Putting the 'MA' In Mardi Gras

Today is Fat Tuesday - Mardi Gras, and no doubt the home of the World Champion New Orleans Saints have an even bigger fete this year.

Tonight, the Militant will be going to a private Mardi Gras party at the house of an operative of Louisiana heritage!

No doubt, the focus is on New Orleans today. But being the Militant Angeleno (as opposed to the Militant New Orleanian), he's gonna take you from "L.A." to "La." - and back.

The Militant has been to New Orleans before (the photo above was taken by the Militant during his visit there), during an unspecified year in the last decade. As usual when he travels, he likes to immerse himself in the destination city's culture, and also learn about its people, urban life, infrastructure and layout - and usually compares and contrasts between the destination city and his own.

Believe it or not, though the tiny Crescent City is vastly different than the ginormous City of Angels, there are a few things shared in common between them (yes, aside from Reggie Bush).

Both cities were founded by a river, have a "Mid-City" district, are important coastal port cities and are multicultural cities that have spawned fusion cuisines. Both cities have a huge Catholic influence. Interstate 10 runs through both The Big Easy and The Big Orange. And singer/songwriter Randy Newman has written songs about both cities - he grew up in both of them.

But here's something interesting the Militant discovered: Both Los Angeles and New Orleans have streets named "Rampart" and "Carondelet" that are not only parallel to each other but just a couple blocks apart, with both Ramparts located to the northwest of the Carondelets. Both pairs of streets in both cities run in a diagonal direction, from the southwest o the northeast. In New Orleans, the streets are located in the Downtown area, in Los Angeles, they are located in the Historic Filipinotown and Westlake districts.

Perhaps it was intentional -- in what is now Historic Filipinotown, just behind the former Rampart Police Station (which was on Benton Way and not Rampart Blvd), lies Hyans St, which was the first block in Los Angeles where African Americans were able to own their own property.
Being that most African Americans who settled in Los Angeles in the late 1800s-early 1900s came from places like Louisiana and Texas (and prior to World War II, they settled in places like Mid City and Jefferson Park), they probably not only brought the names of places familiar to them, but familiar architecture as well.

Along Hyans St, Benton Way and Council St in the aforementioned block, a few "shotgun" houses (pictured left) can be seen, and are hardly found anywhere else in Los Angeles. These narrow houses, designed without a shared interior hallway, are a familiar sight in the South, particularly in Louisiana. Their name derives from the fact that one can fire (in a straight line) a shotgun from the backyard to the front yard, provided all the doors of the house are open.

But enough of the history lesson for now, it's time to party! laist.com recently listed places where one can get their Mardi Gras on this week.

But the Militant is also familiar with some other places that will garon-tee you a lil bit of dat N'awlins flava:

Harold & Belle's - this Jefferson Park restaurant serves up some of the finest Creole cuisine in Los Angeles for over 40 years. The Militant celebrated his birthday with some of his closest operatives a few years ago and everyone was both happy and extremely full. The menu is a bit on the pricey side, but it's more than worth it considering the portions they give you. The Militant ordered the fried catfish, and well, had enough fried catfish to last him until lunch the next day. The desserts are divine as well, do try their bread pudding. 2920 West Jefferson Blvd, (323) 735-9023

La Louisianne - another fine-dining Creole restaurant, located just over the Baldwin Hills near Inglewood. The gumbo is spectacular. Drop by at night and check out the live jazz, blues and soul music entertainmenr. 5812 Overhill Dr (at Slauson), (323) 293-5073.

New Orelans Fish Market - Not a restaurant, but if you're into doing your own cooking, check out this store in Jefferson Park for your ingredients and seafood needs. One of the Militant's operatives, who's a damn good cook, goes here for his crawfish supply all the time. 2212 West Vernon Avenue (at Arlington), (323) 296-3817

And while you're at it, you can groove to the sound of the Los Angeles-based, New Orleans style brass band Critical Brass!

Laissez les bon temps rouler! Where y'at?!

Uncommon Valor in Historic Filipinotown

With today being Veterans Day, the Militant wanted to find a monument in the City (aside from a Veteran Avenue street sign - speaking of which, ever notice that the Veterans Administration Hopsital is by Federal while the Federal Building is by Veteran?) that honored veterans somehow.

Back in August of '07, the Militant showed you this World War I memorial on Adams and La Brea in Mid-City, but this being a day to honor primarily the living veterans, rather than the dead ones (who have their own holiday), the Militant had to look elsewhere.

But he didn't have to bike that far. Working on operative tips, he discovered a relatively new veterans memorial, just west of Downtown, in a relatively hidden place called Lake Street Park, just north of Beverly Blvd in Historic Filipinotown (and around the corner from Brooklyn Bagel), that honors not just the courage of a certain group of veterans, but their unique battle, both during - and long after - the war.

Dedicated in 2006 and designed by public artist Cheri Gaulke, also known for her station art at the (M) Gold Line Lincoln Heights/Cypress Park stop, the Filipino World War II Veterans Memorial tells their story through five granite panels, which describe America's colonial relationship with the southeast Asian country, the role of Filipino soldiers during the war, particularly through Japanese occupation and such enduring events as the Bataan Death March.

But even after victory in 1945, the battle wasn't exactly over for the Filipino war veterans, who, through the Rescission Act of 1946, were ultimately denied the benefits promised to them during the war.

Since then, over time, the Filipino veterans received part of their benefits piecemeal - including some of the few surviving who received checks just this year, but not until they, their advocates in the Filipino community and their allies fought for it over the course of several decades.

Just then, right after the Militant took his pictures, as if on cue, a swarm of four helicopters from a Veterans Day ceremony flew almost nearly overhead.

It became a very appropriate VetsDay moment for the Militant.

Stay Militant, Veterans.

Happy Birthday, Historic Filipinotown

The community of Historic Filipinotown celebrated the sixth anniversary of its designation on Saturday with a street fair on Temple Street, between Union and Alvarado. The Militant, with only a small window of time to check out the festivities, was able to see most of what he could see; the festival site was only two blocks long -- one with booths/entertainment and another, a Kids' Zone, which apparently hardly had any kids in it (they were apparently freaked out by all the freaky-looking carnies working the rides...). He did run into some operatives there, and wanted to check out the food booths, but instead decided to spend most of the time in the confines of a nearby restaurant...a nearby air-conditioned restaurant, that is.

There was an entertainment stage that featured not only Filipino American and overseas Filipino acts, but Latino acts as well, as though Hi-Fi is dotted with several Filipino institutions (a free bus tour took visitors to those locations during the festival) the majority of its reisdents are Latino. Though, judging from the crowd, there weren't many non-Filipinos in attendance.

The community celebrates the anniversary of its designation by the City of Los Angeles on the first weekend of August each year, and in past years they took place in the more residential streets. But this was apparently the first time Temple Street was closed in part for this festival, which didn't make too many motorists by Temple and Alvarado happy; as there was construction going on along Alvarado in addition. Of course, the Militant, as you know, didn't have to deal with the traffic or parking limitations...

Filipinos in Hollywood in Historic Filipinotown

Three things rock the Militant's world: Culture, History and Los Angeles. Put the three together and you get...well, you get This Here Blog.

But aside from that, when an operative of the Militant tipped him off about a launching of a book on Saturday covering the history of an ethnic group in Hollywood, the Militant got his ass on the bike and rode down (and up, and down again) Temple Street to the Filipino American Library.

The library, located in a residence just shouting distance from the iconic The Original Tommy's burger stand, hosted a well-attended backyard reception for the book launch of the Arcadia publication, Filipinos in Hollywood. The author, Carina Monica Montoya, was there to do a "reading" (which wasn't a reading insomuch as it was the author's live commentary on certain aspects of the book, which like many Arcadia books, is mostly historical photos with descriptive captions).

The Militant, has some Filipino operatives, a few of whom even live in Hollywood, but he may or may not have been aware there was already a long history of Filipinos in Hollywood -- both the community and the industry.

A great deal of the book shows photos and descriptions of the lives of Filipino immigrants in Hollywood since the 1920s, most of whom were men who worked menial tasks as busboys, waiters, cooks and janitors, who were allowed to work in and around the glitz and glamor of Hollywood, yet as individuals outside the job they had to face the harsh realities discrimination and prejudice.

Montoya highlighted the late Ray Buhen, a Philippine immigrant, who worked as a bartender in the swanky establishments of the Hollywood of yesteryear, such as the old Polynesian-themed Don The Beachcomber on McCadden Place. It was there that Buhen invented the Zombie cocktail (but which was historically credited to Beachcomber owner Donn Beach - since back then immigrants never got credit for anything), a drink which was served to many a celebrity back in the day. Eventually in the 1960s, Buhen opened his own bar, the Tiki Ti bar in the East Hollywood-Los Feliz area, which is now run by his sons.

Montoya also mentioned that the book highlights modern-day Hollywood celebrities of Philippine descent, such as Lou Diamond Phillips (RICHIIIIEEE!!!), Tia Carrere (Schwing!), comedian Rob Schneider and The Black Eyed Peas' Apl De Ap. There were a bunch of folks in the book the Militant wasn't familiar with, but it was great to see something that gives a community a semblance of pride.

Before arriving at the book launch event, the Militant stopped by a Filipino market on Temple Street to get his own taste of Historic Filipinotown. Thirsty after his bike ride, he bought some tropical fruit juice drinks -- a can of guava juice and another juice can of a Philippine citrus fruit called kalamansi, which was pretty refreshing. And best of all the two cans cost the Militant all but $1.48 (Militant Deal!) of course, upon arrival at the library, there was some free Filipino food there, such as lumpia egg rolls and pancit noodles courtesy of a local restaurant. He almost forgot that it's customary for there to be free food at Filipino community events. So maybe he'll hang around this neighborhood more often.

Speaking of the neighborhood, he noticed it had these tiny community street banners (pictured right) hanging from the light standards (that's "streetlights" in bureaucratic-ese), which appear to be new. Thing is, they seem impossible to see driving 35 miles per hour in a car, much less at night. According to one of the Militant's Filipino operatives, the written inscription in the middle (below the birds), which reads "Bayang magiliw/Perlas ng Silanganan" is the first two lines of the national anthem of the Philippines in the Tagalog language, which translates as "Land of the Morning/Pearl of the Orient."

Like the Militant always says, you see and appreciate much more from the seat of a bike.

Partyin' With Garcetti

Being an active member of the urban Los Angeles community, the Militant may or may not have been invited to (or, in true Militant fashion, may or may not have crashed) Council President Eric Garcetti's (pictured left, forgive the blurriness) Annual Council District 13 Holiday Party on Thursday night at the L.A. Derby Dolls' roller rink located in a former dairy processing warehouse in Historic Filipinotown near Temple and Alvarado.

Nevertheless it was a fine reunion of sorts
with the various operatives and community leaders the Militant may or may not have worked with over the years, especially folks from the Hollywood, East Hollywood, Silver_Lake, Historic Filipinotown and Echo Park communities. The Militant also ran into operatives and associates who work for the councilman, as well as for City Hall and even had a chat with City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, who, while meeting some neighborhood council folks, still somehow felt compelled to recite, by rote, the story of the origin of his name (his dad was a boxing fan, his mom decided to alter it to "Rockard," etc). But most importantly there was food, courtesy of the fine eateries from this diverse district, be it tamales, pad thai, lumpia, pizza, pita wraps and desserts galore.

The crowd of some 200 guests were entertained by a choir made up of of recovering substance abuse addicts who sang some lively Holiday favorites, kids from a local elementary school who sang and danced some Filipino Christmas carols, a drill team and finally (after moving the party to the bleachers in the adjacent area) an exhibition game from a pair of squads from the Derby Dolls, an all-female roller derby league.

When the Militant first heard of such a thing, he instantly dismissed it as some lame gentrohipster pseudo-retro, reclaim-your-lost-childhood activity. But when the ladies started their game, the Militant saw a little neighborhood girl at the party run towards the bleachers, chanting, "Derby Dolls! Derby Dolls! Derby Dolls!" in excitement. So it was probably a cool thing after all for little girls to get excited about a sport that's not a mere adaptation of the games boys play. And after seeing a round and finally getting what the sport was about, he admits it can get kind of exciting after all. But maybe they should have some chola-types on skates too, that would make it even more bad-ass. The Militant recommends that the Derby Dolls themselves ask a chola how to get something like that going.

In all, it was a neat little night partying with familiar community folks as well as the elected official who may or may not be his councilman (if you're keeping track, the Militant also gives another local councilman some press in this here blog, so draw your own conclusions).

Saturday In The Parks

SIKE!

The Militant was able to check out the Beverly Union Park grand opening in Historic Filipinotown after all, as his accident injuries have healed faster than expected. Even still, as an extra precaution, an unspecified number of militia decoy operatives were deployed to "cover" the event so as to confuse and/or distract anyone present who might deduce who the Militant is.

But when the Militant arrived, the formerly idle plot of land was alive with families from the community present, children running around, playing on swings and jungle gyms, volunteers doling out free pizza, water and cookies and the sound of cumbia music throbbing from a P.A. system, under a sunny and warm - but not uncomfortably hot - late summer Saturday in Los Angeles. Nestled between a view of the looming Downtown Los Angeles skyline and a large Filipino history mural, Beverly Union Park suddenly became a crown jewel in the neighborhood, a place where not only kids can play but families can barbecue or have a picnic - places more well-to-do communities undoubtedly take for granted (especially in HOA-controlled communities, where the happiness of children is strictly prohibited for the sake of preserving property values).

The Militant chatted with a staff member from the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust, a non-profit organization whose purpose is to build and run new city parks where the City of Los Angeles Dept. of Recreation and Parks could not.She told the Militant that the park was planned and designed by members of the community who offered their input. Furthermore, the park is also operated and maintained by members of the community, who also are paid for their work, further stimulating economic development in the neighborhood. The Militant also chatted with a Belmont High School teacher and one of the parents in the community and found out about their individual perspectives of and activities in their community.

Echoes of Shared Cultures

After briefly consulting via phone with one of his operatives, the Militant was informed that there was a cultural festival in nearby Echo Park. Because the Militant supports both parks and cultural events, he proceeded due north on Glendale Blvd.

Of course upon arrival the Militant surveyed the lotus bed and noticed that though there was new growth since July, it still was hardly 1/3 of its full capacity.

The festival was a Filipino regional fiesta held in honor of a patron saint, the American version of one held every September in the eastern Philippines. According to one of the people in the festival, the Echo Park version, celebrated by immigrants from that particular region of the country, has been an annual tradition for 36 years. Unlike the FPAC festival which the Militant went to last weekend, this one is largely attended and organized by older-generation immigrant Filipinos and their families to coincide with a feast day. But also unlike last weekend's festival, the food here was free! The Militant took out his wallet when a woman in a booth offered him a piece of cake and a can of iced tea. But the Militant learned that in such fiestas in the Philippines, total strangers are welcomed into people's homes and offered that sort of hospitality. Unfortunately, the Militant had learned from a festivalgoer that most of the food had already run out earlier in the day.

The Militant did discover a group of four Latinos roaming the festival site with much curiosity, no doubt already discovering the similarities of Filipinos to that of their culture. The Militant soon sat in on a conversation between two 50-something-aged men, one of them from the Philippines, the other from El Salvador. The latter was in the neighborhood as he and his wife visit her elderly parents, who live nearby, each weekend and the festival piqued their interest. The former has been attending the festival for the past 20-plus years with his wife and children, who were elsewhere in the park at the moment.

The two men had a conversation about their cultural similarities -- everything from their patron saint fiestas to their Catholic faith to the after-effects of Spanish colonialism to family traditions and the roles of the elderly, political corruption and the weakening economy in their respective countries. The Militant found this fascinating -- where the evil East Coast mainstream media emphasizes on cultural differences and tension between ethnic groups, the Militant, right before him sees two people engaging in an enlightening chat on their cultural similarities.

The Militant found this so refreshing and fascinating, he joined in on the conversation. It was quite a sight to see, with three people of different ethnicities -- Filipino, El Salvadoran and Unspecified -- sharing the experiences of their own cultures and each learning from them. Can't everyone else be like this everyday?

The two gentlemen asked each other their names. The El Salvadoran said his name was "José." The Filipino said his name was "Joe."

"We have the same name!" Joe exclaimed.

Throughout their conversation he held a rolled-up goldenrod-colored t-shirt of the fiesta event that was given to him by the organizers. Joe told José that he was more than welcome to come back next year -- on the third Saturday of September -- to his festival. José said that it was close to El Salvador's independence day, which was today, September 15. Then before he left, Joe gave José his fiesta t-shirt.

"I want you to have this, so you'll remember," said Joe.

Because this festival was borne from religious tradition, there was a Catholic Mass held in the tent where there were karaoke and dance entertainment earlier in the day. Already acclimated to Filipino hospitality, José and his wife decided to join the 150 or so people and one duck (pictured left) for the service, conducted in English.

The Militant rode home on his bike along Sunset, and even rode past the same site where just three days prior he took his spill. This time, there was no insect, and even if there were, the Militant would simply pull over and flick it off.

There are lessons to be learned every day in this city, both simple ones and difficult ones, in its parks and on its streets, but the one constant is that learning never ends.

A Park Grows in Hi-Fi

The Militant is all about more parks and open space for the people, especially as developers and the LAUSD are grabbing up every single open parcel of land we got (and just wait after the next big quake when lots of properties get condemned...).

So the Militant is pleased when one of his City-staffer operatives informed him of the grand opening this Saturday of Beverly Union Park in Historic Filipinotown, just a few blocks west of Belmont High School (no, not that Belmont) at 1644 W. Beverly Blvd, by Union Avenue.

The park, a project of Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust and Council President Eric Garcetti replaces an old community garden and is situated next to a large mural by artist Eliseo Art Silva depicting figures and events in Filipino American history. The park sports a children's jungle gym area, basketball courts and open space.

Saturday's park dedication will (in addition to the expected speeches by a multitude of civic officials who like to take credit for it), FREE FOOD, martial arts demonstrations, arts and crafts and Filipino and Latino entertainment. The festivities run from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

If you live nearby, whether you live in Silverlake, Historicfilipinotown, Picounion, Echopark or even Downtownlosangeles, please pay the park a visit for the Militant as he heals from his recent injury (getting a little better...),

Nothing to Show For It a.k.a. The "Notenkyu" Ride a.k.a. Try Again Later

Militant keeping it short this time...Took obligatory local area bike ride Tuesday...Northern edge of K-Town to visit a certain Angelena who worked there, not there today. Took a nice little pic (pictured left, wanna guess where?)...Rode into Historic Filipinotown, took some neighborhood pics, require further Militant research, did some additional research for The Quest, not completely satisfied with the specimen...Rode into Silver_Lake, through Sunset and into The Junction (hipster shield engaged), was looking for some camo threads. $30 for a pair of camo pants? Notenkyu. Walked past that coffee place everyone's talking about - notenkyu. Tried to take a "today" pic of this place, wasn't completely satisfied with the results (will make another attempt soon), rode past ridiculously expensive condos, notenkyu. Went back home. Attended to some business at the Militant's satellite post. Had some sort of meeting of a classified nature. Later accompanied militia member and drove to a celebrated quasi-Westside mess hall to discuss strategies of said classified operation and partake in the consumption of wedge-shaped rations of Apennine origin (TENKYU!).

Fin.

Tenkyu for clicking.

Auf Wiedersehen, Lowenbrou Keller

Word has gotten around in blogdom that the ornate Lowenbrou Keller on Beverly Blvd in the Historic Filipinotown area - not "Silver Lake-ish" as other sources say (why do hipsters insist that anything midway between Downtown and Hollywood is all "Silverlake, CA" [sic]? Answer: Hipsters like to pretend that ethnic communities don't exist) - is closing down, so the Militant and one of his operatives decided to bid auf wiedersehen to the establishment on Thursday evening with a dinner and some beers (Spaten Munich, baby -- there was once a time when the Militant did not like beer...until he visited Germany).

The Militant parked his bike in the restaurant's lot, which was unusually full. Though it wasn't packed, it had perhaps eight times more people than there were the first time the Militant ate there when he used to work nearby.

The restaurant, which was supposed to close down on Friday, is staying open a little longer -- "until the food runs out." For those of you planning to bid them a final guten nacht, please make dinner reservations in advance or come in a small group. A group of about seven people got turned away.

There was no menu, but instead the waitress gave us the choice of either the Farmer's Plate (smoked porkchop, ham and sausage), the Chicken Schnitzel, Bratwurst or Hungarian Sausage. I opted for the Farmer's Plate (pictured right), the operative had the Schnitzel.

The food took a while, but the kitchen staff of two people were already overburdened. The Militant didn't really care for the porkchop and the ham, but the sausage was great and so was the schnitzel. The grilled potatoes were a nice bonus, as well as the sauerkraut.

A photographer for a major area newspaper dropped in and snapped photos of the ornate, Teutonic-themed interior, a quasi-kitschy collection of woodcarved beer barrels, elk busts, stuffed birds, armored knights, cherub statues and travel posters promoting Bayern (das ist Deutsch für "Bavaria") designed by movie set designer George Eder, who opened the restaurant 40 years ago. His widow, Renate Eder, the owner, urged the photog, "No more photos!" and even offered him a free pint of beer to make him stop -- apparently the sudden surge of word-of-mouth publicity has been too much for them to take.

Much has been discussed about the fate of the restaurant and its surrounding land parcel, which is being sold to its new Korean owners (trust the Militant, they are not "Chinese," as other blogs have reported). Word is that the decor will remain, but that the place will reportedly be renamed "Medusa Lounge." For those of you worried about the name, fear not, it will most likely change its name after six months of opening (a well-known secret in the expatriate Korean business community timed in accordance with the terms of small business loans and the expiration of B-1 visas). Whether the new incarnation of Lowenbrau Keller will be a publicly-accessible bar/lounge or a private-membership club remains to be seen.

The Militant is fully aware that the near future will see a land-grab war in the gentro-vulnerable west-of-Downtown area which encompasses Historic Filipinotown, Westlake and parts of Pico-Union. White hipsters seek to see an expansion of all that is "Silverlake" and expatriate Korean investors seek an expansion of all that is "Koreatown" (and operate under an entirely different set of rules than celebrated Korean American entrepreneurs like Pinkberry's Sherry Hwang or ice cream guru Tai Kim of SCOOPS fame - both of which have built their respective successes through a more mainstream clientele). The Militant takes no sides, of course, but would just [sarcasm mode: on] love [sarcasm mode: off] to see how this battle turns out.