Boyle Heights Xmas Greetings

Eddie Ayala - PRESENTE!

The Chicano community mourns the loss of its champions for our cause through life celebrations, tributes, memorials and Dia de los Muertos altars. Many notables and non public figures have passed on throughout the fifty plus years since the birth of the ELA Chicano movement and many more will soon follow. Activists, academics, professionals, artists, business owners and community members - young and old - have contributed to the vastness of our cultural collective. Each and every one deserving of recognition and appreciation for their involvement, passion and pride in their Chicano/a/x identity. This time we are gathering to celebrate the life and legacy of Eddie Ayala who passed away at the age of 63 the day after Dia de los Muertos, 2023. I met Eddie Ayala at the tail end of the 1970's East LA backyard party scene where local Chicano music icons rocked cover songs and our socks off for a mere $1 entrance fee. Although entertaining and audience drawing there was a need for...

Griffith Observatory: Face Lift or Slap In the Face?

Don't know about the rest of you but the Griffith Observatory has been a trusted fortress over the years -- a place to retreat when feeling like taking a break from the gridlocked streets below; a place to take first time visitors to L.A. for a spectacular panoramic view of the city from the valley to downtown and out into the ocean; a place to make out like crazy teenagers with a date no matter your age; a place to obsessively stare out wondering where in the hell your mate is on that star glittered night; or a place to reenact the famous knife fight scene from 'Rebel Without A Cause' -- come on Angelenos...you have to know what I'm talking about. I can't tell you how many times I came upon a spontaneous impulse to make a sharp turn up Vermont from Hollywood or Sunset for a visit to the Griffith Observatory. Most of the time it was to clear my head of some dumb situation I was in or it was to get my son out of the house on and off the sofa on a Friday night. Part o...

Life As A WiFi Vagabond In L.A.

In mid-August of this year I decided to cut living expenses by canceling my land-line phone service along with the ridiculously expensive and seemingly unknown long distance carrier I had. It occurred to me that I was spending upwards of $100 a month for the sake of reporting spam to my email providers only to find the same messages in my box the following day. Seeing how I had access to the Internet at work I figured I could live without the nightly and weekend habitual mindless logons to email and Myspace. How was I to know that in a short couple weeks I would be dismissed of my position at Tu Ciudad thus finding myself without access to the Internet. Anyone in their right mind would be freaking out over the fact that they've just been "laid off" but that's where I'm different. When I was sitting in the office with my supervisor and the general manager going over the formalities of being let go all I could think of was how I had just been blindsided off the Inte...

Site Scene in L.A.

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