I wanna know who these guys are because they are freaking bad ass. I was walking to class yesterday grabbing myself un taco de ojo and I noticed the new paint job on the bland and boring wall.
The Boyle Heights Tolteca Collective
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Category Archives: Photos
Whose streets?
This is one of the last apartment buildings left on the North Broadway commercial corridor. I love the front facade, it reminds me of another time and place.
Like a ghostly movie loop, there is one memory I have of this building that replays itself every time I walk by. “This is our neighborhood, these are our streets!” yells a woman to the LAPD as they attempt to push her off the stairs with threats and batons. It was during the now forgotten 1993 Lincoln Heights Riot.
Westside 10A: Mulched Hydrants
I spend a lot of time on that other side of town nowadays, way west of the river. It’s a living.
As a result of working over there, I increasingly tend to explore nearby neighborhoods, seek out places to eat, check out some sights. And I’m learning quite a bit about life there, for better or worse. I figured I’d post some of those observations every once in awhile here at LA Eastside, since our current but temporary motto is still “life beyond the river”, which means we go pa’ los dos lados. And if I take my cue from most recent transplants to Los Angeles, that means I’m also fully qualified to know-understand-explain everything about how things are. Still, I haven’t decided what to name that part of town, it’s all so “fluid” and I’m waiting to see which way opinions (and my mood) flow. I’m sure that soon I’ll get that special feeling that tells me what is what, irregardlessly of that whole yawn inducing controversy of “sense of place”, history, and all those boring debates with people that think they have a say just because they’ve lived here for most of their lives, that’s all so Feb 2009. The future is now! I mean now! Wait, Now!
Now?
Irregardlessly, I present you with this first installment and the pic above, which is sure to shock many an Eastsider: over there, they mulch their fire hydrants. Crazy. Is there a reason for this? Irregardlessly, it doesn’t matter. Que Locuras.
It’s an interesting place, but I sure wouldn’t want to live there.
Memories of A Lost Boulevard; Ghosts of the Eastside
The character of the E.L.A. that I knew growing up is long gone. Everything changes, evolves.
Those who lived there before me surely must have cherished their own “good old days†as much as I do mine. And twenty years from now, others will do the same.
We are beings that exist in that sliver of time between our past and future. Yet, if we were to somehow erase every memory from the past out of our minds, who would we be? The sum of our experiences, the memories of what we have lived before, are essentially the totality of who we are at this moment. So have my experiences and present memories of growing up in E.L.A. formed this person that I am today. E.L.A. is in my DNA.
It now brings me joy to reminisce, because I can relive those times. Many thanks to all of you out there who join me on these little journeys to memoryland. So let’s take another trip….
LH Monolith
Here it is:
Why it’s on a block with no businesses is beyond me. Need to move it down at least 2 blocks. Also, we have «districts» in LH? Man, I want to be in naming on the districts of LH!
¡Qué ridÃcules!
But otherwise, it’s pretty nice looking.
[on Broadway between Thomas St. & Gates St.]
Scene from the River
Hopefully, a few Eastside residents auditioned for Cornerstone Theater Company held auditions for “Flow,” a Julie Herbert play about the Los Angeles River and surrounding communities.
When CTC called for anyone who live, work, or loves the LA River to try some acting, El Chavo commented “I’m gonna see if I can be the shopping cart somebody threw into the water.”
I saw this on Sunday. So I took a photo.
ADD: A play worth writing is one that talks about what the Eastside is.
Pictured: Under the Sixth Street Bridge, Â a shopping cart is sitting in the Los Angeles River (or it’s El Chavo doing some method acting for “Flow”)
Things I Saw This Weekend…
…This bitchin’ custom Mini VW Bus with an awesome sound system cruising past Broadway. (Downtown) (If anyone knows to whom this bus belongs to, let me know!)
It’s like peeing into the future
For the last two years I have seen this automated public toilet and never once thought about using it. It’s a public restroom I’m not going in there who knows what I might see. However I don’t think people know it’s a toilet because looks can be deceiving. So I decided to give everyone a first hand tour of these amazing craping machines.Â
East Los Angeles College I have two words for you, “No Mames”
~ Photo taken by Luz Juan ~ Solar panels broke and the way they fix them is by pulling a Mickey Mouse. They tied the beams up with rope for petes sake !!!!
I swear sometimes I just can’t believe the negligence that happens at school sometimes. I’ve been a proud husky for the last two years and this is the school for second chances. Parents and kids who mess up in high school have another chance make things right and get their life together, but how can we improve when we have shitty schools. Seriously I remember having a class in bungalows that have been around since the school was founded in 1945. Come on gimmy a break. I’ve been talking to P3000 and he totally agrees in the crappy conditions ELAC is in. There’s great teachers here and tons of cute chicks all over the place from all walks of life, but what good is it when your in a class that smells of dead rat or the roof tiles are falling on your head while your in class. Now all the construction is making things hard for the students that are gonna have to put up with it, but those are just growing pains. It’ll all pay off in due time.
Here’s another example from last year. The Elevator broke down and all the custodian could do was block it off and put a sign that says outta service. No mamen cabrones. It’s bad enough I get gouged to the max buying books that I’ll only use once, but this stuff goes too far sometimes. ELAC, no mames.
Parking Rate Increase Decreases Parking
As many may have noticed, the City has decided to jack up the price you pay at parking meters, and those increases have been showing up all around town. In Lincoln Heights, the parking lot behind the 99¢ store and the Payless Shoes, has gone crazy with those crazy fees: the price for an hour has increased by 400%. One dollar an hour might not seem that much to some, but it’s really exorbitant for many working people.
Valentine Values
Holidays mean an opportunity for jobbers to make a buck, and Valentine’s day is one of the biggest days to cash in. I took a few random pics of some of the ones I passed by, click ahead to see.
Scenes from a Murder
Chimatli mentioned this murder in a previous post, I decided to drive by the scene the morning after and take a picture. As you can see, everything looks normal on this street, except for the chalk mark near the sidewalk, no doubt circling a bullet case, and some shattered glass going the other way. I think we can make out a trajectory. Every media outlet said it was in an alley, but it wasn’t. Which proves that the media is no longer doing it’s job of actually reporting, keep that in mind for future reference.
The night of the incident, police quickly speculated it was “gang related”, yet they still haven’t figured out her hometown. I’d like to know why they use this “gang related” term before they have all the details, why don’t they instead just call it an unsolved murder? Or do we not deserve that much? It may ultimately be true (Lincoln Heights is no stranger to gang violence) but that moniker is used too often as a code for ‘don’t worry about this one, there’s a good enough reason.” The name of the victim, a young woman of 25 years, was released: Breanne A. Hanna.
R.I.P. young lady, no matter what social group and stats sheet they finally decide is your proper place.