Comments on: Eastside 101: ELAC Swap Meet

By: ruth666

ruth666 — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 20:09:37 +0000

Oh no you dit-int, Rachel -

By: Rachel

Rachel — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 03:55:41 +0000

Eastside is east of the LA River. It’s bad enough that Curbed LA can’t figure this out but I expect more from this site.

By: Diego

Diego — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 19:17:07 +0000

Good post, Chavo, como siempre. I’ve never been to the ELAC swap meet because it’s too far from home (to my parents, more than fifteen minutes freeway driving is too far), but I’ve always gone to the Paramount swap meet on Rosecrans. It was a great place to go, except for the fact that parking is now brutal to get and that they charge way too much to enter.

I personally prefer the Alameda swap meets, the bodegas all over Maywood and Vernon, and Plaza Mexico in Lynwood (which I still call Marketplace), but it’s all great. I enjoy just walking around and looking at people actually peddling their wares, not dressing up windows to entice people.

By: urban memo

urban memo — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 17:36:25 +0000

I got that same exact quesadilla maker as a wedding gift!

Those were my precise words!!!

I must be the only Mexican in the world that owns one. I simply can’t get rid of it out of guilt. I am going to use it to say that I did (though I haven’t yet) in case the gifter ever asks about it.

Then I’ll try to find a good home for it.

By: Art

Art — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 17:26:01 +0000

Sorry Chavo, I am the guy responsible for the “EastLos is a state of mind ese” comment. I stand by my comment though, in the spectrum of the chicano community; I had no idea it would be coopted and butchered or confuse any of my fellow carnalitos. Now we got folks posting “the westside is a state of mind”, next thing you know when my wife drags me to urban outfitters I’ll hear an announcement about it on the loudspeakers by some guy with his hair combed over his forehead.

El Chavo knows what I mean. As an official EastLosAngelino (both Boyle Hts and unincorporated, god bless mobile single moms) I have scorned people from Highland park and maywood for claiming their hood is also part of Eastlos. But in reality, it is a state of mind, a homage to the motherland or as I wrote in curbed, the mecca of lowriders, destructive urban renewal and single needle tattoos.

EastLos and the Eastside are different things though for chicanos, and should be explained to all outsiders who wear giant sunglasses and walk downtown at night. The eastside is a more ambiguous mix of geographic proximity to DTLA as well as ratio of Latinos and the evident barrio markings. As chicano diaspora colonized most of the SGV and East/Southeast LA county, and whites/money fleed these older suburbs, many areas began to resemble a more suburban version of East LA (EastLos was a lot more suburban back in the day as well, as noted by my veterano uncles). If someone is saying they are from the eastside nowadays (well, not some yuppy at least), they generally mean the barrio, whether it be SouthSide montebello, El Monte, South San Gabriel, City terrace, Hollenbeck, the flats, pico rivera, etc.

It’s a barrio state of mind holmes. I meant the comment to help explain things to the gentrifiers, but it backfired and is now being called the butterfly/floating chad of this contest, spensa.

BTW Chavo, what parts of BH you from? Thanks for the great commentary also, your shit rocks, and i’m a pretty cynical guy who abhors much of the over self gratification in our chicano community. Intelligent raza with minimal issues is a rare gem, now there’s 2 of us!

By: bill

bill — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 03:41:51 +0000

Actually, I have always argued that the eastside of LA was anything east of downtown LA (and when I say downtown, I mean the one with the skyline that shows up most in movies and postcards). Thats why they call it “east LA” – its a real location! But I also included monterey park and alhambra while they counter back with, its the san gabriel valley. I think ultimately, the argument comes from people who were raised in downtown LA vs transplants to the westside (anything west of mid-wilshire)who have the differences.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 22:02:56 +0000

I love this swapmeet, but I swear I’ve seen tools that were stolen from my garage.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 19:47:42 +0000

Let’s hear it for the Eastside. Do they have socks? That’s all I need.

By: militant angeleno

militant angeleno — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 19:13:40 +0000

Chicanaskies: Since when were “fleas” considered sanitary? :)

By: frazgo

frazgo — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 16:09:02 +0000

Excellent post, the running commentary. Especially the whole Eastside vs Westside discussion. I was ready for Rita Moreno and Natalie Wood to chime in with a song from “west side story”.

Those ugly ass baking dolls look like those gawd awful dried apple head crafty things everyone was doing 25 years ago.