Witnesses of LA

Documenting Past Witnesses Who Loved L.A.

By Ed Fuentes — February 14, 2008 — 1 Comment

Ed Fuentes

Mariann Gatto is one of two curators for the El Pueblo Historical Monument. Her office on the third floor of the Biscailuz Building is crammed with personal and professional photos, including a number of her son, an image of the David Alfaro Siqueiros' "Tropical America", and photocopies of photographs dating back to early days of Los Angeles.

In the last three years, Gatto has taken her experience as an educator to enhance programs that present El Pueblo as a living historical document, a staple for children's field trips. It was her personal experience of walking within history as a child that cemented how much impact that can have. Raised in Silver Lake, the Italian-American was embedded in Mexican-American culture sharing those experiences of extended family that included trips to places like Broadway and Westlake.

She recalls walking down Broadway as an eleven-year-old and looking at the buildings, wishing she could just take a toothbrush to them and clean off the grime. — Continued Inside...

On a Day for Remembering, Some Recollections from Downtown

By Ed Fuentes — November 02, 2007

Ed Fuentes

At 6th and Spring on an early Friday afternoon, Sally Pasillas was with her daughter talking about her late husband, Jamie. Sally had just returned from a personal, private Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) ceremony. Earlier that morning she laid a mixed bouquet of daffodils and lilies at a new memorial for Jamie, located at the MTA Transit Plaza.

The memorial was dedicated the day before Father's Day in June, 2007, and in part reads; "In memory of Jamie Pasillas who worked honorably and left, in legacy, a loving family an enduring contribution to the transit system of Los Angeles." Jamie died February 15, 1997, from a construction accident in the tunnels of the subway.

The humble legacy of this family's contribution to the growth of Los Angeles goes back several generations; as a grandfather, uncle, brother, and Sally's father also worked Downtown, mainly in construction. Her brother, Eulalio, poured the concrete foundation for the Greyhound Bus Station at 6th and Los Angeles. And now daughter Jackie has opened Salon on6, located on 6th St just east of Spring. — Continued Inside...

Going Straight to a Source

By Ed Fuentes — September 19, 2007 — 5 Comments

Ed Fuentes

Controversial cross testimony between a homeless activist group and a developer has been a big topic of talk around the Historic Core, with the conversation including accusations of verbal intimidation by those who consider themselves the torch bearers of professional advocacy.

The easy angle here is to find a slumlord and support the storyline. Yet in this case, residents have begun to speak up on behalf of building management when they saw they were being represented by former dwellers who may not have been the best choices. As one who wished to remain anonymous said, "No one really asked those who pay the rent on time." — Continued Inside...

The Wanderer

By Ed Fuentes — August 29, 2007

Ed Fuentes

The alley known as St. Vincent Court, located off 7th St between Broadway and Hill, has tables hosting conversations that can change in mood and inflection with every sip of espresso. The alley has a Parisian motif that gives some a smirk, but what keeps it from being a manufactured European simulation is people like Baruch Gueron, 64, a master in the craft of table talk.

Gueron, who holds an MBA in Accounting from UCLA, came to the U.S from Israel as a child. He first lived in Paris and saw a city culture first hand, and then experienced New York before his family relocated to Lynwood when his step-father started working at Douglas Aircraft Company.

At 14 years old, he knew suburbia wasn't for him. Sitting in front of St. Vincents Deli he recalls, "I came to L.A. just to walk around Main St. I only remember how alive the street was." — Continued Inside...

Downtown's Identity is Growing Up

By Ed Fuentes — July 10, 2007

Ed Fuentes

The Los Angeles experience can be felt in the wisdom of a former Central Ave jazzman, or seen in the detailed recall of a veteran photojournalist. Even someone with a youthful timeline can understand how a city is a series of small cultural moments to be documented for others to share and interpret.

21 year old Helen Ly has early experience in the idea of finding value in the small things of the everyday experience. Ly, an Art History major at California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA), is spending her summer in the library of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA) under her second Getty Multi-cultural Internship. She also received a 2006 Getty Grant internship for the Friends of the Chinese American Museum and assisted curator Sonia Mak on the exhibit Growing Up Chinese American: Childhood Toys and Memories. Meanwhile, for the last two years she has also been a Museum Guide for the City of LA while carrying a full schedule of classes. — Continued Inside...

Reflections of a Photojournalist

By Ed Fuentes — June 18, 2007 — 1 Comment

Ed Fuentes

A recent Downtown concert saw photographers in the media pool shooting at a furious clip, some cramming the front like groupies. From the side of the stage, another photographer walked with a relaxed stride, eyes focused on the crowd. He glanced at the others shooting as he kicked in his strobes. He lifted his camera and took a shot. One adjustment was made, and he waited for dramatic arc in the band's set. It came, he shot twice, then moved to a different spot and waited some more. There was no wasted motion from photographer Gary Leonard.

Gary, now 56, connected to the camera early. He was already shooting at 8 years old and recalls being on the field of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the 1959 Dodger Photo Day. "On the way home, I was looking at my camera," he said later, "and I remember thinking 'there is something more here'." — Continued Inside...

Notes from a Former Downtown Jazz Man

By Ed Fuentes — June 07, 2007 — 4 Comments

Ed Fuentes

With the help of a cane, Downtown resident Arch Belvia slowly headed for cool shade under the trees that line Pershing Square. He was taking a break from working a booth at last Sunday's "Meet your Neighbors" and at 86, he's someone who has seen an urban life that we are hoping for.

He now lives at Angelus Plaza, the retirement complex on Bunker Hill. In the early 60s, while working at LADWP, he watched as some downtowners who never learned to drive were almost stranded when the trolleys were removed. He started driving a cab. In 1977, he was one of the original 100 independently licensed cab driver who formed United Independent Taxi, “The green and white cars,” he adds. In 1984, he sold his share as a founder just after the Olympic Games ended. Before all that, he served in the Army during World War II as a member of the “all-black” 92nd Infantry Division. But in between being a Buffalo Soldier and a cabbie, he was part of Central Ave's jazz nightlife.

Much more after the jump. — Continued Inside...