El Sereno Sample Sale: Sat, May 7 and Sun, May 8, 2011

Sample Sale Saturday, May 07 and Sunday May 08,2011

Photo via Flickr

El Primo will be having a large clothing/sample sale this weekend in El Sereno. There will be new name brand clothing for men and women at low discount prices! Some brands include: American Apparel, LRG, One World, Alternative, Curl, RSQ, Parris Skinny jeans, Cache Jeans and more. All sizes available!

Location: 4441 Alpha Street
Time: 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Los Angeles, Ca 90032
Cross-Streets, Huntington Dr and Maycrest
Support a swapmeetero out!

Sidewalk Stamps 2

A collection of sidewalk stamps I’ve photographed on pedestrian dérives around Boyle Heights. There are a few from Hollywood (Greenfield), Alhambra (A.E. Cook, C.B. Stratton) and Echo Park too. Exact locations have not been documented.

For more on sidewalk history, see previous posts here and here.

Long live The Walking Class!

La Caida de Edgar

Six years later and watching Edgar fall is one of the most hilarious things ever !! But then again it is pretty mean to laugh at someone else’s misfortune, but you just can’t help it. Which got me to thinking as I was laughing my ass off again watching the video, where is Edgar now ? Is he still mad at his friend for making him fall ? What happened after he fell ? Did his mom get mad at him or what ? Do people still clown on him for the video ? While I may not have answers to these questions, I do know that his video is one of the most watch and parodied videos out there. On youtube it says that the video was uploaded on May 8, but I just couldn’t wait that long to make this post. Where ever Edgar might be today, I hope he learned to laugh about it and take it with a grain a salt. You just can’t be mad about these kind of things all your life, it’s too short so enjoy it and laugh. Thanks Edgar.

Elephant Hill – Visited

I recall not too long ago there was a victory in the true struggle to keep Elephant Hill, in El Sereno, an open and green space; but it was not until a few days ago that I ventured into those very hills. Having been a resident of El Sereno off-and-on since ’94 it was about time. As a city-dweller I have often pontificated on the necessity of such spaces but like a city-dweller I did not necessarily visit them. Here is a photo diary of my hike through Elephant Hill (warning: this post is PHOTO-HEAVY).

The entrance to Elephant Hill is not but a few blocks from where I live. A GoogleMaps search actually calls the trails on the hill streets, though you’ll soon see that there are not more than sun-baked mud trails. Here is the street leading up, on a bright Spring day:

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Los Angeles Riots: 19th Anniversary


Anger over verdicts at Parker Center, Downtown

Every year I post this small reminder of what happened in Los Angeles 19 years ago today. And well this event has been explored, analyzed and written about over the years, I often feel like the whole story hasn’t been told. The story of the people who actually participated in the events or uprising or riots…whatever you want to call them. So here’s your space to share your stories, remembrances and reflections. Or perhaps even predictions for future similar events here in this city. The conditions seem about right.

Feria del Libro este Weekend en el Centro!

Your stash of Libro Sentimental running low? Stock up at the LéaLA bookfair over at the LA convention center this weekend! Maybe they’ll have other stuff too like that hard to find collection of Vanidades from 1993. Books in Spanish, authors probably speaking Spanish, some panel discussions. Plus its free. Starts tomorrow Friday April 29 and runs til Sunday May 1st.

I hope its good but I’m not gonna sell it until I see it. Maybe a report back si vale la pena. Just thought I’d let you all know. Get all the info at their website: LéaLA

Ai no vemos!

Eastside Food: Mariscos El Rey del Mar

On Saturday my two friends and I decided to go hunt for some new mariscos spots. For the longest our friend Don Bon was telling us about this truck near the old Lincoln Heights jail called, “milagros” he said that the shrimp cocteles were the best. Well that milagro never occurred because the truck was never found, and I had asked around a few times.  However, last weekend he suggested another truck which is called Mariscos El Rey del Mar. The funny thing is that it took us about 40 minutes to find it(we did not know the name at first). He said if we exit the freeway we would get off on 4th and it would be on State Street near a park. We did all that but we went to the wrong truck! we ended up by Hollenback park where there was another marisco truck. I was kind of suspicious about it because it was real lonely with no customers. I talked to the older lady serving the food and she said she was the only marisco truck nearby. My friend ordered the ceveche but I had to taste it before I ordered. First taste and I was not feeling it at all.  I knew after that we must of found the wrong truck! I still felt obligated to order so I got a taco de papa for a buck. After feeling defeated we called Don Bon again we all  felt like  we were definitely bugging him, but  he laughed and told us once again how to find the correct truck. Long story short we finally found it!

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Poly Styrene RIP


Poly Styrene’s Talk of Toytown

*A few people recommended I share this post I wrote yesterday on the chimatli blog. It’s a tribute to one of my musical heroines, Poly Styrene. Sadly, she passed away Sunday in Sussex, England.*

Poly Styrene (Marianne Elliot Said), singer and songwriter for the 70s punk band X-Ray Spex passed away yesterday from breast cancer. I don’t often feel emotional about the deaths of celebrities and musicians but X-Ray Spex and Poly Styrene were such a looming musical presence in my teenage years that I can’t help but feeling the loss of this amazing musician.

I spent a good chunk of my early teenage years hunting down the music of X-Ray Spex. It’s not like nowadays where I find the most obscure songs, things I’ve been looking for for years, ready to download in a matter of minutes. In the 80s/90s being a music lover required much more patience.

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Eastside Artist Sand Oner: Bow Ties Friday, April 29, 2011

Our favorite eastside artist Sand Oner will be exhibiting this Friday, April 29, 2011.  This will be her first Solo exhibition, and what better way to represent her roots than to have the exhibition at Casa De Cultura Galleria” Mariachi Plaza in  Boyle Heights.

Press release

Sand One presents: “Bow Ties” Sand Chikz A week-long art exhibit showcasing the new works on mixed media surfaces by LA’s youngest female street artist: Sand One. Los Angeles— From corn carts and taco stands in Los Angeles to the Art Basel walls in Miami, this pint-sized artist continues to leave a larger than life mark in every town she visits. In only two years Sand’s signature mob of buxom female cartoon characters, known as “Sand Chikz,” have taken the art community by storm.  Sand’s first solo exhibition in Los Angeles, “Bow Ties”, will feature her signature ultra-feminine and hood “Sand Chikz” in a different light. Each Sand Chik will be dressed in a tuxedo, symbolizing class, authority and power; three characteristics people often associate with masculinity and wealth. In “Bow Ties” Sand One’s underlying theme seeks to liberate gender-biased characteristics often imposed on women while also questioning the relationship between street art, fine art and the arts institution.

Opening Reception:
Friday, April 29, 2011
6 p.m. -11 p.m.
Closing Reception
Saturday, May 7, 2011
6 p.m. -11 p.m.
1711 Mariachi Plaza De Los Angeles 90033
Corner of Boyle and 1st