the murals of east los

i took a trip over the bridge to boyle heights for some good old fashioned mural hunting. my parents came along for the ride (actually they were the ones who wanted the tour as they had just watched La Misma Luna (highly recommended by yours truly; takes place in los angeles and features some murals in that neighborhood.)

sadly, many of the murals we saw were defaced by taggers. damn those taggers! if only we could keep the shitty taggers off the streets i think more people would embrace graffiti artists for brightening up our city.

walking in boyle heights is such a sensory experience compared to the sterile environment of beverly hills or brentwood. the buildings are painted bright colors, you smell delicious things from street vendors and taco trucks, you hear fun music blasted from stores. way more vibrant than over the river.

my parents, although born and raised in california, live in north carolina right now. while nc has its fair share of latino immigrants right now, it’s still nothing compared to walking down the street in boyle heights, which my mother described as feeling like actually visiting mexico. since they had planned on visiting oaxaca earlier this year but their plans fell through, miguel and i took them to guelegetza later for dinner.

so my mother was telling me about how some people in chapel hill are rethinking the free fare for all city buses program that has been in effect for several years. apparently crime has risen in parts of the city that were prior to this program relatively crime free. so they are blaming free buses. i told her that was just like people in beverly hills not wanting the subway going through there to the ocean because it will bring “unsavory” individuals into their neighborhood. even if the studies in chapel hill are correct, perhaps they should look into solving the problem of poverty and lack of jobs instead of taking away free bus fare.

boyle heights used to be a jewish neighborhood, and you’ll still see remnants of its history on the street from the old names of the avenues (brooklyn which is now cesar chavez ) at the bus stops to this old jewish synagogue. you can see pictures of the renovation (which looks to have stopped around 2006…who knows what’s going on now) here.

here’s a picture of dot for your pleasure.