Skater Contradictions

Posted on November 24, 2016 by EL CHAVO!

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Los Angeles is full of shit.

It pretends to be something it ain’t. It wants cred for doing supposedly cool things, when in fact it can’t stand the actual practice of people doing cool things. Take for example this scene I happened upon, just walking thru Pershing Square to see the yearly, semi-dumb, Ice Skating rink that is geared towards tourist dollars. A private enterprise taking over half a public park. Oh, did I mention that this fake frozen lake in Downtown LA is already in place even though some of us have just started looking at our sweater situation? Doesn’t it require energy to create fake cold in a place that is known for it’s warmth? Ugh, I don’t even want to think about this cuz it’s a waste of my energy. But god damn is it super annoying to see a bunch of tourists skating around a fake lake …

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…right after you see the rent-a-cop stopping city kids from using their skateboards in the same park. The kids were having fun, skating around 5th St and up onto Pershing Square, when they were scolded into compliance, aka NO SKATING! So they just stood around watching lil’ tourist kids fall in a sanctioned ice zone.

Never mind the fact that this fake ass ice rink costs $16 to use, assuming you want your shoes back after the skating. Oh, and if you need to rent some ice skates cuz you left your fitted skate boots back in Lincoln Heights – like a fucking dunce – then that extra $4 tax for you is totally appropriate. How could an Angeleno forget their pair of Ice Skates at home???

Posted in El Centro, La Politica es un desmadre.., Shit I hate, This Chicano Life | Leave a comment

LH Carnival This Weekend

Posted on November 11, 2016 by EL CHAVO!

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Turns out there is a street carnival happening this weekend, right on our beloved N. Broadway! Just in time to cheer everyone up from the depressing and repressive future to come under Il Duce Anaranjado. I got there too early today, it didn’t start til 5pm, but fools forgot there was a Mexico vs USA futbol game to watch! In any case, here are some preview pics in case you want to check out some fine carny entertainment.

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Posted in Fotos, Lincoln Heights, Shit To Do | Leave a comment

Social Citation

Posted on November 4, 2016 by EL CHAVO!

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When you Facebook so hard…

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Posted in Greater Los Angeles, Pendejadas | Leave a comment

Day of The Dead…Is Dead

Posted on October 29, 2016 by EL CHAVO!

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Let us give the last rites to a cultural tradition that has slipped away from us.

I’m old enough to remember when Dia de Muertos practices started to cross over into the American mainstream culture. Some optimistic Chicanos thought it was a positive sign that, finally, this country was willing to consider us and our traditions as part of the fabric that defined the nation. Of course, I took the pessimistic route and figured it was a terrible portent of things to come. Fast foward a few decades and here we are, with Target offering Dia de Muertos costumes for Halloween.

This Dia de los Muertos Costume is the fun and festive costume that’s hard not to love. Add some colorful face paint and you’re [sic] Halloween look will be on point. Theme: Religious, Seasonal holiday, Horror zombie vampire,

Sucks to be right. I wonder what my abue would have thought of the “Horror zombie vampire” tag?

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Posted in Analysis, commodities, Mexico, Shit I hate, This Chicano Life | Leave a comment

Huevos Rancheros: Bunker Hill Bar & Grill

Posted on October 15, 2016 by EL CHAVO!

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Most Downtown spots seem geared for the 9-5 weekday crowd, cuz there’s lots of working stiffs up in them tall buildings. Come the weekend, there’s hardly any place to eat, much less so if yer trying to avoid the Tourist Trap that Grand Central Market has become. If you are in the mood to deal with a gaggle of Urban Explorers venturing out from their suburban OC dens, then you might be interested. But if you just want a meal for your lunch break without the BS, avoid GCM, seriously, at all costs. It’s urban LA as imagineered by Disneyland, in the worst possible sense.

On some random weekend that brought me downtown and needed lunch, I ended up at Bunker Hill Grill because I knew they had a decent vegetarian soy-chicken sandwich. Plus, they happened to be open!

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Eastside 101: ELAC Swap Meet

Posted on October 15, 2016 by EL CHAVO!

November 17, 2007 at 10:21 pm in East Side

The ELAC Swap Meet was a very unique gathering, a bunch of buyers and sellers trying to eke out a living, all taking place on the parking lot of our local community college. After I did some follow-up posts on LA Eastside, we kept getting emails, for years, by people that wanted to sign up for a spot. It was pretty funny.

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I’ve been slacking off on my Eastside 101 posts, but that doesn’t mean I’m putting down my guard against the newbie usurpers. Over at Curbed LA they are running a “definitive poll” to determine the location of the Eastside and its dividing line, but their system is rigged: I suspect they purged the voter rolls. How else to explain the fact that the east-of-the-river option is in last place? Maybe the “it’s a state of mind, ese” option (the current favorite) was used to confuse Eastsiders ala the Butterfly ballot in Florida. Because being from the Eastside is a state of mind, it’s an overwhelming awareness that the rest of the city has no clue or interest in what happens over there in the Mexican quarters. And despite your ignorance of us, we are well aware of you. It reminds me of the Eastside punk scene; everyone knew of the shows happening elsewhere in the city, but nobody else seemed to know about the backyard gigs happening in our neighborhoods. Whether it’s intentional or not, ignorance of the Eastside is nothing new. When you finally move back home, in a tacit acceptance that your fantasy career in the film industry isn’t going to happen, the Eastside will still be here, ready to be ignored by the next crop of newbies.

Since Westsiders seem to take a special interest in shopping places, this post is dedicated to them. Come take a look at our fabulous ELAC Swap Meet!

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Posted in Eastside 101, Uncategorized | 1 Comment