Category Archives: Greater Los Angeles

January Downtown L.A. Art Walk

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Starting last year, as proclaimed by our mayor Tony V, January is Art Month here in L.A. and it’s all about the arts. This is the second year of bringing attention to the plight that the arts are facing, which I’m sure a lot of people are already aware of because when things get tight, the arts go out the window. So, the whole point of Art month is to get people out and about into museums, galleries and events all month long to check out what L.A. has to offer and stimulate the local economy. Well I did some stimulating of my own on Wednesday at Corazon del Pueblo by listening to amazing poets put themselves out there. They even inspired me to get up there and read. Aside from that, I knew I had to hit up the Art Walk because not only is it Art’s Month, but it’s the first one of the year.  The cities website states, “we are urging Angelenos to enjoy the best the art world has to offer without leaving Los Angeles.  And we hope they will make it an adventure by discovering a new museum or performing arts venue!”Adventure ? I’m game.

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La Crisis: Lunch at New Happy Family Restaurant

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You know what I hate about vegetarian/vegan restaurants? They’re expensive. For some stupid reason, the fact that you want a meatless option triggers a gouging response where they are allowed to shake you down for extra change. Yeah, maybe its a specialty, but it ain’t that special anymore. I’ll get into that some other time, I’m not here to fix this issue at the moment. Instead I want to point you towards a place that takes a different approach, providing delicious veggie food at reasonable prices. And as you’ll soon see, sometimes incredibly reasonable prices! Click ahead  if you want to see why I think you should take a lunch break over in the charming city of Rosemead.

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Catching up with Council Member Huizar

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It’s no secret that the blog has managed to garner attention in the last year or so that it’s been around. I’m one of the many people covering BH events and that in itself has gotten me attention from others as well, case in point 14th District Council Member Jose Huizar. He reads the blog and through the help of my good friend WC connecting me with Rick Coca, who’s Director of Communication, I got some time in with the councilmen, who’s district also covers Downtown, Eagle Rock, El Sereno, Garvanza, Glassell Park, Hermon, Highland Park and Mount Washington, to talk about what’s going down in the hood. But since I don’t live in those parts of town, so I focused my questions more on BH because that is where I live and it’s where a lot of action is taking place. Continue reading →

L.A. Gang Tour ~ Empowerment through story

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“We started these problems and it’s going to take us to fix them.” Alfred Lomas of L.A. Gang Tours

Due to some technical difficulties with technology, I’m writing this post through my iPhone, so be patient of minor flaws. More than usual anyway. Thanks to Wendy Carrillo, I was able to attend the L.A. Gang Tour media presentation today to get a better feel for it, which is starting next week. For most of the day I’ve been chewing on the fat of the tour over all and what I want to write and say about it and what is being questioned back and forth. Is this ok? Is it poor people watching? Does the tour suck? Etc.

Before I get into any of that, I wanna share where I’m coming from. I’m an adoptive son of Boyle Heights, but like a promiscuous lover, I’ve been around. A lot of the spots that are in the tour, I spent time there as a kid. Looking out the window crossing Alameda into South Central and Compton took me back to days of future past when I saw those same sights in the back seat of my parents car. I was back in the hood after being gone for so long.

All those memories came back in a rush and I was all smiles. I know what’s up here. I know the tour guide knows his stuff and he’s not selling any bullshit to sensationalize it. This allowed me the opportunity to really listen to what he’s saying. What he wants to accomplish with the tour, what the future may bring and how this is the first step in more monumental actions. Everyone is hung up with the safari/fish bowl aspect of the tour and not listening to his hopes, ideals, vision and most importantly his motivation, which he does through Jesus and the Dream Center. If you want details about how this happened, read DJ’s post or the Times article.

“It’s never about strategies or building funds. It’s always about the people. It’s always about the lives that are being touched. It’s about the individuals who are willing to stand up in these communities.” Lomas

The way I see it, this tour is no different than this very blog that is a tool, a device that allows us to tell our own stories the way we see fit from our individual perspectives. To empower ourselves through our stories, using them and sharing them with others. Fostering ideas and dialogue amongst ourselves, rather than letting others tell our stories in ways that don’t even come close to how it really is. This is what I see this tour doing. They’re former bangers and they know how fucked up the system is, but not only that, they decided to take action.

They want to create sustainability within their own city, not relying on outside help. Creating jobs for kids and most importantly a path to end the cycles that keep snatching others into the La Vida Loca. This is the conclusion I made half way through the tour when we stopped at a church to hear a pastor describe the challenges presented to our communities. The changes in people and him personally learning Spanish and adapting his parish to help folks from the Latino/a community. To bring them in rather than exclude them.

If you wanna know what the tour is about, go and find out for yourself. Because I was part of the media preview, some of the things I saw and heard were catered for media. The tour will be unique to itself. You can call it fucked up and a safari all you want, but that’s not what this tour is about. And if you’re nesio, then fuck off. This tour is about people sharing their stories, history and personal narrative to create positive change in their communities because it takes our own to fix our own.

Calle Caruso: A Developers Dream

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mexicana on chavez

While browsing today’s LA Times, I came across Patt Morrison’s OP-ED interview with developer/mogul and aspiring civic leader; RICK J. CARUSO. That same city-within-a-city retail & housing developer who has brought our region his vision of artificial environments with projects such as THE GROVE, and THE AMERICANA AT BRAND among others. So, now it seems he has his developer sights pointed Eastward,…here is a quote from the Señor Caruso’s interview from today’s LA Times……

“Would you ever build something like the Grove in South L.A.?

I would love to. I would love to build something in East L.A. You’ve got to build something successful or you’re not doing a favor to that community. We’ve looked; we haven’t found the right opportunity, but I would love to do it, absolutely.

What’s necessary to make that a success?

You’ve got to buy the land at the right price. You’ve got to get the right entitlements. The right retailers to serve that community. You’ve got to get enough customers to use it, spend money, support the rents, A lot of very low to moderate income areas really thrive. I think if conceived right it can be done. East L.A., Boyle Heights, I just haven’t found the right areas. ”

Wow…so are we looking forward to, as Dorit suggested,  “THE MEXICANA ON CHAVEZ”?,

One down, thousands to go…

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Anti-cyclist motorist goes to jail.

Anti-cyclist motorist goes to jail.

In case you missed it, check out Los Angeles doctor gets 5 years for injuring cyclists in yesterday’s LA Times.

Cyclists and lovers of transportation justice had something to cheer about yesterday.  Of the thousands of motorists guilty of threatening the lives of pedestrians and cyclists every day, sometimes killing and injuring them with their reckless driving, one such driver is getting five years in the slammer. Continue reading →

Freeway Cats

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If you’ve driven up the Pasadena Freeway lately you may have noticed these cats hanging around the asphalt, smiling stupidly as you speed by. And before you know it, yer smiling stupidly as well when you spot the next one, peeking out behind that bush or on the other side of the bridge. Cheap thrills. A tiny visual break from the regular dose of mundane. It’s similar to  Leo Limon’s River Catz, though I guess these would be Arroyo Gatos. I was able to snap a few pics from a moving vehicle, click ahead to check out a few of the others.

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Pour One for Joe Reyes Nevarez

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Joe Reyes Nevarez, 98, died Monday, December 28, 2009.

Beloved father and groundbreaker, Joe Nevarez was an important figure in the Latino media community of Los Angeles.  He was the first Chicano reporter for the Los Angeles Times newspaper.  Joe’s career began at eastside’s Lincoln High School, where he was the Sports Editor of the school’s daily paper. His career at the L.A. Times began as a copy boy, when a student friend/co-writer and head copy boy at the Times, offered him a job. Joe’s official job was to paste up New York Stock Exchange quotations, but his love of the news process and hard working ethics, often found him volunteering in the financial section of the paper during his free time. He was paid $12 for a six-day week, yet felt so blessed to be working during the darkest part of the Depression.

Throughout his career Nevarez always urged the LA Times to hire Latino reporters, but his editors always told him there wasn’t anyone who was trained.

Nevarez came to the United States as a three-month-old when his mother crossed the Mexican border into El Paso in 1912. When he was older, he attended a Spanish Catholic school in Texas.  Joe didn’t speak English until he moved to Los Angeles and was enrolled into an English grammar school.  He became a U.S. citizen in 1925.  In 1942 Joe served as a typist and clerk for 3 years in the Army Air Corp, and naturally one of his duties was representing his squadron by reporting for the army base newsletter.

He and his wife, Theresa Juarez Nevarez, had three children: Margaret, Daniel and Cecilia.  Though Joe Nevarez never attended college, he made sure all three of his children went. Upon graduation his daughters entered the education field (one as a high-school counselor and the other as a teacher), his son worked at the Internal Revenue Service.

Joe Nevarez worked for The Los Angeles Times for a total of 52 years, during which time he also was a founding member of the California Chicano News Media Association. He said he was   happiest in the newsroom. “There’s nothing better than being a reporter,” Nevarez said. “There’s something new everyday.”

On January 6, 2010, a Memorial Service will be held at the St. Stephen Catholic Church for Joe Reyes Nevarez. http://www.archdiocese.la/directories/parishes/info.php?parish_id=277, followed by a burial at Resurrection Cemetery.

Dirty deeds done dirt cheap

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If I remember correctly, my very first post on this here blog was about a police sobriety check in the heart of Boyle Heights in June of last year. Hmm more than a year later, the economy in Califas is tanking, the city is looking left and right and underneath every couch cushion to save money and bring in more revenue, like raising sales taxes to 9.75 percent and other various  measures. It’s getting tight in this city, real tight. The kind of tight that when I was growing up, frijoles, huevos and tortillas were what’s for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with maybe some queso de piez sprinkled on the beans to add a little variety.

Needless to say, it’s not hard to connect the dots on the current situation out on the streets of L.A. right now, with all these holiday sobriety check points to keep drunk drivers off the streets. This is an invaluable service by the police, however we all know that’s not the case right ? I mean come on !! This is way over the line, even for the L.A.P.D We all expect and know these holiday sobriety checkpoints are around, but as of late, the amount of cars getting pulled over and of these check points is bordering on abuse. Nah, you know what, it is abuse.  “Ohh but you’re just exaggerating because you blah, blah, blah” hell no I’m not exaggerating. Sunday of last week me and VD were kicking old school on our way to the barrio when we see a car pulled over on Sheridan. Then we see another car pulled over two blocks further down and then another car pulled over on Chavez and Soto. Not to mention that I average out one text per day informing me of where there are check points taking place. This isn’t the police checking for drunk drivers and keeping the streets safe, this is the police being abused by the shot callers who need to come up with more feria to cover the cost of their business expenses and trips to Mexico to represent L.A. in a book fair. Really !? A book fair !?

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Las Posadas

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Sin Piñata No Hay Posada

Last night, a friend and I were taking a stroll around Olvera Street when we noticed many families leaving La Placita, the church across the way, carrying gifts and hot steaming cups of champurrado. We went over to see the festivities and were treated to tamales and the destruction of a couple of piñatas. I’m so behind the times, I didn’t realize last night was the first noche de las posadas.

Does your neighborhood carry on Las Posadas traditions? If so, anyone wanna invite me over for some ponche? I’m not religious but I’m happy to participate in any holiday that involves good food and communal celebrations!

Las Posadas at Olvera Street

One more thing to do this weekend:Maravilla handball tournament

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~ Courtesy of Tommy Nishiyama, Sr. ~

“Handball is a pride sport. It’s not about winning money, it’s about pride. It takes the skills of a boxer and the mind of a chess player to win.” In the barrio, sometimes pride is just as important as money. ~ United States Handball Association national champion Elias Barajas

Pride is more important than money, other wise we wouldn’t be here, but that’s just me. I was sent this info to pass along and post via Chuy 90023 and a friend of his who sent me the info. Thanks guys 🙂 This weekend, as if there wasn’t enough things to do already, the Maravilla Handball Court will be holding a co-ed youth tournament this Saturday and Sunday. Here’s the info: The first-ever co-ed handball tournament for youth at the historic Maravilla Handball Court, the oldest handball court in East Los Angeles. The court was built brick-by-brick by East L.A. residents in 1923 and reflects the rich layers of history common in Los Angeles. The Old Timers—former members and veteranos of the Maravilla Handball Club, which was once open to men only—will attend the tournament to mentor and train a new generation of handball players. The junior singles tournament has four divisions: ages 17 and under, 15 and under, 13 and under, and 11 and under.

Maravilla Handball Court Sat & Sun December 19 and 20, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
501 N. Mednik Avenue (between Hammel and Dozier)
East Los Angeles, CA 90022

COST:
Free for spectators, $4 entry fee for participants with proceeds going to the Maravilla Historical Society

For more info and some of the history of the handball courts, click here.

Things to do this weekend

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Is it me  or am I doing these, “go check this out this weekend” post more and more often. It’s just me because these are all events YOU HAVE TO GO CHECK OUT THIS WEEKEND. I’m serious. A lot of them are free or relatively free. This weekend though, I will be part of one 🙂 See that picture of people on the bus, I made that 🙂 No too shabby if I say soo myself. The event where my stuff will be on sale is on the list of events so check it out if you can 🙂 The list is going to be broken down by day, since these events are  starting Thursday and ending on Sunday.

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