'GREETINGS FROM EASTSIDE': Over Labor Day Weekend, an secret cell of Eastside bloggers held a BBQ meet-and-greet that included the burning of an effigy. On the grill, next to what appears to be husks of ceremonial corn, a stack of Maphawk's 2008-2009 "map and guide to the eastside" are on fire while eastside operatives offer greetings to the publishers.
The guide redefines the eastside as Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Echo Park, Downtown, Chinatown and West Hollywood. Not included on the map, that list goods and services, are the neighborhoods of Lincoln Heights, Boyle Heights, and East Los Angeles. In fact, the furthest point east is Downtown item 466; a yoga studio that is located on the west side of the Los Angeles River.
ABOVE: Eastsiders in undisclosed backyard, photographer unknown. BELOW: Eastside Los Angeles map. Eastside Los Angeles Map.
An image of Self Help founder Sister Karen Boccalero sat near the press
conference. It's a piece of Man-One's Metro Gold Line Commission "The Four Pillars" that was installed as a temporary mural at First and Soto in Boyle Heights.
A CHO-LO-SPHERE LOOK AT THE CHO-LA-SPHERE.
PATRON SAINTS: Self Help Graphics & Art held a Friday morning press conference over the July 3rd sale of their building that took the board of directors and County Supervisor Gloria Molina by surprise. Also worth noting is Self Help's new blog, and that the current print exhibit is one of the better ones they have had. Proceeds go to Self Help. For more on the press conference. view LAEastside's Immaculate Deception. . . –– STILL ON FIRE: Underground Gallery opens "Sandy Rodriguez: La Retrospecivita 1998-2008" with an reception tomorrow, Sunday July 13, from 7 - 10 pm. A conversation with the artist will be held July 27 at 2pm. Underground Gallery is at 1612 Waterloo Street, LA CA (213) 413-5913. Previously on VFaL. Also, it's the one year anniversary for the Echo Park adjacent gallery. . . –– OLD POST, BUT WORTH A LOOK: Ari Moore reviews Chicana Art: The Politics of Spiritual and Aesthetic Altarities. . . –– OUTSIDE L.A.: If you miss Sonia Romero's Saturday afternoon opening reception for her project "The Lion's Share" you have until August 9 to see the her solo show celebrating the summer season. It's at The Folk Tree in Pasadena (217 South Fair Oaks Ave.) . . –– REBEL YELL: Pharmaka's "Rebel Legacy" takes the Chicano art movement into abstraction and is worth a long visit. The exhibit is curated by Kathy Gallegos, Director of Avenue 50 Gallery and ends July 31. A panel discussion with the artists, and book signing will be held Saturday, July 19, at 2pm. Pharmaka is located at 101 W. 5th Street, at the corner of Main St.
A movement is underway to give a Boyle Heights Chicano Vet a PosthumousMedal Of Valor.
In 1944, 18-year-old Private Guy Gabaldon was able to talk Japanese soldiers and civilians, including families, out of caves on the Japanese occupied
island of Saipan by using the Japanese he learned from his childhood in Boyle Heights. By the end of the Gabaldon had rounded up 1,000 to 1,500 Japanese, including in what may be a legendary version of the story––800 in one day.
The 5-foot, 3-inch tall Gabaldon was dubbed the "Pied Piper of Saipan" and received a Silver Star––that was later upgraded to a Navy Cross. His story was recounted in 1960's "Hell to Eternity" that had Gabaldon portrayed by a much taller and less Latino Jeffery Hunter. The story of that summer of 1944 now the subject of a documentary "East L.A. Marine."
AP has been sending out the story:
Now, more than 60 years after Saipan and almost two years after his death, a campaign has been launched to persuade U.S. officials to give Gabaldon the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military award. The new documentary "East L.A. Marine" is part of that effort, and a Web site urges supporters to sign a pro-medal petition. The film asks whether Gabaldon's Hispanic heritage has prevented him from receiving the medal; others have blamed his tough and outspoken nature.
Even his youthful compassion came from being outspoken. He saw his Boyle Heights friends and neighbors sent to interment camps, and his first "capture" was in defiance of his commanding officers. You can also see that outspoke nature in a series of interviews completed before he passed away in August of 2006. From The War Times Journal:
WTJ:Many people are shocked by your recollections
of the fighting. After hearing of what you did, they usually expect someone
with a more gentle attitude. What would you like those people to keep in
mind? Gabaldon: Many have wondered why I was so calloused to the
harshness of battle while only an 18 year-old kid. I believe my childhood in
the slums had much to do with my attitude in battle. I think it best to go back
to when I was a ten-year-old lad living as a waif in the ghettos of Los
Angeles, shining shoes on Skid Row. Fighting in the Pacific tropical jungles
and living in the East Los Angeles ghettos had a lot in common - you had to be
one step ahead of the enemy or adios mother!
According to NPR, the Pentagon is reviewing the cases of Latino and
Jewish-American World War II soldiers to determine whether they should
be awarded the Medal of Honor. Gabaldon is
among them.
Best Name for a website: getguythemedal. Film details Hispanic Marine's acts in WWII [view from AP] Pacific War Hero Deserved Highest Honor [NPR] East LA Marine [website]
The sides of the 4th Street Bridge at Lorena are draped in blue tarp
reinterpreting Christo and Jeanne-Claude's 1972-1976 "Running Fence."
It's environmental public art through the eyes of the parallel universe known as
"the Eastside."
L.A. Now applauds Louis Sahagun for not going warm and fuzzy, exploring the bi-cultural behavior of Salazar. However, watching my folks maneuver the 60s and 70s gracefully, with two languages as balance, has me believe a Latino reporter for a major newspaper during the Civil Rights era needed to be a cultural double agent. The results are these columns from Salazar that spoke pure journalism without compromising who he was, nor where he came from.
The Los Angeles Times and Hoy L.A. will celebrate the commemoration of Ruben Salazar Day in Los Angeles and the April 22nd issuance of the U.S. Postal stamp honoring the slain Chicano journalist.
The Times' Downtown Globe Lobby will be the site of a photography and memorabilia exhibition being unveiled on April 22, and will be open to the public until the 24th.
LOA reports that City Council President Eric Garcetti will carry a motion the morning of April 18th to declare April 22 Ruben Salazar Day.
Above: Sal Castro, who taught at
Lincoln High School during the 1968 East Los Angeles Walkout, spoke before today's reenactment of the 1.5 march
from Lincoln High School to Hazard Park in Boyle Heights.
Bottom: Original student activists and local officials, including Council
members Jose Huizar and Ed Reyes, joined the 2,000 who marched today.
More to come later.
Thousands honor '68 walkouts by Mexican American students LAT
It’s the Rep That Counts: The February 2nd district-wide LAUSD Academic Decathlon (AcaDeca) saw Garfield High School Academic Decathlon team grab seventh place . . –– LAUSD has recently provided enough State and National Academic Decathlon champions, Garfield's finish was worth an at-large invitation for the big game; the state finals . . –– Cheers, sometimes reserved for football players, should be passed on to the student Wizards of Eeela and their long time academic coaches, John Bennett and Lucy Romero . . –– Looking ahead: State Finals are March 7-10, 2008 in Sacramento. The 2008 Nationals will be held April 30, 2008 in Garden Grove.
Past the Bridges: Manuel Lopez and Cesar Gonzalez are two of the artists to be exhibited at El Gallo Cafe this Saturday night––for one night only . .–– The February 9 showing of paintings, photography and animated films will also feature writer and Downtown Art Walk regular, Jim Marquez, aka, JimTheWriter. Art Cruise?: There has been a steady increase of small art shows across the river, and hopefully an East L.A. incarnation of an art walk can grow from it. Details: El Gallo Cafe (4545 East Cesar E. Chavez Ave) presentation of Gallery 1919 artists is Saturday, February 9 from 7pm to midnight. The show will have a mere $3 cover, D.J. included. Photo: vfal
There's a new mural in town
and if you look on the Main St sign, you can see a figure wearing shades. At the time, he was a local reporter and blogger standing on the middle of Main Street with one foot on the
west side and the other on the east side. Since then, his dual
citizenship expanded into Mexico. The original photo is after the jump:
