Springtime in Happy Valley. Photo by Nombre Ta Loca
Happy Valley
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Category Archives: Photos
In Quotes: The Labyrinth of Solitude
My great-grandmother Matilde V. Tellez at an unknown Los Angeles park, circa 1940s.
Octavio Paz lived in Los Angeles during the late 1940s. Below is an excerpt from his book The Labyrinth of Solitude.
When I arrived in the United States I lived for awhile in Los Angeles, a city inhabited by over a million persons of Mexican origin. At first sight, the visitor is surprised not only by the purity of the sky and the ugliness of the dispersed and ostentatious buildings, but also by the city’s vaguely Mexican atmosphere, which cannot be captured in words or concepts. This Mexicanism – delight in decorations, carelessness and pomp, negligence, passion and reserve – floats in the air. I say “floats” because it never mixes or unites with the other world, the North American world based on precision and efficiency. It floats, without offering any opposition; it hovers, blown here and there by wind, sometimes breaking up like a cloud, sometimes standing erect like a rising skyrocket. It creeps, it wrinkles, it expands and contracts; it sleeps or dreams; it is ragged but beautiful. It floats, never quite existing, never quite vanishing.
NOTICE: THE COMBO NUMBERS
When your daily intake of calories is defined via a “combo number” then it’s probably a good time to contemplate other options. Maybe food with a name?
I don’t get the appeal of fast food, other than the fact that it is cheap and easy, although maybe that is enough of a draw. But what a wasted opportunity to try something interesting instead. I know Eastsiders like their fast food or else these places would go out of business. I’m interested in learning though, so let me ask you this:
Why do you frequent fast food places? Is it the price? The convenience? Lack of other local options? This metiche would like to know.
Rebel Rousers
click on photos to scroll through pics
Last weekend, I headed over to Self Help Graphics to check out the SkaWars show put on by Evoecore. I didn’t intend to take photos but I was so impressed by the old school classic punk styles and good energy of the attendees at this all ages show (all ages equals high school) that I whipped out my camera phone and did my best with the low lighting and difficult camera taking circumstances. So yes, the photos are fuzzy, out of focus and full of red eyes but who else took photos and posted them on their blog for you to see? No one, so there ya go! Um, also I want to apologize if your photo is here and you have the wrong name and/or city attached to your photo. As the night wore on, some of the liquids I’d been drinking kicked in and I lost track of who was who. Please correct me and I’ll fix the names and cities.
Thanks to all of you for the good times, conversation and for your awesome style choices!
Oh and big thumbs down to the LA County Sheriff’s Department who not only shutdown the show early but used rubber bullets to disperse these young folks (legally children, some of them) from the area. Oh what? You didn’t know they did this? That’s because it happened in East Los Angeles and I guess it’s okay to randomly use rubber bullets on kids this side of town.
Thanks to Ana for your help!
I Was Here
Alley fence in Lincoln Heights
On the walls, underneath layers of paint is our history. One day archaeologists will uncover the names of those we’ve erased.
San Pedro Community Garden
I thought I would share this post I wrote on the Slanguage website over here on LA east side because I felt that this community garden was pretty special.
Slanguage got a great opportunity to go visit and explore the San Pedro community garden. This 3 ½ acre land is owned by the city of Los Angeles and has been around over 40 years. For a yearly fee anybody can start a garden. The garden is fitted with hoses for easy access to water, mulch is also available.  However, not just anybody can maintain their roots here; some gardeners have managed to sustain their plots for up to thirty years.
More after the jump
Los Fixis
Spotted on Central Ave near the other historic Eastside
Tower of Power
Spotted on Whittier Blvd. What is it?
Can You Hear Me Now?
The dude with a catchphrase seems frozen in time in this recent billboard excavation. You can practically hear him spewing his phrase, even though he’s missing some lips.
State of the Torta 3
Woo. Hoo. It’s 2011. BFD. Probably gonna be full of the same old BS all the way until Dec. 31. Most likely. What to eat until then? Well, a torta is always a good staple sandwich to have, a basic unit of life giving sustenance and sometimes the source of a bit of gustatory pleasure. Let’s see some options I’ve had recently around the general vicinity of Los Angeles in case you might want to consider squeezing them into your busy, likely to be lousy, year ahead. At least you’ll have lunch to look forward to! Err, maybe.
First up, a much mentioned new Cemitas place (at least online) over in Koreatown: another outlet of Cemitas Pal Cabron.
Bi-Rite
Photo by Laurie Avocado
From the LA Eastside Flickr Pool
Are The Paisa Bars Disappearing?
My compa Don Ignacio SMC, inspired me to write this post because he had some videos on his Facebook page with old Rancheras/Corridos/Nortenas. While browsing through  the videos and listening to others on YouTube I noticed a common theme of old paisa bars, they seemed always pop up in the older videos. Artists such as Vicente Fernandez and Los Tigeres del Norte and countless others always had scenes in old paisa bars. Most of these are classic movie clips they starred in from back in the 1970s and 1980s.
No tengas miedo metete…..