They’re folks we all know, in a barrio near you. Will El Triste and La Smiley (puppeteer Cain Carias, and his wife, artist Mayra Plascencia) ever find the true meaning of L.O.V.E.?
The answer comes into focus in this silent short from our amigos at Lone Stars Entertainment Jeremiah Ocañas and Gabriela López de Dennis.
I live in NYC, and I have to admit, it had been a long time since I spent time in L.A., close to a decade.
In 2008, I visited my tía abuela who lived in Orange County. She drove me up to L.A. to see Olvera Street and a quick drive through Boyle Heights. It’s been a decade since then, and this summer I had a few days and a rental car, so I saw some things. I had some taco literacy work to do, but more than that, I wanted to learn more about the gente, to visit some places that have been mythologized for me, a Chicano from rural Arizona.
Califas, as I heard y’all refer to yourselves, I had come to get to know you better.
Mas…NYC profe visits East Los, eats tacos, takes photos, buys Doyers shirt
La Quirky Nancy’s Cousin Becky from the Bay Area moves in with Nancy, but when they grab some METRO shared bicycles and tour the new hood, things don’t turn out exactly like Nancy expected.
PREVIOUSLY ON LA QUIRKY:
Mas…La Quirky Nancy visits a ‘gentrified’ East Los coffee shop (video)
Go Out Tonight is the debut release from Boyle Heights band The Tracks. The noir-looking video — with visuals from the 1961 film The Exiles — sets a contrasting stage for the band’s poppy high energy sound and escapist lyrics:
Mas…Boyle Heights’ The Tracks want you to ‘Go Out Tonight’ (video, lyrics)
They were ordinary people living ordinary lives, until one singular sensation of circumstance conspired with fate to make them UNSUNG HEROES OF HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH.
In 1978, a young Chicano actor from Montebello, CA went to tailor Yossi F. Berkowitz to try on a new suit custom-made for his starring role in a Los Angeles play. Right away, he noticed that the coat sleeves were too long.
“No problem,” said Berkowitz, a long-time shop owner in nearby Boyle Heights. “Just bend them at the elbow and hold them out in front of you. See, now it’s fine.”
Mas…Unsung Heroes of Hispanic Heritage Month: Berkowitz the tailor
In this moody, black and white 2 minute study : Mariachi, video creator Kimo Easterwood hangs out at Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights, on Los Angeles’ Eastside.
(PNS reporting from EAST LOS ANGELES) Neighborhood taquerias are on lockdown today with customers urged to “shelter in place” as Donald Trump’s immigrant-hating white wing campaign for the GOP presidential nomination heats up.
Patrons at the highly-rated Guisados on East Cesar E. Chavez Avenue (photo) said they felt particularly vulnerable as Trump supporters began threatening taco-loving families with scary bumper stickers (photo, right).
East Los band Quetzal dedicates this video to the street vendors of L.A., the only major U.S. city where street vending is illegal. To learn more about the efforts to help hard-working families like the ones in this video, check out the Los Angeles Street Vendor Campaign on Facebook. Quetzal is the collaborative project of Quetzal Flores (guitar), Martha González (lead vocals, percussion), Tylana Enomoto (violin), Juan Pérez (bass), Peter Jacobson (cello), and Alberto Lopez (percussion).
Mas…Quetzal tells a tale of urban survival in ‘The Coyote Hustle’ (video)
It was a hot afternoon, much like today. Walking into the cool darkness of East Side Luv in Boyle Heights was a relief. It was crowded, about two dozen people milling about, some busy setting up recording equipment, others huddled in small groups. Waiting. It was “media day” for Water & Power, which comes out today.
I’d watched the movie the night before in a small screening room somewhere in Hollywood. Dark, unsettling, violent, suspenseful, heartbreaking, redemptive … I had questions, but so did everybody else.
I was finally called over, and before long, the movie’s writer and director Richard Montoya and Edward James Olmos, the film’s presenter, were seated in front of me. I had 15 minutes, more or less.
Abelardo de la Peña Jr. (AdlpJr): What got you involved in Water and Power?
Edward James Olmos (EJO): The single most important thing about movies: The script, the story, the writing. Richard is a genius. Go watch the movie. You watch the movie, and you see, all of a sudden …
(PNS reporting from EAST LOS) Disgraced L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling, born Donald Tokowitz in Boyle Heights, started off his career in racism early, according to a note uncovered late Tuesday night by the Historical East Latino Los Angeles (HELLA) research project.
Mas…Breaking: Old school papers reveal racist kid Donald Sterling
They were ordinary people living ordinary lives, until one singular sensation of circumstance conspired with fate to make them UNSUNG HEROES OF HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH.
In 1978, a young Chicano actor from Montebello, CA went to tailor Yossi F. Berkowitz to try on a new suit custom-made for his starring role in a Los Angeles play. Right away, he noticed that the coat sleeves were too long.
“No problem,” said Berkowitz, a long-time shop owner on Whittier Boulevard in nearby Boyle Heights. “Just bend them at the elbow and hold them out in front of you. See, now it’s fine.”
Mas…Unsung Heroes of Hispanic Heritage Month: Yossi F. Berkowitz
One of the great things about the Interwebs is that you can literally look up almost anything you want. That’s great right? You’d think with that kind of power there would be no stupid people but that’s just not the case. Instead, we have more stupid people now than any point in history. How do I know this? I’m on Twitter a lot.
So, the other day on Twitter, a friend of mine (we’ll call him Jose) started posting about the classic breakdancing film Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo. I hadn’t thought about that film in years and he ended up posting a link to the entire film. For the life of me, I could not stop watching it. For one thing, it’s like a nasty car wreck that you just have to look at and like some sorry rubbernecker, I ended up watching the whole thing.
Mas…Everything you need to know about ‘Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo’
Three undocumented Los Angeles students were given small video cameras to record their lives for three months. Limbo is their story.
Sitting in limbo, eh? Jimmy Cliff knows all about that:
Mas…For undocumented students, every day is a day in ‘Limbo’ (video)
You know those “CoExist” bumper stickers with the various religious symbols? In this silent video shot at Mariachi Square in East Los, our hero Vincenzo questions “bumper sticker politics” and discovers the truth behind that over-hyped word.
Founded on Passover 1799 by a youthful colony of Spanish Jews fleeing the persecution of their parents, at its height the mission comprised a thriving community of several hundred souls along the Los Angeles River, near present-day Boyle Heights.
Often overshadowed by its overachieving Catholic neighbors in San Gabriel and San Fernando, Mission Santa Zipporah was founded by the storied ‘Father’ Shmuel, the Jewish missionary sometimes known by his nickname, “Father Sarah.”
Mas…The California Mission lost to history: Santa Zipporah de la Culpa
So you wanna join a gang. Got a resume? (NSFW language.)
