Tuesday July 28th
I went to the gallery and worked on the installation, and slideshows to be presented at the end of the week. Around 12 pm I headed towards Slanguage, Mario Ybarra and Karla Diaz’s studio in Wilmington. First thing I noticed was the alligator chicharrón head. After Mario finished dealing with some Moca curators, we (Mario, Karla, and 3 more of slanguage team, including the young artist in residence) jumped in La Cholota and headed towards Red West, a local pizza joint that has been there forever. Mario told me he grew up in that same neighborhood, and that slanguage studio space was initially shared also by Juan Capistran. In actuality, Slanguage works as a community and cultural hub for youth, where they have access to screen and printing facilities, as well as a physical space to sell their creations. Once at Red West I had to compete for best salad making against an Ybarra team member. I didn’t win (the other salad was HUGE), but my salad was yummy as well as the chorizo and Hawaiian pizza. Trade done: Pay a visit in exchange for lunch, thanks.
Back at slanguage Mario took me next door where the Dock Union have their printing press. We then sat for a bit and talked about Latino and Latinoamerican art communities/structures and how could we connect both of these entities, as we felt they are still kind of oblivious to each other. We came up with a think tank hosted somewhere south in the US, where both Latino and Latinoamerican artists, and some finger picked curators, would come together for 3 or 4 days and discuss strategies for Autonomy and Trust. Esten pendientes de esto, colegas, esto va porque va… I tried to sell La Cholota to Slanguage, sin éxito. Buh.
After that I headed to Echo Park and met Eduardo Consuegra at El Compadre, the house of the flaming margaritas, at sunset b. I didn’t have a flaming margarita, but I did have the best michelada in LA. After a few micheladas I went back home (home is Adrian and Pilar’s in Boyle H.) After chilling and having a bite, I headed towards Silver Platter, yes once more, for wildness night. Nguzunguzu was back in town, hosts were all excited filling the joint with balloons and ribbons for a bday party. Mr. Chang met me there and after a couple of dances we went to Verdugo Bar to Mas Exitos night. There we met the Mas Exitos crew, as well as people from Dublab. A few more dances, and then to a mysterious location to meet Eugenia Paz, a paisa Visceral Realist with whom I had agreed to barter. She gave me a drawing, a beautiful one, and also introduced me to Roberto Bolaño. Merci.
Wednesday July 29th
I met with Autumn , Lisa, Kindred and Howie from the Echo Park Time Banks, at Flounce Vintage, Lisa’s store in EchoP Boul. I interviewed them, asking for the origins a year and a half ago of the EPTB. It was interesting how they explained how Time Banks doesn’t pretend to replace the monetary system, but more complement it and at the same time reinforce a sense of community. They were very honest by telling the mishappens, and difficulties they have gone through. I wish them best of lucks and strength They are a great inspiration for our own Time Bank endeavor in Puerto Rico.
After that straight to the gallery, to work on the installation and set up for Friday and Saturday. Rat Cat’s surprise packet arrived from San Francisco. I opened to find a jar full of granola. A bigger surprise came when I opened the jar to nibble on the granola, and touched a sort of plastic thing. I started pulling it out to find a double vacuum sealed fat 5 inch twig of fine herb. Made my day! After working hard with Papi in making the place great for the weekend, I went to Tano’s studio at USC to trade some of that fine herb for him lending his projector for the weekend. Went back home and had a good long night sleep.
Thursday July 30th
Met with York at Café Tropical, had coffee and guava cheese pastry over conversation about a more human and personal way of law practice. PATRIA O MUERTE compañero. Also talked about Angel Rama’s Ciudad Letrada and how the Visceral Realists practice relates to the power of written discourse and the building of credibility through words. I believe York, whatever you say or write I believe…
After that, more gallery tune up with Papi. Jessica Rath and little Emma came to pick up, choosing a wooden whistle for Emma, and we hanged out for a bit, while Emma made nice drawings.
Around 2 pm Matrix @ Berkeley Curator Elizabeth Thomas paid a visit, and brought in a selection of Matrix brochures for the barter tables. She commented on her intentions of opening the interstice between exhibitions at Matrix as a space for works in progress and experimentation/not necessarily objectual or finished art practices. Liz also brought news from Ted Purves.
Later I visited Mr. Chang’s studio. I had the luck to view all of Eugenia Paz’s work before its tragic disappearance, and other Visceral Realists pieces. I was taught guerrilla methods for inserting new contents in existing media. I received a dedicated ‘The Romantic Dogs’ book that made me feel beautifully special, as I hadn’t felt in quite a while. I gave some of that fine herb in return. And we headed for some maniac shrimp rolls and beer for lightweights. I do regret not accepting Mr. Changs of getting absolutely drunk that night. Mr. Chang was kind enough to escort me home, and when I was starting to feel lonely after he left, Papi texted Eastside Luv, which proved to be the perfect antidote. I did end absolutely intoxicated that night anyway, as Adrian and Pilar hosted the entire bar at an after party at their place. I met David, who owns the most amazing set of eyes in LA, and we danced to cumbia, reggaeton, salsa and disco until 5 am. Even the cops came!!! But Pilar managed to talk them away with her wonderful ways.
Friday July 31st
DROP OFF DAY. Difficulties to get up after all that meneo. However we managed with Adrian to go buy the drinks and arrive at the gallery in time to open for drop off day. People started to walk in at 1 pm. Fernando and Conchita from Casa de Sousa helped us with the food, deliciosos tamales, ensaladita and chips and salsa. And extra delicious home made chocolate treats. Asma and Dani from Nguzunguzu were in charge of the beats. Hats, rollerskates, services, clothes, art pieces, organic produce, books and more were brought in by generous Angelenos willing to trade with fellow citizens. Highlight of the day Patsi Valdez came, and stayed for the community talk. A nice ingredient was Gifford’s presence during the whole day. He is a working class historian from San Francisco who came for the Anarchist Conference, and was directed to the gallery by Vlad.
Community talk started at 6.45 with a small but avid audience of around 20. Good questions came after my presentation, my favorite: How would you describe LA? Full of creativity and with a considerable amount of autonomous initiatives. After Q & A we all stepped out to visit La Cholota and hang around her.
Back home I was almost falling in the claws of exhaustion when Tano called me. He talked me into going to a cumbia party at Torrance, so he picked me up and we got there to find a full Doris’ house, with an amazing crowd dancing to the cumbia of Buyepongo, a Colombian-mexican LA band leaded by Bardo. David was there, Ignacio and Hugo Hopping were also there and we left the place at 3 am!!!
Saturday August 1st
BIG BARTER DAY. After amazing breakfast with homemade salsa by Pilar, sausage tacos by Adrian and fresh orange juice by the lady at the gas station, we headed for the gallery to host the Big Barter day. Lots of people came to retrieve something, and in general it was a success. Patsi Valdez returned to gift me with a Walking Mural clock. I retrieved olive green gloves, and a woodblock Japanese print. Thanks to all those who participated and traded/helped/hosted/cared for me during my stance en la ciudad de nuestra señora de Los Angeles. You make me feel hope.
At 4.30 we jumped in La Cholota and headed towards 18th Street Arts Center in Santa Monica, where PostAmerican L.A. exhibition curated by Pilar Tompkins was opening during Artnight. Pilar included my Mexicamericana flag in the show. At 18th st, La Cholota was reserved prime position at the parking lot right at the entrance and in front of the stage where conga master Francisco Aguabella was performing. La Cholota became a chill out space were people could sit down and chill, talk, exchange, have a Tecate (we were the only ones with Tecate that night) and watch the performance. I met gallerist Steve Turner and his wife Victoria in La Cholota.
After everything was over at 18th Street we headed to Tropico de Nopal, where Hugo Hopping showed me his dancing moves, very good by the way, and we all had a delightful end of the project celebration, dancing the night away to Mentiritas mixes.
Sunday August 2nd
Early wake up call by York. He picked me up and we went to the Pasadena swimming complex (built for the 1984 olympics). It is a beautiful place, roofless pools thriving with people young and old. We swam for a good 45 minutes, oh I was missing that underwater sensation, and then chilled in the hot Jacuzzi for a while. It was very relaxing and somehow sad at the same time, my days in LA were arriving to an end. Back home I had a phone conversation with Vlad who invited me to the 2nd day of the Anarchist Conference. But I didn’t find the strength to go. The last days I had been surrounded with people, and sometimes one needs to be lonely and silent.
Later I accompanied Pilar and Adrian to take their marriage paperwork to the Mission church, where I got hold of a Virgen de Regla stamp and some marriage prayer stamps for the happy couple. We then stopped by at the Municipal Gallery at Barnsdall where I met Edith Abeyta and Michael to discuss my intervention in the show they are curating for next January: Actions, Conversations, and Intersections.
After that, Adrian dropped Pilar and me at a Korean spa, where we got pampered and scrubbed and massaged as the goddesses we are. After 2 and a half hours of total disconnection, we took Adrian back home, to then return to Ktown to pamper our bellies with delicious Korean BBQ. Oh I slept amazingly well that night.
Monday August 3rd
Pilar and I woke up early, picked up Delaine at Union Station, and the Sandra de la Loza at her place, and we hit the road. Destination: TIJUANA.
On our way to TJ we stopped at the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art, where we met Fatima and Lucia Sanroman, and of course visited the exhibitions. It was nice to view work by Colombian artist Maria Fernanda Cardoso. I had never had a chance to see her vertical gardens until now.
After Pilar and Delaine checked in at their hotel in San Diego, we headed towards the border, parked, and crossed by foot. The sudden change of panorama is incredible. I never thought the contrast would be so obvious and blatant. After Sandra and me checked in our hotel, we headed for a quick snack and a margarita.
We then walked to the CECUT, which was the reason for our visit to TJ. My friend Fran Illich that works at the literature department there invited me to host a book barter and give a talk about DAYTODAY. Once at the CECUT we hooked up with Fran and his girlfriend Jennifer Sternad, a once LA dweller that has found a niche in Latin America, specially Buenos Aires and now TJ.
I took a look at El Agora where the book barter was going to take place, and then we checked the books Fran had been saving for the book barter for a month since his invitation. A lot of editions from the CECUT itself, and many interesting historical and poetry books that were part of the disappeared reading room.
After that the girls and me went dinning, and Fran and Jen joined us later. When dinner was over Pilar and Delaine returned to the US, and Fran, Jen, Sandra and me went driving around. Tijuana looks like Cali, Colombia to me, a city that has seen better days. We ended at the red light district, in a quiet bar called nelsons, after a shot of Tequila we went back to the hotel and had a good night rest.
Tuesday August 4th
I was early at the CECUT where boxes of books were awaiting to be bartered. I arranged them nicely at the multiple wooden platforms of the Agora, and to my surprise, a good number people started to walk in for book bartering. The girls picked me up for lunch, we wanted to go to playitas but the taxi driver told us traffic was going to be impossible due to road repairs, so instead he took us to a seafood place in town. It was a good choice. The food was absolutely delicious and fresh. At the end of our meal the waiters gave us a tasting of their special Vibora tequila, yep, tequila spiced with rattle snakes. They assured us it would make us immune against cancer, so I didn’t take any chances and swallowed my vibora tequila shot, which was amazingly good. I felt the power of the rattlesnake entering each drop of my blood, ssssssssssssss. They nice waiters also gave as a red rose to each of us before we left. Snakes and roses from Tijuana.
Back at the Cecut the book barter was on fire, people had been bringing in considerable amounts of books, and each person started to display them in their own little niche, so several little ‘puesticos’ of books sprouted at the Agora. Participants kept asking when would be next book barter. Hopefully the Cecut follows up with Fran’s initiative and transforms the book barter into a periodical event. The talk had a good audience who were interested enough in making some questions and acute commentaries about the possibilities of communal land owning. After the talk we went straight back to Los Angeles. Crossing the border was a 30 minutes thing; apparently tourism has decreased an 80%.
On my way back to LA, David texted me and we agreed to hang out at wildness night. Back home Reina was waiting for me with a dedicated and signed book of her poetry: Santa Perversa and other erotic poems. While I got ready for wildness, Reina delighted us by reading some of the poems. I gave her the Yemaya stamp I had picked at the Mission Church. David picked me up and I met Asma, Dani, Tano and Sayre at the silver platter. During these 5 weeks in LA I broke a dance hunger that had been punishing me for the last 5 years! After a good dance sesh, I said goodbye to my dear friends. That was my last night in LA.
Wednesday August 5th
David kindly took me to the airport, and I flew back home to my daughter in Puerto Rico.
Carolina’s map of LA at g727
Items to be bartered
See more pictures at the g727 facebook page.