 homes on a hillside, do a new environmental report. The developer will seek to recoup losses.

By David Zahniser
January 8, 2009

A real estate developer has won its legal battle to build 24 homes on a vacant hillside in the Los Angeles neighborhood of El Sereno — and is now looking to recoup its financial losses from City Hall.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant ruled Monday that the City Council had no authority to order Monterey Hills Investors LLC to perform a new environmental impact report on its proposed subdivision of single-family homes.

Opponents of the project received legal help from the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group that said the 15.7-acre site should be preserved. The city’s environmental review found that grading would ultimately affect 85% of the site and result in an “irreversible environmental change to the topography,” according to court documents

Read more here.

Save Elephant Hills blog

Green hills again

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Pasadena Ave. - Lincoln Heights

Pasadena Ave. - Lincoln Heights

On a walk home from the Heritage Square Gold Line station I noticed once again that green is back in the NorthEastside.  Coming down through Highland Park on the line I could see the green all over the hills.  The frankly sparse amount of rain we’ve received has let all those empty hills, lots, and cracks in the street come to life.  Even with all the environmental degradation life still persists.  As my dad once said, “One day the Earth will finally shake us off like a bad case of fleas.” I’m no complete misanthrope, but in the end that doesn’t sound too bad for me.  Toda va, todo vuelve.

My Favorite Burrito: Al and Bea’s Chile Relleno

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The sign says it all, “Specializing in Burritos.” Al & Bea’s here been here in Boyle Heights for more than 40 years and just like anything else in life, it gets better with time. My first time going to Al & Bea’s was a few years ago when a friend asked me if I’ve ever been there. “No I haven’t” I said and we were on our way there in no time. Coming from the taco truck lifestyle I was expecting the more traditional burrito de carne asada and the cliche menu that accompanies it. I get to the window and don’t even bother to look at the menu because I’m used to ordering the same thing give or take. I ask for carne asada and the guy taking my order says they don’t have carne asada. In my bewilderment, my friend stepped in and ordered for me, an Al & Bea’s special. I dove in and thought to myself, “this burrito is good, but I wouldn’t call it Mexican food,” even though the guys preparing the food are Mexican or look it. Since that faithful day, I have been going back and fourth to Al & Bea’s trying out the menu and learning to appreciate it for the great food it has, Mexican or not. 

Enter the burrito de Chile Relleno(bell pepper stuffed with cheese and fried). I’ve had most of the menu already so when I decided to go for the Chile Relleno, I was kinda hesitant. The last time I went out on a limb like that I tried their potato burrito, which turned out to be a burrito full of french fries. I threw caution to the wind and went for it. For those of you who hadn’t had the pleasure of spoiling your taste buds with the burrito, it consist of a Chile Relleno wrapped in a tortilla and smothered in beans. It was good !!!!! So good that’s the only thing I’ve ordered the last few times I’ve been there, aside of taquitos with guacamole goes well with it too. Chingado now I’m hungry.   

Happy New Year 2009!

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We here at LA Eastside wish you a very happy new year! We look forward to another year of being a fly in the ointment, the rebels with and without causes, the malcriados on the block and the not so young kids next door that the blog neighbors secretly wish would get evicted for being a public nuisance!

Our perspective acknowledges the existence of the Eastside (that alternate reality of what it means to be Other in this town) even when the rest of the city ignores us or tries to take our name. This next year we hope to bring you even more posts about either side of the river, plus North and South tambien, but with our way of seeing the city. We are planning on a proper redesign, hoping to add a few more authors to join in the fray, talking about a few other interesting things to come, and all of this still with NO ADS! You can’t put a price on the value of our posts! Thank you all for reading. Have a good one and see ya around!