Journeys of Elders Born and Raised in South Central and Beyond
Written by Students of Manual Arts Senior High School with
a foreword by Donald Bakeer
Photography by Star Montana and Las Fotos Project
Published April 2018 by 826LA Copyright 2018 All rights reserved by the authors and 826LA
ISBN # 978-1-948644-05-1 First Edition
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This project was made possible in part by grants from the Flourish Foundation, the All Ways Up Foundation, the Joan Leidy Foundation, and the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs. The views expressed in this book are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect those of 826LA. We support student publishing and are thrilled you picked up this book.
Through the Same Halls
Journeys of Elders Born and Raised in South Central and Beyond
Written by Students of Manual Arts Senior High School with a foreword by Donald Bakeer
Photography by Star Montana and Las Fotos Project
Editor’s Note, 10
Foreword, 12 By Donald Bakeer
Introduction, 14 By Anna Lopez, Juan Vicente, Ashley Carter, Kevin Morales, Mabel Urquilla, Carlos Odilon, and Destiny Kapple
Table of Contents
STRUGGLE—17
Hard Living in the 1930s, 20 Juan Vicente
An Example of Life, 21 Gustavo Quiche
Leaving a War Behind, 22 Christopher Ayala
A Stand for Independence, 25 Emely Ayala
A Man Who Fought for His Family, 26 Cristian Beltran
Tortillas and Lemon, 29 Stephanie Giron
My Grandpa is a Warrior, 30 Sindy Lopez
LEGACY—33
Work is the Panacea, 35 Donald Bakeer interviewed by Owen Oliva
Everyday is a Learning Process, 40 Morrie Notrica interviewed by Shylin Hemphill
Roller Derby Complexions, 44 Denice Todd interviewed by Aniyah Turner
A Big Presence, 52 Kenneth Bell interviewed by Nate Gutierrez
SNAPSHOTS—59
Once a Toiler, Always a Toiler, 61
Myra Porter-Robertson interviewed by Alexa Velez
My Mamita, 66 Estefany Maldonado
Pirulitos, 69 Estefani Vega
A Man and His Mustang, 70 Luis Orozco
Faith, Sports, and My Grandmother, 73 Elias Ledesma
Elder Patricia, 74 Martel Moore
Our Comic Relief, 77 Kenny Fuentes
Serious, 78 Emily Cruz
Maria Mejia’s Story, 80 Anonymous
Our Last Summer, 81 Perris King
It Gets Better, 83 Margarito Lopez
Living through History, 84 Tramell Moloy
Blessed and Highly Favored, 87 Ashley Carter
IMMIGRATION—89
Your Future
Depends on You, 90 Luis Ayuso Robles interviewed by Danny Diaz
Raising Two Generations in Los Angeles, 99
Catalina Ayuso Morales interviewed by Jessica Munoz
The Unknown of Mary Brown, 105 Cameron Hall
Overcoming Challenges in Our Life, 106
Mabel Urquilla
The Inspiration of My Life, 109 Jaylon Williams
Caye Caulker with Elizabeth, 110 Jalen Russell
The Travels of Abuelita, 113 Anonymous
An Elder’s Journey, 114 Joshmark Lacy Mila, 117
Daniel Mendez
Claudia’s Independence, 118 Anonymous
Hard Work Makes It Worth It at the End, 121 Jesus Vazquez
How I Stopped Skipping Class, 122 Francisco Pedro-Juan
Languages of Belize, 125 Demetre Schmidt
A Guide to Hard Work, 126 Eliceo Villegas
SACRIFICE—129
With Curly Untamed Hair, 131 Anna Lopez
My Aunt, My Mother, 132 Saray Jimenez
A Coincidence, 137
Destiny Kapple
Ana Maria, 138 Kevin Morales
Grateful, 143
Carlos Odilon
Sunday at the Swap Meet, 144
Sebastian Pimentel
Amalia’s Delicious Mole, 147
Daniel Navarro
HARD WORK—149
Success Comes in Cans, 150
Roderick Polian interviewed by Adelaida Salgado
Yo Soy Guerrera, 156 Estela Grande interviewed by Brenda Romero
Whenever I’m Down, I Sing, 162
Ashley Powell
My Grandmother’s House, 165 Bryan Ramos
Driver’s Ed, 166 Cristoffer Aguilar
Louie of All Trades, 171 Kevin Gutierrez
My Conversation with Byron Scott, 172 Renaud Martinez
To honor students, Manual Arts alumni, and long-term residents of the community surrounding Manual Arts High School, South Central and South LA are used interchangeably throughout the book. The autonomy to express the preferred name of one’s home is powerful—and marks important historical shifts in a neighborhood. While some might stray from using South Central due to its negative ties to gang violence, others do not identify with its rebranding of South LA.
Similarly, the difference between the words riot and uprising in reference to the Watts Riots or the Rodney King Uprisings of 1992 can mark the intent of the author or interviewee to claim their own perspective of a historical event. To depict authentic accounts of history as spoken or written, we have published both terms to show the nuances between destruction and power— rioting and rising.
Foreword by Donald Bakeer
When I came to teach writing at Manual Arts High in 1984, there were over 2,000 students and only about ten poets. Students expected to struggle with reading and writing, and faculty expected the same, so the campus languished in a self-fulfilling prophetic academic malaise that was later coined soft racism of low expectations.
I determined to change that tradition with poetry because a lot of students who could not write a composition could be taught to write a great poem. Poetry empowers writers. It is an excellent doorway into the world of writing, a world that students at Manual Arts H.S. were traditionally excluded from.
So, I made everybody a poet. I taught haiku and couplets, sonnets and rap (I was the first to declare rap was poetry). I held schoolwide poetry contests with $100 prizes and rap contests in my bungalow. That was before the computer became ubiquitous and English teachers were leery of technology, so I had no competition for the school’s only video camera. All of my students had to participate in the weekly poetry slam. And, we wrote two anthologies: Sun City Songs I (1987) and Sun City Songs II (1988).
So, I am pleased to know the writing tradition lives at Manual Arts High, and the touching essays in this anthology are evidence of that. By writing about the experiences of their elders, these students have captured, anecdotally, a history of Mexico, Central America, and, indeed, South Central LA that is undervalued and mostly overlooked. After seeing their writing published, these students will never feel disempowered vis a vis the English language, again. And, their friends and family who read what they have written will be proud and, hopefully, encouraged to write themselves.
Thanks to 826LA for continuing to inspire students to write and publish the rich history of the people in and associated with Manual Arts High School.
Toiler Pride
If you mock, ridicule, vilify, shame, Disgrace, castigate, and curse
Your friends and fellow students just for fun, every day, 5 years from now you will wish you had not wasted time that way.
Don’t discourage. Encourage! You’ll purge your own demons. Don’t hate, disparage, and denigrate. Investigate!
And, you might even want to participate.
Don’t be so quick to condemn. Compliment!
Don’t degrade and complain. Read a good book and upgrade your own brain!
Don’t always criticize. Empathize sometimes! Stop whining and start shining! Don’t put down and clown your friends. Find reasons to praise! These are some of your most cherished days.
Practice smiling more, and try to forget how to frown. You’ll be graduating, and you’re almost grown.
Manual Arts High School will still be home long after you have gone on. Let’s transform the “haters” who despise it!
And, if you are still trying to be negative, QUIT!
Before you depart let’s touch each other’s hearts!
Remember. Don’t depress people. Impress them by doing your best! And, we know... And, we know... You will be a success!
Introduction by the Student Editorial Board
By Anna Lopez, Juan Vicente, Ashley Carter, Kevin Morales, Mabel Urquilla, Carlos Odilon, and Destiny Kapple
There are many stories around us. Some of them are written in history books; some of them are untold. This year, 826LA walked into our U.S. History classes and presented us with a challenge: interview an elder in your family and write their story. Some of us were assigned to interview elders from the community—Manual Arts alumni, a store owner of a beloved community market, long-term residents of South Central, an educator passionate about poetry.
We had to ask questions to understand the elders and their history. We wanted to see through their eyes to understand how their struggles affect their lives, families, and communities. We found out things we didn’t know. We were introduced to our family history—realizing we were finally old enough to understand what was left behind and why. We asked questions about their youth, their challenges, and dreams. We learned about their perseverance, how they had to grow up quickly, and what they sacrificed for their families.
We asked questions about our school, Manual Arts, and learned about generations of Toilers before us. The lessons we learned from our alumni: everyone has to carve their own path, everything is a learning process, and life won’t always go as planned. We walked in their shoes, through the same halls we see everyday, noticing how deep Toiler pride runs in our community. We learned we are part of the same legacy. Someday, maybe a young Toiler will interview us.
We felt a range of emotions throughout the process: nervous, excited, grateful, and moved. We saw our elders get tearyeyed as they traveled back through their memories.
We interviewed our elders even if the T.V. was on, even if they were distracted, even if they had to go into their hardest moments. There were brick walls we had to break through. Their answers inspired us to imagine some of the places we had never seen before.
We traveled to places near and far, from pulling mangoes off trees in Oaxaca to the streets of Los Angeles where mangoes are sold with chile. We saw loud communities full of diversity—places full of new and familiar sounds. Their traditions and celebrations were rediscovered within us.
We heard stories of perseverance, strength, courage, passion, curiosity, joy, loyalty, and trust. We also found that life wasn’t always so good. There was also pain, sadness, anger, fear, confusion, dishonesty and hopelessness in their histories.
It all circles back.We found a reflection of ourselves in their stories.The elders see themselves in us. We are left with gratitude and even more questions.
We give you a book of history. We carry their history as we put on our chalecos for danza, as we ride through the streets of Los Angeles, and as we gather around the table for grandma’s best sere. We will start to make it our own history as we pursue our educations, grow our curiosity, and try to pass on the lessons they gave us.
“Together they started to build their own family and build their home. That house was made of adobe and the roof of tiles. The house did not have a door—only a piece of cotton cloth. Their floor was only ground.”
Struggle
I interviewed my maternal grandmother Francisca Morales. She is eighty-nine years old. She was born in San Andres Xecul Totonicapán, Guatemala. She said that she and her family were very poor. They had no shoes, and they could only afford to eat twice a day. She never had any fun. She never went to school because her parents had no money to send her. She would do chores in the house, while her brothers worked in the field with their dad or with any other people that needed workers, especially when it was time to harvest—about three or four months, starting in October until January.
Her community was quiet and no one talked about intruders. If anyone was caught stealing, the entire community would join to punish the guilty, but no one did that kind of act. Also, in her community, every person earned only ten cents per day. Her father earned only ten cents per day.
She washed her family clothes at the river with her friends. She took all the dirty clothes in a big plastic container. After she got done with the wash, she brought all the wet clothes to her house, which is almost a one-hour walk. One day, she went to wash clothes where she always went and when she came back, she saw my grandfather with her parents. My grandpa Diego Lopez tried to ask to her parents’ permission to go out with her, but they did not accept his proposition.
A couple months later, she left with my grandpa. They went to my grandpa’s home, one hour away from her house. The next day, they came back to her house to tell her father that she wanted to marry my grandpa. Her father wasn’t really angry, but he still punished them because that’s how their tradition was back then. The parents considered it shameful that their daughter left without their permission.
After they were punished, they were still
allowed to date, and then they finally got married. Together they started to build their own family and build their home. That house was made of adobe and the roof of tiles. The house did not have a door—only a piece of cotton cloth. Their floor was only ground.
She told me that they worked together to save their money to buy land to harvest corn or wheat to sell. They also had small animals which helped to earn some money when they sold in the market. Both of them were working to help their parents to survive because they grew up in times of poverty. Their big challenge was feeding their nine children and my mom was their fifth child. They also wanted to give them the opportunity to study, but they did not have enough money to send them to school.
My grandma and grandpa’s stories taught me that whether life is hard or not, I must keep doing what I want to do, and the most important thing to do is to never give up. I also learned that I have to earn all the good things that I want to have, especially my education and other things I want. It was great to interview my grandma because it leaves me some memories that I didn’t know before about how my grandparents’ life was together.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juan Vicente believes in himself and in God. He left his country two years ago and started at Manual Arts in 2016. Drawing is his passion. He likes to learn about cars and is preparing to enter the Marine Corps after high school. Juan makes the impossible possible.
Juan Vicente
An Example of Life
Gustavo Quiche
My grandmother Alberta is an example of life to me. She was a happy person and she really enjoyed playing with kids. She always smiled, and it was hard to get her angry. She was one of the best people in the world. She was not very tall and her hair was black and curly. She was sixty-five years old when she died of an illness called diabetes, five years ago. During the time that we spent together, my grandmother told me some of the challenges that she faced when she was younger.
We are from a poor place called Santa Lucia, Guatemala. Since she was a kid, she worked very hard. I don’t really know what her work was, but I think she was a farmer. Every day, they were scared of the gunshots that were around them. Many children weren’t able to go to school, including my grandmother. She just went to school for two years, and then she left because she needed to help her parents.
I don’t really know how the environment was around my grandmother when she was a teenager, but I think that the environment was really bad. There was a war, and women suffered abuse and lost loved ones. Also, communities were militarized by the army and many people died. Something that I know for sure is that families were poor. She told me that when she was a teenager life was really hard. She didn’t have the advantages that we have now, as she didn’t have a cell phone, T.V., or other things that we have now. Many children weren’t able to go to school.
When she grew up, she got married to a person called Juan. He was the busiest person that I know, because he needed to take care of my grandmother and all of their eleven children. The hardest challenge my grandmother faced was in 2006, when my grandfather died. I admire her because after that, she never gave up. She became a father and a mother for their children.
She worked very hard to provide food and all the resources that she and her children needed to survive.
Probably the most important moment that I spent with her was the day that she died. I remember that she was in her bed because she had been sick. Some of my family was there. I was talking with her and she said to me, “You have to take care of your mother and always go the right way, and one day you will be a great person in the world.” After she said those words to me, she passed away. All my family began crying, because we were very sad. I promised myself that I would always remember my grandmother as an example of life, and I would never forget the words that she told me that day.
I grew up in the country of Guatemala. One of the challenges that I am facing right now is school. Every day, I work after school until 2:00 AM. And sometimes I don’t really feel the energy to complete my assignments, but I always try to do my best at school. My challenges are probably similar to the challenges of my grandmother, but the difference is we acted differently now. My grandmother left school because her family was poor and they needed money. I almost left the school for financial problems at home, but I started to find solutions. I found a job after school that helped me a lot, so I don’t have to leave school.
My grandmother was very important, not just for me, but for all the people that knew her. The qualities that my family learned came from her. She taught us the strengths of never giving up and dedication. Even if she was in really hard situations, she always tried to find a solution. That’s why my family is really determined. We try to do our best in everything we do, and nothing is enough for us. We really want to be better people every day. These are qualities
my grandmother passed on to our generation. In the future, I want to accomplish my goal of becoming a businessman and teaching the future generation the qualities that my grandmother taught me.
Nothing is impossible with effort, dedication, and hope.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gustavo was born in Guatemala. He grew up in Santa Lucia Utatlan, a very beautiful and peaceful village. In his free time, he usually likes to spend time with his friends or listening to music. He enjoys drawing. In the future, he wants to study at UCLA and become a businessman. For now, he is a junior at Manual Arts High School.
My dad’s name is Oscar Ayala. He was born on Christmas Eve on a farm in El Salvador. He is fifty-two years old now. He is about five feet, seven inches, with black hair and brown eyes. He helps people with all kinds of problems, like with their families or personal struggles. He has helped me a lot throughout my life, and I appreciate it. He has been working with industrial machines ever since he came to the United States. He knows a lot about them. I think his life is interesting, and I have learned a lot from him.
When I was about eleven years old my dad would take me outside at around seven or eight at night, and we would sit on a swing that he got from El Salvador. He would tell me stories about when he was a kid and the scary things he saw and heard where he lived. We would stay outside for about an hour or more. The stories he used to tell me were pretty scary. He told me about the ghosts and creatures he saw roaming around his house. He told me a lot of stories and I enjoyed the time I spent with him. When I get older and have kids, I will pass on this tradition and tell them the same stories my dad told me.
My dad is the second oldest in the family. When he was my age, he had to do a lot of things to take care of his family, so he did not have a lot of free time. Every day when he came home from school, the first thing he had to do was change out of his school clothes. When he finished his homework, he had to work with his dad and brothers on the farm. During all of this, a civil war started, and things got tougher for him and his family. Where he lived, there was a lot of fighting between the government and the people. There were even times when the government kidnapped kids. He told me when he went to school, he would see dead bodies laying on the roads, and that scared him. He was scared to walk
anywhere because he thought someone was going to get him. One day, a soldier from his country told him he had to leave or else they would kill him. So he left and came to the United States with no money. He stayed in some abandoned apartments. Eventually he was hired for a job. He married my mom, bought a house in South Central Los Angeles, and had kids.
I grew up in Los Angeles. The hardest challenge I have faced and have overcome so far was growing up in the neighborhood I was raised in. The area I was raised in is not a good place to live. It’s a violent place. My dad and I are almost alike in that way—we both lived in a violent place. My dad and I both looked over our shoulders to check if we were safe. The way I overcame my challenge is by learning what to do and how to ignore people I don’t know. We both worked at a young age. The difference between my dad and I is that I was born in a city and he was born on a farm. Leaving
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Christopher Ayala is sixteen years old and was born in Los Angeles, California. He grew up in South Central on 43rd Street. Outside of class, he likes to sing and thinks he’s pretty good at it. He considers singing his secret talent. In the future he would like to pursue a career in mechanical engineering for the Air Force.
Christopher Ayala
A Stand for Independence
Emely Ayala
Life wasn’t easy for my grandma growing up. Mexico is very different from LA. She had to go through a lot of struggles which have helped her become the strong, independent woman she is today. She lives with my great-grandma and takes care of her even though my grandma is old as well. She earns her money by selling bleach at a local market. My grandma lives in Mexico. She took care of two children as a single mother. Life is harder for her where she lives. The roads are different—they have a lot of rocks and dirt—and with her rheumatism, it’s sometimes hard for her to walk on the streets. She is a very religious person, so she takes my great-grandma to church with her. People know her as a very sweet person who loves kids. She is chubby and cuddly. She is short with brown-hazel eyes. Her hair is brown with some white hairs.
I have many memories with my grandma. One time, we went to the supermarket and I slipped on a plastic bag on the floor and I fell on my butt. I sat there for a good three seconds, and we both started laughing. It was hilarious, and we spent the entire day laughing about it. She teased me about it all day long. This is my favorite memory with her because it reminds me how funny she is.
My grandma has lived in Mexico since she was little. Schooling is very different over there. At the time, people didn’t like Jehovah’s Witnesses because they had different beliefs. She was a Jehovah’s Witness so people would pick on her a lot for that. She had to go through a lot of bullying, which didn’t just come from other students but from teachers as well. She wasn’t allowed to say the Pledge of Allegiance because of her religion, so when she didn’t do it, the teacher would get mad and hit her to try to force her to do it. When they had parades and she didn’t want to participate,
they would hit her and yell at her. There was a point where the pressure got so bad she didn’t want to go to school anymore, but she was strong and very faithful to her religion. Even though my grandma’s family was very supportive, they were not Jehovah’s Witnesses, so they didn’t really understand the struggles she was going through. Overall, my grandma overcame this by being very independent and having her own way of thinking. She never gave up and was a very strong person.
Although it was different for my grandma and I growing up, we still have some similarities. I also grew up as a Jehovah’s Witness. I had a mean teacher who would try to force me to do the Pledge of Allegiance even though she knew my religion didn’t permit that. Just like my grandma, I had to stand up for myself. Her example helped me be more independent like her. I plan to pass on something very important that my grandma passed on to me: courage. For our future generations, it would be great if we could tell them our stories and the struggles we went through.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Emely Ayala is a citizen of the world, having moved back and forth between Mexico and the United States four times! Emely is passionate about poetry and likes to express her feelings about people and the world through her writing.
A Man Who Fought for His Family
Cristian Beltran
My grandpa is a very special person in my life. His name is Alonso and he is ninety years old. My family is from the Southern parts of El Salvador where there are huge fields. My grandpa was a farmer who taught me many things, like how to ride a bike and work in construction. He always likes to wear a hat, blue jeans, and a T-shirt. His behavior sometimes can be a bit rude, even more when he tries to teach something. I heard when he would have problems with somebody, he would solve them by fighting with a machete. People from my town were known for doing that, but my grandpa was very good at it. That’s why some people in our town used to fear him.
My family is hardworking and committed. My grandpa taught my dad how to work in construction since my dad was a child; now my dad is teaching me the same. My eldest brother and my uncles work together. Construction has been passed down through my family, and I want to learn the trade and teach it to my sons. Everyone in my family is good at something. Each little thing they do, they do it well. My family is strong because most of them have hard jobs that require a lot of physical effort. My mom has worked in a car wash for the last eight years. I look up to her because that’s a job most common among men.
My grandpa joined the war between El Salvador and Honduras in 1970 when he was thirty-three years old. The war began in 1969 when the Salvadoran military launched an attack against Honduras. There were already tensions about immigration and territories between both countries before the military attack. A soccer game between El Salvador and Honduras that would determine who was to advance to the world cup in Mexico ended in a brutal fight among the fans and started a war between both countries.
Growing up, my elder faced challenges due to poverty, like lack of access to resources. His life was harder than mine because he grew up in a very poor family and had to give up school in order to work. The nearest school in his town was still far away, and he had no money for transportation. His parents didn’t want him to study either. They made him work; plowing the soil, feeding cows, horses, and pigs. He never had time to play with toys. As a teenager he worked picking coffee. It was a hard job, carrying heavy bags filled with coffee, and his boss was very rude to him. My grandpa never got paid well for his hard work. He had to deal with people laughing at him for not knowing how to write, but he learned and overcame that obstacle. I learned from him that if somebody laughs at me because I can’t do something, I’m the only person who can overcome it and prove that I can.
When I was ten-years-old my grandpa and I went fishing. We would wake up in the early morning, when the fish were hungry and easier to catch. I remember being so cold and excited to catch my first fish. I thought it was easier because my grandpa made it look easy. When he caught a huge salmon on his first try, I was so impatient to catch my first fish that it made me forget I was cold. Even though I couldn’t catch any fish, it was a wonderful day with my grandpa. We went home, cooked a couple of the fish, and shared them with my family for lunch. They were so delicious, and whenever I eat fish I remember that day and my grandpa.
I have been living in the United States since October, 2016. My first months here were very amazing, I’ve done many things that make me feel excited. I had never ridden a roller coaster before, or tried food from different countries, like Chinese or Mexican food. My life has changed a lot,
and I’d like my grandpa to move here from El Salvador to see how great this country is. I’m pretty sure he would like some of the beautiful places here. One place I’d like to take him is Dodger Stadium. He probably doesn’t know who they are, but he used to play baseball a lot when he was young, so I think we might have a good time there.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cristian Beltran was born in El Salvador. He grew up in a little town called San Rafael Cedros. He moved to Los Angeles when he was seventeen years old. Since moving, he has several goals that he’s working towards, in order to become successful. He’d like to go to college. His family is his inspiration because they encourage him. Cristian wants the reader to know that his grandpa is a very special person in his life because he shaped Cristian’s life.
Tortillas and Lemon
Stephanie Giron
My grandmother’s name is Martina Murgas. She lived in El Salvador. When she died, she was sixty years old. I remember that she was lovely, and all the people who knew her appreciated her. She was so respectful with everybody. She had long hair and she was short. She had many sicknesses that led to her death in 2017, but she was a happy person despite her illnesses. When I was seven years old, my mom left my sister and I with my grandmother to come to the United States. I lived with my grandmother for ten years, and that’s why I remember her as a good second mother. She was loving towards all her grandchildren.
I asked my mom what my grandmother liked to do. She said my grandmother loved cooking for her family. My grandmother’s favorite place to spend time with her family was at the beach. My grandmother was in the United States for five years when she was young. The best memory my mom has with my grandmother is when they spent time together at places like the beach or at lakes, because my grandmother loved those places. My mom says that when my grandmother was young, she was very responsible with her jobs and her family. She was always careful with her children despite being young.
When my grandmother was seventeen, she lived in El Salvador. One of her challenges was being poor in her youth. She was bullied in school because she was poor, and her house looked different and not as nice. My grandmother had ten brothers and sisters all living in the same house. My mom had to take care of her siblings while her parents worked. She had to stop going to school because her parents didn’t have money, and they needed her to take care of her siblings. She got married to my grandfather around age seventeen or eighteen. She suffered abuse from my grandfather,
but they stayed married for forty years. They had five children. One of their kids died when they were just five months old. The others four kids grew up with the same poverty that my grandmother experienced as a child. Sometimes my grandmother did not have food to feed her children because my grandfather was always drunk and did not work. My grandmother had to work to have food for her and her children.
My grandmother’s oppression was poverty. She told me one time that when she was young, her family sometimes only had tortillas with lemon to eat because they didn’t have money. When my grandmother got married, she was still poor, and she gave birth to four children. Now my mom tells me stories about how their life in poverty was many years ago. My mom remembers my grandmother always being worried about money and feeding her children. My grandmother and I have several things in common. We can both be serious but friendly at the same time. We have our traditions in common, such as the food we eat during holidays or events, like birthdays. My grandmother and I both think that family is really important, and so is being polite with strangers. If I see someone on the street in the morning, I have to say “Good morning” to them because my grandmother taught me to do that. She also taught me that if a person offends me, just let it go and stay silent.
The best memories I have of my grandmother are when she cared and cooked good food for my cousins and me. I remember when she spoke with me about my future; she always wanted me to have a career and a better future. I remember how she laughed with all her grandchildren and how she loved to spend time with all of us. I am never going to forget her because she was really important to me. I am always going to remember how she
smelled and the way she looked at me. She was lovely to me always, and I loved her a lot. I remember when she was in the hospital and the doctors said she needed the breathing machine. It was so hard for me to think that she would die. I cried a lot, and I was so worried for her.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Stephanie Giron believes in human freedom and human rights. She loves protecting animals. Her favorite animal is the dog. She loves listening music and singing. Stephanie Giron was born in Santa Ana, El Salvador. She immigrated to the United States in 2014, when she was fifteen years old. The most important people for Stephanie are her family; her mother and her little sister. And she’s thankful for the opportunity that she has to study and excel in United States.
This story is about my grandfather, Arnoldo Laureano Lopez. He was born on December 2, 1941. He was born in Guatemala, he was the third son in his family, and he was born in the city of his parents. I describe my grandfather as a warrior to anyone that asks and have shared many beautiful moments with him, which I will never forget. I define him as a warrior because he is a person who has gone through many challenges in the course of his life. One of the challenges he had to face when he was little was the poverty that he was born into. His parents were very poor, and they did not have enough resources to be able to support him and his children. They tried to share food and ate the same food all the time. They also did not have new clothes and shoes, but he learned to be humble and grateful for what he had.
Thanks to the education that his parents gave him, he was able to get ahead. He is a warrior. He is a person who overcame them and learned from them. He never gave up and something that I really admire about him is that he worked very hard to help his children and wife. With the passage of time, their children began their studies, got married, and formed families. This gave Arnoldo the possibility of being a grandfather and through his grandchildren, his children gave back the love he had given them throughout his life.
My grandfather has been a fundamental part of my life from the moment I was born. He gives me his unconditional love, continually cares for me, and always gives me advice so that I can make the right decisions and avoid mistakes.
The Lopez family is made up of many members who still see each other all the time and others who no longer keep in touch. Arnoldo Laureano Lopez is my grandfather. I am very proud that he is a person full of values his parents instilled
in him since he was little. And he instilled these values in his children so my parents could instill them in me. Those values are what shape my family: respecting each other, believing in God, keeping our religion, sharing our culture, sharing our experiences, and keeping the family united—no matter the circumstances.
One of the things that I admire most about my grandfather is the love that he has for my grandmother. I admire his courage and the unconditional love he has to share with our family. I define my life and my grandfather’s life with many differences, but at the same time with many similarities. Some of the differences would be the transaction of the years and how his life changed in 1941. Life was very expensive for my grandfather. There was not enough technology or income to have a comfortable life, according to what my grandfather told me about his childhood. From very patojo (patojo means child), he worked to help his great-grandfather to earn money for the house to support him and his other brothers. He did not have the opportunity to have luxuries and buy new clothes due to the circumstances of the poverty that existed at that time.
He was able to establish his values through challenges that he experienced during his childhood: working from a very young age and not being able to pay for school. One of the experiences that he had was becoming civil defense and auxiliary mayor and helping his community. During his life, he faced a world full of challenging situations because the economic situation that his parents were going through was not easy. The values that my great-grandfather instilled in him from childhood made him value life. He is a man full of wisdom, experiences, and virtues. He is a man who repeats the thoughts of others because he always says, “We all have a voice, and we all must be respected, no matter who we
are and where we are going.”
At the age of fifteen, my grandfather had to become independent and bring money to the house to help his family, to give a better life to the children. But what my grandfather did not know was that the unemployment situation was very bad at that time, because if you did not have a good education you were not hired. Over the course of generations, our families grew, maintaining their essence, their traits, their qualities, their traditions, and their culture.
Culture is what makes a generation unique. The values that are instilled are never forgotten. I greatly admire the life of my grandfather, and also my father, thanks to their values and efforts to keep all the beautiful things that make up a family.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sindy Lopez was born in Guatemala City. She grew up in Guatemala and remembers how she spent time with her grandfather. She remembers how his favorite place was the park, and how she played with his friends. She came to Los Angeles about two years ago. She is inspired by her grandfather because he is a warrior, and he never gives up.
“Success comes in cans... meaning, I can do this, I can achieve. What she instilled in me, instilled in us, was, “Try.” You can. Whatever you want to do, achieve it. Just like our school’s motto, ‘It can be done.’”
Work is the Panacea
Donald Bakeer interviewed by Owen
Oliva
Donald Bakeer grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. In the neighborhood he grew up in, there weren’t many gun shots. You could be in the streets at night and nothing would happen to you. People felt safe. His dad is the reason behind many of Donald’s actions.
Donald Bakeer was a teacher in the 1980s. He came to South Central to teach. He taught at several schools but the main one he liked was Manual Arts High School. Donald struggled when he first came to Manual Arts because many students were lost. Those students often sat in the back, but Donald was determined to find ways to reach them. He reached them through poetry—rap music and rhymes. He believes in the power of poetry. He used poetry or rap as a way to express the way he sees things and what he’s going through. He used poetry to gain peace in the eighties because the gang wars were really violent.
Donald has interviewed over 500 gangsters over the period of eleven years. The gangsters were Crips, Bloods, and Mara Salvatrucha. In the eighties, near Manual Arts High School, if you were in a gang, you couldn’t be caught with a book. Literacy was out of style. During his time as an English teacher, he interviewed gang members to learn how they got around. One of the main things in life that motivated them was loyalty.
OO: What were your challenges as a teacher at Manual Arts?
DB: There was a very silent revolt against literacy, where they were anti-literate; they weren’t illiterate. [Students] read at a fourth or fifth-grade level, but they had taken a vow to never read another book again in their lives. The smart kids started writing to them, trying to get them to come back to class, but the gang war was inevitable. It became World War Gangs. I lost literally dozens of students. I had a wall full of students’ pictures that I had lost at Manual.
Sun City Songs was the first book we wrote at Manual Arts; it was an anthology. It was in 1987. It was empowering for the students to write these feelings. The only other way they were being expressed was in rap. Rap, in the late eighties, was forbidden on this campus. So I started a hip-hop club. These anthologies were the beginnings.
We were on the front page of LA Weekly, two editions in a row. What was going on here in Manual was planting the seeds for some dramatic changes. I had the hip-hop club here. Some of my rappers became very famous, internationally. I told them rap was poetry in the 1980’s. I started making raps to show them what those seeds were. It bred a lot of poets. In my class, I didn’t tell them we were going to write poems. I said we’re going to write rhymes, make them drop their differences.
OO: Who influenced you the most growing up?
DB: My father, without a doubt, Elmer Bakeer. My father wanted to be a writer. He wouldn’t even say it because he thought it was so long ago. He was a printer, he was the head Pressman for the local Black newspaper, The Kansas City Co., which meant he, with a crew of about twenty, put out 30,000 newspapers a week. I admired him, but he wanted me to be a writer, so he sat me down in the newsroom in the Kansas City Co. at about eight or nine years old. I became a fixture there, reading all of the incoming newspapers and the press services. By the time I was fifteen, I was a cover reporter for the newspaper. They paid five dollars an hour to cover high school and college football games. Before long, I was eighteen; I became the Sports Editor.
OO: Why did you focus a lot on Cribs?
DB: I noticed that you did spell it “Cribs,” with a “b” right? Originally, when it first started, it was Cribs. It was “Avenues in the Crib.” Avenues was a gang over behind Fremont High School and because they were Baby Avenues or Young Avenues, they were called Avenues in the Crib. There was a well known murder at the Palladium, the Leather Jacket Murder, and they called themselves cribs. The reporters thought they were calling themselves Crips because they walked a little cripple walk.
I got interested in it because I was teaching them at Horace Mann Junior High and there was a whole group of kids I could not teach, always in the back of the classroom. They were in the back of all the classrooms and nobody could teach them. It was frustrating me because I was doing so well with so many kids in the front of the classroom, but these kids were swaggering. Rebellious troublemakers refused to do what I told them, and most of them could not read. I determined I was going to teach them to read, and I realized the only thing they would respect was something about themselves. So I began asking them
questions and interviewing them, much as you’re interviewing me.
By the time I got to Manual, I had interviewed over five hundred “Cribs,” Crips, really, and Bloods, and Cholos. I became a Crip expert. I knew more about Crippin’ than the OG’s because I’d cross referenced all the stories. There was a pretty bad hepidemic of murder, gang murder, going on. I needed to address it, be a man in the community, because I live in this community.
OO: What do you want teenagers today to know about life?
DB: I think for the ones who don’t know that work is the panacea for all problems— we come to school and expect the school to teach them, but don’t realize that they have to teach themselves; they are responsible. They’re the ones who are going to suffer the consequences of how good the education was.
All I want them to know is work works Work is the only thing I know; it works all the time. Work is the key. If I had to put all the things I think I would like to say to them into that panacea, that would be it. Work your way out of your problems, if it didn’t work out, put a little more work on it. Have confidence in your ability to work things out.
OO: What was going on politically that bothered you?
DB: Politically, African Americans were second-class citizens in those days. We’re always striving to be upwardly mobile, to do better. My generation was supposed to be the generation that brought us our dreams. I come from that—Martin Luther King, I have a dream, Langston Hughes, “a dream deferred.” This dream of the African American was freedom, justice, and equality. Politically, we did not have it. We suffered years, decades, centuries of slav-
ery. After being free, we found ourselves only partially free.
Many of us were still caught up in illiteracy. Illiteracy is a form of slavery, because illiteracy leads to—in this society—criminal behaviors. If you can’t read in this society, you’ve got to steal. If you steal, you’re going to the penitentiary and you’re going to be, by virtue of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, a legal slave. The only legal slaves are those imprisoned in America. There’s a substantial number of us politically, who are still enslaved because we can’t read. We are functionally illiterate. It’s a horrible blight on the African American community. I set out to change it.
We couldn’t create the will to read among these youngsters, they didn’t want to read. I had to appeal to them in the medium they did respect—television and movies. Politically, I foresaw what was getting ready to happen in Hollywood. I saw that the politics of gangs was going to force a genre, so I wrote a gang film. When the gang film came out, it motivated the same anti-literate kids to see that reading was hip from what they saw in the movie because that was one of the scenes, several scenes. My book began to be stolen from all the libraries, I couldn’t keep them in when I read them in class. It became hip to read. Then Master Cody, a known gangster in the eighties, came out with a book. Tookie Williams, who started Crippin’, he and a brother named Raymond Washington (and they were on death row), wrote several books and he was nominated for the Nobel Prize three or four times. It changed. Now, even gangsters are reading.
Levels of violence are determined by high levels of illiteracy in this society. Where there’s high illiteracy, there’s high violence. Now, since literacy is becoming higher and higher, violence in our community has dropped. 1,100 murders a year when I was at Manual. 1,100 gang members a year. I was motivated by the politics. You can’t put it in a Democratic or Republican kind of thing. Politics is people. Politics is moving people, changing traditions, establishing acceptable, civil behaviors.
My religion says, if you see a wrong in society, you should stop that wrong with your hand. If that’s not possible, you should raise your voice against it. If that, too, is not possible, at least you should set your heart against it and realize this is the least of all. I felt like, this is my community. All these kids, they look up to me. I needed to do something. I didn’t want to be a teacher, I was a writer, but the need was so great. It became the reason I got up in the morning. I couldn’t wait to get to Manual Arts because I wasn’t afraid of the kids. They did attack quite a few teachers in those days. It was an electric environment. I got involved, we wrote anthologies, we had rap shows. There is a correlation between literacy and violence. It’s not sexy or anything, but it works.
OO: Why was poetry so important to you?
DB: My mother put poetry in me. That’s the tradition of poetry. It comes down from a poet. Song is poetry to me. I saw the power of poetry early on. To be a poet, I had to catch people so I became a more profane poet. My first book was the worst, the most profane book ever written I think, but powerful. People stopped to listen. For me, poetry is power, that’s why I give it to you. I give it to adults too; it empowers. It’s the way I slay my dragons, the way I fight the powers to be. I can write a poem that cuts through all of the President’s defenses. Poetry is something I love. And not just one genre either, I’ve learned to love several different genres of poetry. I believe poetry, music, and art are intertwined, so I do a lot with poetry and music.
OO: Was it hard making a rap song?
DB: For me it’s not that hard, but I’m trying to do something most rappers are not. I’m trying to change social behaviors for the good. I’m trying to end the gang war. I’m trying to end the murder epidemic. We’ve got the start of riots. Find catharsis for all this hatred.
MOTIVATED TO PROMOTE PEACE THROUGH LITERATURE, DONALD BAKEER WROTE, SOUTH CENTRAL LA CRIPS , AND LATER THE SCREENPLAY FOR THE FILM DURING HIS TIME AS AN EDUCATOR AT MANUAL ARTS HIGH SCHOOL. THE MOVIE POSTER CAN BE FOUND IN HIS LIBRARY, AMONG HIS OTHER PUBLICATIONS AND HONORS.
DONALD BAKEER PORTRAITS BY T SARMINA
I relate to my elder as an equal because we’ve been through so many things. We have seen loved ones die. Everybody has seen the violence in the streets and how people don’t care about each other. People think it’s fine to kill anybody. Now is not the same as it was before; you can see anybody with a book and not get beat up like before. People are trying to get out of the hood the fastest way they can. One of the similarities between Donald Bakeer and I is that we have been through the street life, not exactly by being in it, but seeing what people do to each other and why. We both see how careless the violence is around us. We should all help each other succeed as a community. Donald Bakeer and I also have our differences; he was a teacher and I want to be an engineer or a rapper and help out my community. I’ll grow up and one day, come back to the place that made me who I am.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Owen Oliva would like to to go to Cal State Long Beach and become an engineer. Ever since Owen was young, he always liked building things with Legos and fixing things at home. In Owen’s spare time, he likes to make music or write about how he feels through rap.
Every Day is a Learning Process
Morrie Notrica interviewed by Shylin Hemphill
In December of 2017, I was a junior in high school, and the things that I was most concerned about were making sure my PS4 controller was fully charged and how I was going to get those tacos I’ve been craving for the past week.
Then one day during my fifth period history class, my teacher volunteered me to interview a prominent elder from our community. In that moment, I was a little upset and was wondering why out of all the kids in the class, I was the one selected. Soon I would regret those feelings. In the end, my interview with Morrie Notrica changed my perspective and long term goals while I’m in high school.
Morrie Notrica attended Manual Arts High School in the 1940s. At age thirty, he took over his dad’s business called 32nd Street Market, and was in charge there until it closed in 2005. Morrie’s father was a first generation Greek American who came from a Greek island. Since the market was in the heart of USC, people from all over the world would shop there on an everyday basis. He’d stock the shelves with foods and ingredients familiar to his customers. On a busy week, Morrie said they’d see about 53,000 customers.
Morrie meets with his classmates from the 1940s every Friday. It used to be twenty of them, but there are now only six.
SH: How does it feel to come back to Manual Arts?
MN: It was strange coming back [here] after I got drafted in January, 1951. I went to Fort Ord, and after, I went to Camp Roberts. When we came back, I remember we were coming off the field on a truck, and I saw all the kids from Manual Arts, marching behind us. It was a good feeling, to know that you’ve got friends here. In life, you never know when you’re going to cross paths with somebody from the past. I can tell you a lot of experiences where the kids that we went to school [with], would run into each other. We still keep in touch—from 1947 to 2017. Seventy-five years? You know, it’s a lot of time.
SH: I read that you still meet with your friends and go to lunch...
MN: It all started with one of our friends at a lunch at Steven’s Steakhouse, off the freeway in Commerce. It was [an event] called the Athletes of the Ages. They were honoring the athletes that went to school at Manual Arts. I couldn’t believe the crowd of people that attended—about forty to fifty people. We started to meet once a week after. We got twenty or thirty guys there, guys that graduated way before me, some after me. This lasted a long time. Three weeks ago I went to a funeral, a kid who used to live on Santa Barbara Avenue. When we had his celebration of life, there was a whole table of Manual Arts alumni. We ended up with two tables of people that we went to school with. So, it goes on, you never know who and when you’re going to run into people, you see.
SH: What was Manual Arts like in the 1940s?
MN: It was a beautiful school. Everybody was friendly. Actually, we did have a rough crowd here. We might have had a student that was out of line or something like that, but he didn’t last long. When I tell you we still see each other—we still meet after all these years. I have a gal, know her like the
back of my hand, her name is Jule Steele. She lives across South Park and when I opened the big store I hired her daughter as a checker. I still talk to her today.
SH: How did World War II affect your community?
MN: Well, we had a curfew. You had to be off the streets at seven o’clock or after dark and that was a big thing, but you know as a kid—ten or twelve years old, you still get out.
SH: When I was reading your biography, I read that your father was actually Greek?
MN: No, he came from a Greek island. My mother was from Izmir, Turkey.
SH: So, what was that like, having your father come from there?
MS: Well, we ate like Greeks and a lot of my friends are Greek. Have you ever eaten at the Greek restaurant on Pico and Normandie? We used to go there every Friday. We’d have twenty, twenty-eight guys. I got pictures you won’t believe. We’d take the last two tables. I took my employees there. I had one of my managers retire; I threw him a party there out in that patio.
SH: What did you do for fun back in the 1940s?
MN: I used to go to the theater quite a bit back then. We had The Temple down next to John Muir [Middle School]. We had The Century on 60th and Broadway. We had The Strand on Vernon and Broadway. We had The Figueroa over here, and we used to have a kid that lived in this neighborhood, Emmett Kelly, who used to be the usher over at The Regent. It used to be right across from here, around the corner–did you know there was a theater there?
At that time it was Santa Barbara Avenue. [Martin Luther] King Boulevard didn’t come into place until the mid-sixties.
SH: Talking to you makes me feel really, really young. I was born in 2001.
MN: Well, welcome to the world. We had all these theaters, and that was the big thing. On Vernon and Vermont, around the corner was Skateland. That was a going place. Across the street was the Southwest Wave—that was a local newspaper in this community.
SH: What was the racial diversity at Manual Arts like in the 1940s?
MN: We were integrated here. We were integrated, but we didn’t have the problems they had at John C. Fremont High School. You never saw Black men there until the 1950s. In 1951, there were fights and all that stuff there—we never had that.
SH: So going back to something that you told me earlier,what were the factors of your father’s move to America? What made him come to America and leave his native place?
MN: He came here in the 20s. When his brother was born, [the island] was in Turkish possession. When his brother came here, he went to work, got married, and he brought my dad over. Then the two of them worked. Then, they brought the third brother over. Now, his brother, my uncle, had four boys and a daughter. They bought a home in 1932, on Fourth Ave and Vernon, in Leimert Park. What do you think they paid for the house? $3,900. It was for nothing.
SH: Who influenced you most growing up?
MN: Every day was a learning process... especially when I got to the store.
SH: What impact did war have on you?
MN: The Korean War broke out in June, 1950, and by January, 1951, I got drafted. In fact, everybody in our class got drafted.
SH: Getting drafted, how does that feel? I don’t want to say I would never have that experience, but you know, just try to put it in perspective for me.
MN: I will give you some fatherly advice. Go to school, stay in school. If you can get into USC, go and stay there. Go to school, stay there, and don’t leave.
SH: What is some advice you would give a teen today?
MN: Same thing I just told you. [...] You ever listen to Larry Elder on the radio?
SH: No sir…
MN: Larry Elder, I used to listen to him going home at night. He went to Crenshaw High School. When I went to school, there was no Crenshaw High School. He’s on national radio, plus television. Very smart, very articulate. I used to listen to him every night. By listening to different people you get that much smarter, I guess.
SH: Everything is a learning experience [...] how did you stay focused during younger days?
MN: My father was pretty strict, you know, and even though he was strict, he kept us under control. He didn’t drink, he didn’t smoke. I didn’t drink, I didn’t smoke. My mother smoked and she got hell for it, but you know, she stayed home and made home-cooked meals and all that stuff. We lived pretty conservatively.
Being a teen in today’s time, it is so easy to take all of the luxuries of everyday life for granted. When given the opportunity to speak with someone who was raised in a different time, it makes one appreciate life in the 21st century. Since my conversation with Morrie, my perspective on a lot of different things has changed.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shylin Hemphill, born in Los Angeles, California, is a sixteen-year-old in the eleventh grade. He lives with his father. He loves playing basketball and watching the NBA whenever he has the time to. Shylin’s favorite things to do include studying, reading about Black history, and eating his favorite kinds of food. In the future, Shylin wants to be someone who can contribute to his community, and the world, in a major way through an authoritative role.
MORRIE NOTRICA PORTRAITS BY JACKIE ROSAS
Roller Derby Complexions
Denice Todd interviewed by Aniyah Turner
“I experienced my fifteen minutes of fame when I skated in the roller derby.”
Denice Todd graduated from Manual Arts High School, class of 1971. Being a very active and outgoing student, she played a big role in the community and in the school. She and a few of her classmates started the girls’ track team. She was also a part of the Manual Arts cheer team, similar to myself. After high school, she attended junior college but didn’t graduate because she joined the roller derby with the Los Angeles Thunderbirds for about five to six years. During that time, she received her fifteen minutes of fame. After the roller derby she started to work for the county in the Department of Social Services. She got promoted to the Sheriff’s Department doing administration work. After thirty-four years, she is now retired.
The way she spoke reminded me of my grandma. She even has a similar light complexion and short curly hair like my grandma.
AT: I’m Aniyah Turner, I’m sixteen years old, and I’m a junior. I’m in ROTC, I do cheer, [and] I’m the captain [of] the drill team. I do a lot of stuff around the school, and I’m with 826LA to interview you and find out more things about you.
DT: I’m happy to be here. My name is Denice Todd. I attended Manual, and I graduated in 1971.
AT: I noticed that you worked for the LA County Sheriff’s Department as an administrator. I want to know what made you work with them? What influenced you to do the things you did with them?
DT: I started working for the county with the Department of Social Services and once you begin within the county, you can [be] promote[d] to different positions and… different locations. I always wanted to be in law enforcement…. [O]nce I got into the county, I worked my way up to the Sheriff’s Department. There was a position that became open, it was a Correctional Officer, and they changed the position at the time to Custody Assistant. So I took the test and transferred in as a Custody Assistant[,] … I did that for two years and then … went into administration. I took the exam for Deputy Sheriff, but I didn’t pass it. It was good for me because there were some things I didn’t necessarily agree with.
AT: That’s something like me, because when I grow up, I said I always wanted to do law enforcement, too, like become a lawyer…. [My] mind is kind of all over the place with high school but that’s the main thing on my list. And it caught my attention.
AT: When I read what you said about how it takes a village to raise a child, and that you grew up in LA, I had two questions; what was your worst memory growing up in LA?
DT: I wrote several things that I remembered growing up. The Watts Riots—I was
young, so I didn’t really understand back then where Watts was because I always lived by USC, in the USC area. Watts is not far, but I was afraid that the people were close. But they were on Central and 54th, so they were all over. So I was afraid of that. The Baldwin Hills dam burst. I don’t know if you knew but Baldwin Hills had a dam. It’s still there, but it’s grassed in and everything…. I was afraid. I was like, “Mommy we need to go to the roof” because I didn’t know how far the water would come. That really scared me, and in 1970, I was still in high school. There was a song, “Day after day more people come to LA, don’t tell everybody because the place is slippin’ away.” There was a time and a place and a date they had said that Los Angeles was going to break off into the ocean, and you remember things like that. I specifically remember sitting in the chair at home waiting for LA to crack off into the ocean. So those were three memories that stick out in my mind.
AT: And, on a happier note, what were your best memories in LA?
DT: The 1984 Olympics when they came to the city. It was really a good time for the city because people came together, united together. I got to see the torch, it went down Crenshaw, so we knew it was coming. We all lined up in the street… everyone…. I watched the torch go down Crenshaw, then I watched it go down Exposition because I live walking distance from Exposition Park, which is where most of the events were held.
AT: I read that you had an auntie or family member go into the roller derby. How did the roller derby influence your life?
DT: I experienced my fifteen minutes of fame when I skated roller derby. My aunt skated professionally. It was interesting to see her skate, but that’s not what influenced me to skate. There was a young man who went to Manual and we would meet each morning on the corner. I walked from where I live to school and we met on 39th
every morning and went to school. I didn’t like him then really. Several years later, he graduated. He was a senior. He was over a year before me, he started skating roller derby, and he grew a big natural afro, and he was cute...I said, “Oh, I think I wanna skate.” So, I skated. We’re great friends today. It was a lot of fun. I was eighteen years old when I started skating. So don’t do what I did.
AT: Did you attend college?
DT: ...I attended West Los Angeles College when I left Manual. I dropped out of college to skate roller derby which was not necessarily the best thing, but it was fun at the time.…I skated for about six years. [O]nce I stopped skating, I started working….then I’d go to college and take classes…. I never got a degree, but I’d go and take classes I was interested in.
AT: Was it law enforcement classes that you took?
DT: No, I took singing and math and computer classes, but not law enforcement.
AT: There’s a lot going on in the United States right now and everybody has their different opinions on President Donald Trump. I want to know about your opinion; how do you feel about what’s going on?
DT: It frightens me, and it infuriates me. I look at the news quite often, and in my opinion, he’s not mentally fit to be a president. I think that he’s selfish. Anytime you put a nation at risk for your own personal gain, it’s crazy. I try to stay motivated. I look at the news as long as I can, and then I turn it off, but I want to stay informed as to what he’s doing. Clearly, to me, he’s not fit to be the president. I cannot wait until the elections. I voice my opinion. I’m a Facebook user and I try to use it wisely, and I say vote smart.
Recently, they had the Empowerment Congress at USC, Bovard Auditorium, and they had six candidates for Governor. I
wasn’t into politics, I hated politics, but this makes you pay attention. If you pay attention, you better know what you’re doing. I attended the congress and I listened to the six candidates. I’m trying to tell everybody, if this is affecting you, and it is, then you need to pay attention, and you really need to vote and vote smart. That’s how he has affected me.
AT: Who influenced you growing up and how did they influence you?
DT: My mother. I had an old-fashioned mommy. She didn’t complete school, but she was very wise, and my dad too. They could see things I couldn’t see. I was young and I wasn’t paying attention, but my mother and my father would always encourage me to do better than they did.
AT: If you could change anything in the past, what would it be and why?
DT: I read a lot as a child. My father would take me to the library. Every week I’d get a bunch of books. They weren’t hard to read, but I’d get through all the books, and he’d take me back the next week and I’d get more books. I stopped reading and because of that I feel that I could’ve been a little more intelligent because people who read know a lot. I really regret not reading.
AT: Did you have siblings, were you an older sibling, younger sibling? Can you talk a little bit about family?
DT: Years ago, I was given away as a child. I have seven siblings and I was third in line. I had two older brothers, then it was me, then I had four younger sisters and several more brothers. My mother was young, so I was given away. I didn’t meet my siblings until I was in my twenties. There are three of us remaining. Three girls remaining, we’ve lost everyone else… as far as growing up with siblings, I didn’t grow up with my siblings.
AT: Do you see yourself staying here in Los Angeles? In the neighborhood?
DT: I moved into my house when I was in
fifth grade. I had seriously contemplated relocating because I’ve lived there all my life. I said before, “I want to live in a new set of walls before I die.” That’s what I said, and I’m a Christian, so I began praying about it years ago. Where shall I go? Shall I sell? My mother told me when I was very young, she said, “Don’t sell the house.” So when she passed in ‘92, I put the house on the market, but I decided to take it off. I’d been praying about moving, praying about selling, and I finally received an answer. It’s been years.
My grandson is in the 7th grade and I’m the sole support for him. You know my daughter works, and I’m retired so I take him to school or pick him up and so my answer was “You need to be here to be support for him,” and with that, I started moving forward. I said, “I’m not gonna sell my house,” also because gentrification. The neighborhood is changing. When I moved [to that house] years ago, the makeup of the neighborhood was Caucasian, we had an Asian community, we had Blacks. Everyone lived in the neighborhood, and it was friendlier and everyone knew everyone. The neighborhood is changing again, but people don’t talk.
So I’ve decided to stay. I had my house painted, so I said okay, I’ll just stay there and improve it. They’re offering a lot of money, but see once you move out, it’ll be so expensive you won’t be able to move back in. I can’t say you won’t, but it’s more likely that you won’t be able to move back in because the rent is so expensive. [...] I’m the only one on the street that’s lived there the longest. Everyone has moved out or passed away. They’ve torn down two houses and built student housing on my street. They want my house, but I’m good.
AT: Do you have any advice for generations after you?
DT: Always have the phone in hand. We’re losing that touch. I’m guilty. I pick up the phone and text before I call, I need to change that. We’re losing touch with people. We don’t call, we don’t visit. When I was a child we’d go and visit our
cousin or visit our friends. It was boring for me then. We’d sit on the porch and the adults would talk and it was a big thing back in the 1960s and the 1950s. People would get together and bring little snacks and stuff. The kids would be running in the room and the children in the neighborhood would play together. Everybody was raising everybody else’s child.
AT: What motivated you to become so involved?
DT: Going back to a conversation I had with my friend the other day, I told her that I was insecure [growing up]. I am still insecure. I think [being involved] compensated for my insecurities. Comedians onstage, a lot of them are insecure or introverted. And I enjoy that, but I enjoy being alone too. So I think that’s what it was. I was student body officer, I was Girl’s League President. I was a 10th grade rep, 11th grade rep, I did all of that, stood in front of people and spoke. I believe in being transparent because even if you think you tell too much about yourself, you never know what might help a person. So I don’t mind sharing. I like to be transparent.
I feel like we have so much in common. Denice always wanted to be in law en forcement and that is something I always wanted to do, even as a child. She had me thinking if that’s something I would want to pursue as a career. She was a part of a lot of clubs and groups at school and so am I. We were both on cheer team and student body leaders.
Her responses to me asking her about living in California and Donald Trump all sounded like things I had heard before from my mother and grandma. California is expensive, and I hear from my mom that LA is a hard place to live in. When she spoke on following her dreams, dropping out of college, and joining the roller derby, it showed how she didn’t let anything affect her dreams and goals in life. I learned from Denice to always follow my dreams. Don’t ever allow anyone to stop you from doing what you desire.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Aniyah Turner was born in Lynwood, California, but she was raised in Los Angeles. She is inspired by her mother to use the best of her abilities in the things she loves most: cheerleading, dancing, and JROTC. While all she knows is Estrella Avenue, she is a leader to all in her community and values her education.
DENISE TODD PORTRAITS
BY MARISABEL PEREZ
KEN BELL TEACHING A CLASS ON LAW AT WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL,
FOR TEN YEARS.
THROUGH HIS WORK WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT, KEN BELL WORKED WITH COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT LOS ANGELES, INCLUDING THOSE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD HE GREW UP IN.
DENICE TODD, ROLLER DERBYIST FOR THE LA THUNDERBIRDS, BEFORE A MATCH AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN IN NEW YORK.
THE BEGINNING OF DENICE TODD’S LONGTERM CAREER AS AN ADMINISTRATOR IN THE LA COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT.
WHERE HE WAS AN EDUCATOR
A Big Presence
Kenneth Bell interviewed by Nate Gutierrez
Kenneth Bell is a veteran of law enforcement, having worked twenty-one years with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department before moving to the Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation. In total, he worked for thirtysix years in the profession. Currently, he is vice president of the Duarte Unified School District Board of Education. He has been on the school board for twenty-nine years. He also runs a mentoring program. Kenneth Bell was also the subject of a top-rated television documentary on BET called “American Gangster.”
He has three brothers and a sister who went to Manual Arts High School. Growing up, Kenneth Bell wanted to be somebody, but he wasn’t sure where he wanted to go. He was a really good football player—he even got recruited by USC. Unfortunately, he was not aware of the scholarship requirements, so he was not able to go. He didn’t consider himself a popular kid at school until everybody told him to run for vice president of his class. He said, “High school was a very exciting time for me. It was the one place I felt like I truly belonged.” Later in his life, he also witnessed full force rioting in Los Angeles while he was in law enforcement. He’s worked every neighborhood in Los Angeles.
KB: My name is Ken Bell and I’m a proud alumni of Manual Arts High School, class of 1962.
NG: What was it like, growing up in South Central?
KB: We lived in the housing projects. There were eight of us, a strong mom, and a really strong father. He worked two jobs so he didn’t have a lot of time to play around with us; he had his own business. He was a barber and he had a barber shop, a beauty shop. I had a chance to see all different kinds of people from different societies; ministers, young and old, everybody went to the barbershop to get a haircut.
I didn’t have that idle time to kick-it in the neighborhood, I used that to go down [to the barber shop], sweep the floors, clean the mirrors, run errands. I hated it in the sense that I couldn’t run around with some of my buddies, but it was good training.
NG: What influenced you the most growing up, and what lessons did you learn from it?
KB: I’ll have to go back to my dad. It was called Bell Brothers Barber & Beauty Shop. His two other brothers worked there and my mom was a beautician, so I got a chance to see family working. I knew haircuts at that time were $1.25. I could start counting the money, and he’d work all day long, and I thought, “Damn, he didn’t even make that much money!”
That was the way society was, but I saw the value of hard work, honest men, honest people and for me to see that, it was really something I’ve carried with me. You can do a good job, something you feel can move you forward in life. You didn’t have time to goof around. You just had to get out there and get it, stick to whatever project you were working with.
NG: What were your thoughts when you found out you couldn’t go to USC?
KB: I was pissed off that I should have had a better counseling situation. I’m here, one
of the better players. “Let’s see if this kid can go to a university,” but I never got that kind of guidance, and I wasn’t the only one! Perry Parks. Everybody wanted him. He was in the same situation. I felt bad because my parents—they had been busy raising their kids—they didn’t know how to do it.
I felt a little better. Mike Garrett and I—we grew up around each other, and he was like the top football player, went to USC, the Heisman Trophy winner—I mean everything! I saw him one day in downtown, he was working, and I was working and playing football. He told me how much he appreciated me and thought I was a great guy. I didn’t get a chance to do some of the things he did, but he thought I made a pretty good person out of myself, regardless of the fact I didn’t [get into] football or become a big-time football player. I’m probably better off; I probably would’ve gotten off track! By me being in law enforcement and getting… a structure in my life. I’m where I should be—let’s just say that!
NG: What was your best memory growing up in LA?
KB: Coming to Manual Arts High School. Even if I was sick, I got up and came to school. This is where the girls were, this is where athletics were, this [is] the community I considered… even today there’s alumni that…still stay in touch. This is one of the richest experiences I’ve ever had in my whole life…
Matter of fact, the wife I’m married to— we’ll be celebrating our fiftieth wedding anniversary this year—I met her here. Summer school. She went to Jefferson. I had a girlfriend also and she had her boyfriend, but we became friends… we ended up going to junior college together and I still had a girlfriend, she had her boyfriend. But we became very good friends… I said to myself, “Man I like this girl.” The best part about the fact is that this school or the environment ... it allowed me to have some real memorable times… it will always be one of my favorites.
NG: What was your worst memory?
KB: There were some neighborhood gangs—but I wasn’t in the gang! Matter of fact, I was far, far away from being a gang member. There was a guy who was one of the gang members. I don’t know what happened, but he kind of said something to me and I felt like I was disrespected, and this was right before school started. He wanted to fight. I fired up on the dude, hit him, knocked him down. He got all his gang member dudes to get me.
At that time, if the coach or any of those teachers came, everybody ran. I ran like everybody else, but the rest of that day they kept pointing, “We gon’ get you after school!” I tried to get some friends of mine. I said, “I need some backup after school, can you help me?” And I was so fortunate. There was a coach, I guess he heard about it. He ended up pulling me in near the end of school, and he said, “I heard you was in a fight. I’m gon’ let you go home early.” I could’ve kissed that dude! He let me out the gate, I ran all the way home. It was a Friday—and it dissipated over the whole weekend. They pointed at me a little bit, but [there were] no more problems.
That was the worst. I thought my world had come to an end because I figured, “Man, I’m gonna get beat up, killed...” They didn’t think about shooting that much back then, maybe stabbed, but that was a bad day, but a good day!
NG: What advice would you share with a young Toiler about the importance of hard work and giving back?
KB: Start visualizing yourself outside of high school and in college. What would you like to do, what would you like to see? Don’t just stay stuck in that little time zone. Make your dreams realistic. Don’t say, “I’m gonna be a rapper”—I’m not saying rapping is bad, but I’m saying don’t say that’s all it is, because you’ll start spending all your time writing a rap song but, you haven’t done anything else.
Pull out a book or magazine that has the top ten songs or rappers in the last five to ten years and see where those top ten peo-
ple are today. Many of them have not done well in life. Very few can get by. So it’s important to be serious about what you do because the world is serious, life is serious.
NG: Between your two roles in law enforcement, where do you feel you left more of an impact and in what ways?
KB: Thirty six years in the police, I worked in jails, so I had to learn how to communicate. You don’t have a gun, so you have to learn how to communicate with people. If a dude didn’t want to come out from his cell, and if he just sat down and he has a razor blade in his hand—I had to learn how to communicate. And I communicate well!
Then I ended up in patrol. When I first started working patrol they didn’t let two Black officers ride together. It was one of those things they said, “No! Don’t put two Black guys together!” This was in the early sixties. No women, no females in patrol. That was not going to happen.
I ended up being in the first gang unit in LA County. I worked with the only minority gang unit probably ever in LA County Sheriff’s. I got a chance to really work with some guys who were really unique, so I learned how to work in an environment.
I’ll tell you the area that really helped. They wanted a teacher, a policeman to be a teacher… I got my little teaching degree and I said, “I’m gonna try it,” and I ended up being a teacher at Washington High School for ten years. It was the best thing that ever happened. Not only was I a teacher, they asked me to coach the football team. I was a policeman in the morning, I taught two classes, did my little patrol, went to the football field and I started coaching. I’m seeing kids in the morning, afternoon, locking people up, coming back out to coach. I got such a rich, diverse experience working with young people that it was just almost unnatural.
In the latter part of my career, the District Attorney’s office, I found out they were hiring. It was a job where I could wear a suit and tie everyday and I ended up assisting with all cases. I got a chance to
meet a lot of people but all my training and communication in teaching gave me the richest experience. Working with young people—it wasn’t always just taking people to jail—I got a chance to meet a lot of great kids.
I had a guy who called me up. Six months ago I arrested—I’ll just say Jimmy—for a murder that he committed, and he called me up, told me his name, “Yeah, you put me in jail! I want to thank you for arresting me ‘cus I know I would’ve killed a lot more people, and I know I’d probably be dead, myself.” He told me where he lives and said, “Come by and see me.” I haven’t gone over there yet! But for him to call me, after spending twenty-five years in prison—Where are you going to get that? You can’t buy that!
It was the richest experience for me to be able to communicate with God. Most of the cases I work—I don’t wanna mention names, but there are some rich experiences I’ve had with a lot of people, and it’s been probably almost a dream career. I’m not saying it like I’m famous, but for me. You know how I was telling you to find something you like? When I found out that I like to work with people, my whole world opened up, and God put me in teaching. I teach cadettes in classes and it’s amazing. I’d almost do it for free! I don’t wanna tell them that or else they’d quit paying me! I love it, I love it!
At my church on 52nd and Hoover, I was the Youth Director for twenty-five years. God gave me a long strand of dealing with young people, and I found where my niche was in life. When you find it, roll with it. God bless you for it.
NG: What types of experiences do you go through in your family that motivate you to keep going in life?
KB: I was the third child out of eight, so I didn’t get a lot of attention. I became self-sufficient. My parents didn’t have to look after me. That might be why they didn’t look at my educational direction because they figured, “He’ll figure it out, he always does.” My older brother, he got the first car, and I got the car he tore up.
KENNETH BELL PORTRAITS BY JACKIE ROSAS
He got the first bike, I got his old one and fixed it up. He would buy stuff, and, he didn’t know, but he would go to work, and I would take his clothes; he had really nice stuff. I remember one day he found out I was taking his clothes. He came up here, brought my own clothes, undressed me at this school! I’m walking around in these nice slacks, this nice sweater; then they saw me later on with all my old rag-tag stuff on!
I never did get that extra attention, but it made me hungry, it made me hustle. That same brother, I helped him in his career. When he ended up wanting to be a school police officer I helped him through the academy, I showed him how to write reports. Even after he started working at Henry Clay and other schools, I helped him with the reports to testify in court. By that time, I’d gotten pretty good about putting cases together. The things I thought I missed, it really made me strong, but I did feel like I was left out. The third kid, the one in the picture that’s always trying to get in there and nobody sees.
NG: Do you have any advice you would like to give?
KB: I really want to emphasize: Use. These. Moments. When you leave here, it’s all going to change. You ain’t gonna have no warm, fuzzy time. Use this time and get real serious about a direction; get real serious about who you’re going to be… you might even have to shake a friend or two—you might!
You only have a few choices. The way society is right now, America is in a whole different profile. I didn’t have all that pressure on me like you have. The police would knock us around but they didn’t kill us. For me to say that for the thirty-six years I was in there, I’m proud I never had to do that kind of stuff, never had to stop some guys from doing it.
Walking in here, it’s like wow. To see where the parking lot it is—that was grass. We could lay out there and kick-it. It was all grass. When I look at my existence then, it was almost like a romanticized movie.
Even the gangs back then, the Gladiators, the Second Saints...that was nowhere near what the pressure is now. There were no guns, you’d get stabbed with a knife. Back then you had to open up a beer with a beer can opener that has a little hook on it. They would sometimes cut you with that. It was nowhere near the kind of pressure you have. But you also have an opportunity to expand your horizons, go places and do other things—explore! Let your mind expand in what you can do and how you can do it.
I did all this stuff because I knew how to communicate, I knew how to talk to people and people don’t mind talking to me. The foundation was laid a long time ago. In my career, as far as I’m concerned, I never looked at it as I was going to work. I was just doing something I got paid for, and I enjoyed it. I did retire because I got sick; I worked too long, I worked too hard. They retired me because I had tremendously high blood pressure. I take medicine three times a day because I worked; I didn’t know what taking off time was, I worked all the time, then I ended up with cancer and so I had to retire. I’d probably still be working, but thank God. I went through all of the physical stuff because I was one of those driven guys.
Would I trade it? Probably some of it, I would. The amount of young men, young ladies I’ve seen dead. I would have bad dreams. There’s a lot of pressure, a lot of stuff you have to do by yourself, especially as a DA Investigator.
I had to get subpoenas and subpoena the whole Death Row record group. I had to go to a studio with guards that weren’t going to let you in. How do you think I got subpoenas on all those dudes, Soog and all of them? I called a lawyer and said, “I got a subpoena on your boys. Now, I can hang out at the studio, I can catch you at the show, Grammys, all that stuff. Whatever you want me to do! But I’m trying to do it where we won’t create a problem.” He said, “I’ll give you a call.” “Hey, Mr. Bell you got this call from this dude at the studio. He wants you to go to his apartment in West LA.” I get there with all of them
sitting on the couch. “What kind of gun you get there, man?” I said, “I got a little ninety—” “I got one of them too!” “I know you do, Soog!” I made it out easy because we communicated.
In the trial, I had to take all the witnesses. I had special arrangements because there were witnesses getting threatened. I had one girl that saw it all and told everything, and they gave her a $30,000 contract that shot her out of town—gone. Other people, there were two kids that were on a swing that could’ve told and saw. But I just couldn’t put them, eight year olds, I just couldn’t bring them in. They had these guys playing basketball. I said, “They don’t wanna talk. Why would I want to put these beggars in.”
You just have to make decisions and communicate with people. The other thing is I’m still around. My church is on 52nd and Hoover, I’m always around. I can’t hide from people. They could probably get me if they wanted to. I used to have a thing with my kids. We’d go to the store and if there was a spot where I see some gang members that know me, we wouldn’t hook up until I came out. They might have just said what’s up but I didn’t want them to see my kids…I didn’t want my kids to have to go through anything. I couldn’t take that chance.
All this started because I was in Manual Arts. Focus on education, use this environment here. You can do anything you want to do. When I ended up focusing, I did well. You do the same thing.
I just want you to know I’m proud of you, and I want to make sure you stay on the straight and narrow. Don’t let anybody— don’t turn around, don’t hesitate. You gotta push forward, ok? And be somebody. You gotta be somebody in order for them to select you. You gotta be somebody, something about you that people like. Nurture that and move on with it. You’ll be surprised at how far you’ll go.
I think me and the elder I interviewed have a lot in common such as struggling in school and in life. We also both played football in high school. One important thing I learned from my elder was that you can do anything you put your mind to, you just have to believe. Another lesson I learned from this interview is to enjoy your young life, because once you’re an adult, things get serious. I also learned about how much you will need to communicate in or der to make it far in life. I’m going to take this interview with me in my future, for when things get hard in life, and I’ll look back when I need life lessons and motiva tion to keep going.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nathaniel “Nate” Gutierrez was born in Lancaster, California, but spent most of his childhood in Compton. Nate’s journey is marked by struggle and perseverance. He values staying on track in life, acting as a leader and being independent.
“You can recognize my grandpa by his turquoise car and big rims, listening to Biggie or Tupac, while driving down Adams, all day, every day.
I’m taller than him but his knowledge makes him feel bigger to all people.” Snapshots
Once a Toiler, Always a Toiler
Myra Porter-Robertson interviewed by Alexa Velez
Myra Porter-Robertson volunteers as the Alumni Liaison for Manual Arts High School. You’ll know it’s her because she’ll have her purple and grey Toiler gear on. Her husband, Derrick, will probably be walking next to her. He is her highschool sweetheart and they’ve been together since her junior year, when they were both young Toilers. History is the most important thing to Myra. She holds all of Manual Arts history and is happy to tell you all about it.
Myra was born in 1956 and is sixtytwo years old. Her mother was a single parent and she raised Myra and her siblings on her own. They had to move around a lot. She came to Los Angeles when she was four years old, from Dallas, Texas. It seemed like every time they would settle in one place, the owner would decide to sell the place and they would have to move some-where else. She says it didn’t affect her much because, “When you’re a kid, you have to deal with things no matter how hard they are.”
Her family eventually moved near Manual Arts. She attended Menlo Elementary School at that time, just a few blocks away from the high school. She felt happy every time she heard their marching band play. She could hear them from her elementary school. When her oldest sister went to Manual Arts, she would always take Myra to football games. Then in tenth grade, Myra became a Toiler.
Myra and her sister would design their own clothes when they were younger. That’s how she became interested in pursuing her dream as a designer. She took sewing classes at Manual in the early 1970s. After graduating, Myra attended college to become a dietician. Along the way her plans changed, and later, she began working for the U.S. Postal Service. She prayed to get that job, but after many years of working there, she now says, “Be careful what you wish for!” Half of her family worked there, too. She followed in their footsteps, just like she did when she was younger.
Almost fifty years later, Manual Arts no longer has a sewing class. Classes like cooking, sewing, and woodshop are gone. Myra has seen those changes throughout the years— from outside campus on her way home, or in the halls when she visits the school. There are twenty-three couples that are still together from her graduating class. Her son Myron graduated from Manual Arts in 1996. She still lives nearby and is still connected to the school and its changing history.
AV: Good afternoon, my name is Alexa. I’m doing this for the Young Authors’ Book Project for my history class and I’ll be asking you some questions.
MP: I’m Myra Porter-Robertson. I’m an alumna from the class of 1973.
AV: Why did you and your family move around a lot? How did it make you feel and did it affect you in any way?
MP: Well, my mom was a single mom, so we rented houses. It seemed like every time we would move into one place the owner would want to sell the property. Then we would have to move, so we just moved to different areas. It allowed me to go to different schools. I mean, when you’re a child whatever you’re dealt is how you deal with it, so it wasn’t like it affected me. In fact, I ended up going to Menlo [Elementary] twice.
AV: So, it didn’t really bother you at all?
MP: I came here when I was four years old. My mom moved to California when I was two and left me with her husband’s aunt who was supposed to be coming to California soon. She was going to bring me here, but that never happened. I ended up staying there for two more years. My mom had to actually come and kidnap me. So with me being away from the family, even though I was so young…wherever I was with my family was fine.
AV: How did you meet your soulmate? How did you know he was going to be your soulmate?
MP: I didn’t know at the time. I saw what I wanted, and I asked one of his friends to
introduce me to him. The guy’s name is Maurice, and we’re still close friends now. He introduced me to [Derrick] and the rest is history.
AV: What are the struggles that you had to go through in a relationship of forty-five years?
MP: Well, we’ve been through all kinds of things. We were almost homeless twice due to situations with mortgage, and refinancing, and getting a bad loan. But you know, through it all we know we loved each other and we’re just committed to make it work. True to our vows—’til death do us part. You just stick it out and make it work. We’re both still like teenagers. People are like, “How do you stay together for so long?” We’re friends.You have to be friends. You have to be committed and so whatever life throws at you, you try to work it out together. As long as you’re working it out together, it can work out.
AV: What were you like when you were at Manual Arts?
MP: I was basically an average student. I had a lot of friends, but I didn’t deal with cliques. I moved around to different groups, so that’s why I know so many people. I was never the type of person who had to be with the same four or five people. My husband played football, he ran track, and I was in pep club and drill team, so I kept busy. I have friends who I grew up with in the neighborhood. We’re all still friends today. I was involved in my church so I had a lot of friends there, too. Some of them also went to Manual. My siblings all went to Manual Arts, too. I bleed purple.
I’d been wanting to go to Manual since elementary school. From Menlo Avenue, I
could hear the band playing. Sometimes I got to go to the games with my older siblings. My sister graduated in 1969— Brenda Porter. She’s just five years older than me. I used to hang with the big girls and go to parties and stuff with her. I got a lot of life experiences through my older siblings. I had a brother who graduated in ‘64, Raymond Porter, and my other brother, Samuel Porter, graduated in ‘65. He was also a cheerleader. He was a Yell King for his year. Basically, Manual Arts is in my blood.
My son also came here and graduated in ‘96. He was instrumental in getting the music program back at Manual Arts. He wanted to be a music major. At first, he wanted to go Hollywood High, and I was like, “No, you need to go to Manual, it’s right down the street!” So he came here and since they didn’t have a music program, he used to bring his drum up and play during the games in the bleachers. He got a little drum squad together and then the school was like, “Okay, we need the music program back.” Then they got the music program back.
AV: What was Manual Arts like back in the 1970s?
MP: With each decade, Manual Arts has changed ethnically. When we were here, it was basically all African American students. We had Latino, Asian, Caucasian students here, so it was a mix, but the majority of the population was Black. However, there wasn’t any racial divide. We were all just family, so we all got along. Every now and then, a gang would try to infiltrate the school, but the football players wasn’t having it.
From my graduating class, we have three
couples that are still together. That shows you how bonded we were as a Toiler family, we had a lot of Toiler pride. We loved our school, we took care of each other. Every school got a few little mishaps with this person liking this other person’s boyfriend, so they get into it, but at the end of the day, they were back to being friends. It wasn’t like now. Back then you had your fists, you fought, you pulled some hair, then the next week you were back to being buddies.
It’s a lot different now. There’s not much school pride here, and that’s what I try to do—bring awareness to the school about its history because it’s important. If you don’t know where you’ve come from or who was here before you, or what they did, then you have no pride in what you have. For example, the Wall of Honor downstairs [in the Main Building]—students just pass by that wall. There are important names on the wall, but students don’t have any connection. They don’t know why these people are there. That’s why I spearheaded the centennial for this school in 2010 and brought awareness to who those people were. I like finding out more and more about the history of Manual Arts because that gives me a lot of pride, too. I try to make sure that it continues—the legacy continues. There’s a rich legacy here and most people don’t even know it. They don’t know what they actually have.
AV: Did you ever attend college? If you did, what college or university?
MP: Right after high school, I went to an occupational center on Washington Boulevard. I was going to be a dietician, but shortly after I enrolled there, I found out I was pregnant with my daughter. Me and Derrick were engaged and were gonna wait until after college to get married, but that didn’t work out. We got married the year after we graduated, February 9th, 1974, and a couple of months later, my daughter was born. We’ve been a family since. After a couple of years, I went to LA City College. I can’t even remember what I was gonna do then, but my daughter was two, and I was gonna try to get her into the childcare there while I went to school, but
that didn’t work out.
AV: What inspired you to design clothes? Did you ever think of having a clothing line?
MP: Yeah, I did. That was one of my goals when I was here at school. I used to make a lot of my clothes. Me and my sister both used to make our clothes. As a matter of fact, my last semester here was very domestic. I had two power sewing classes. I had a crochet class. There was a guy who had a cleaners near my house–I remember talking to him one day about being a designer and he was like, “There’s no money in that, Black people don’t do that.” So that burst my bubble. I never did pursue it after that. It’s bad when you let somebody’s opinion cloud your judgement or stray you away from what you wanna do. Whatever it is that you have in your heart and your mind, you just go ahead and pursue it. No matter what people say or how they feel about it. It’s just their opinion. At sixteen or seventeen years old, I wasn’t thinking that way, so there’s a little tip for you.
I believe a quality Myra and I share is our courage. During our interview, we bonded and laughed a lot. She shared a lot about herself and her family. She is the first person I’ve ever interviewed. It was scary at first, but she made it easier by making me feel like I was doing something brave. In ten years, that’s how I want people to remember me. I want them to remember my bravery, my smile, and how strong I am. Especially how strong I am because I’ve struggled through a lot. I want people to understand how hard I try to keep going.
I chose to interview Myra because she is smart, interesting, and brave. She has also dealt with challenges, but has managed to get back up. She inspired me, not only with her knowledge about Manual Arts, but with the last advice she gave me: “I wish I could have taken this advice myself when I was your age...when you dream and want to be something good in life, you go for it. You cannot let anyone stop you from that.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alexa Velez is passionate about eating a lot and bumping music. She was born in Los Angeles, California. Alexa was raised in South Central on 54th and Vermont. Most people don’t know she plays hockey. Alexa loves writing and typing. She hopes to obtain a journalism degree in college. Later, she also wants to be an immigration lawyer. Her father always told her, “Dream big, don’t listen to what others tell you not to do, always listen to yourself, and you will get to what you want.”
MYRA PORTER-ROBINSON PORTRAITS BY MARISABEL PEREZ
My abuela always tells me she wants the best for my future, that I should never give up because I can achieve my dreams. She tells stories about when she was a kid. Her life was difficult and she experienced a lot of pain, but she wants to help other people have a better life than she had. Every day I talk to her on the phone from El Salvador. She always tells me I am doing a good job. She knows I am trying my best for her because I know she wants the best for me. To me, she is my real mom because she was always with me when I needed her the most. After all, I lived with her and my family in El Salvador for five years. Those were the best years of my life, when I was with my Mamita.
The name of my grandmother is Maria Ester Maldonado Castillo. She is sixty-six years old. She was born in Santa Ana, Metapan, in El Salvador. She is currently living in Santa Ana, Metapan Canton Belen Guijat. My grandmother is short. She has short, brown hair and brown eyes. Her favorite food is pupusas with beans and cheese, and her favorite drink is fresco de tamarindo. She likes playing dominos and often likes to go to Lago de Guija because she says the water is very refreshing and does her good. My grandmother likes to watch soccer; I think that it is her favorite hobby. She is very close to my father (her son) Wilber Alfredo Merlos Maldonado, who also still lives in El Salvador. Since I can’t see him, she tells me about his life, especially the soccer games he plays on my uncle’s team, Real Guija F.C.
My grandmother is very independent and always offers good advice. She told my cousins and I stories of her difficult childhood. She took care of all of the housework because her brother and sister didn’t help. Her mother loved her siblings more than my grandmother. She would scold her for not helping around the house
even though my grandmother worked harder than her siblings. She wanted us to know that we need to work hard in order to succeed at what we want to do. My grandmother’s biggest dream is for all of us in the family to achieve our dreams; she doesn’t care about anything else. She wants to see us happy, with finalized goals. I want my future children and grandchildren to have good careers so they can move forward independently and no one will look down on them. The most important thing in my family is that my abuela wants the same for everyone and loves us all equally. She does not prefer one person over another, we are all her grandchildren, and that is why she wants the same for all of us.
When I introduced my girlfriend Keiry Tatiana Jimenez Bonilla to my grandmother, she was very happy. At last I had a relationship where we communicated well with each other and supported each other. I always ask my girlfriend for her opinion or advice. At the moment, my girlfriend and my grandmother get along really well—almost too well! My girlfriend has already visited my family in El Salvador. My grandmother was so happy to see her and spend time with her. She cooked so much food for her, and they ate many pupusas together. My grandmother always tries to give us advice on our relationship and always asks me about Tatiana. With just a few words she always knows exactly what’s going on in my relationship. My father was also delighted with Tatiana. Everyone wants her to be a part of our family. For me, the most important thing was for my grandmother and father to accept her because only their opinions matter to me. My grandmother has never supported my relationship with anyone else the way she supports my current relationship.
When I started having a serious relation-
ship with Tatiana, my grandmother always assured me. I followed her advice closely. She was always supportive of my relationship no matter what happened when Tatiana and I were fighting. My grandmother would always remind us that fights happen and all relationships struggle with jealousy. My grandmother always asks me about her. She asks about her health, and if she gets sick, suggests I bring her medications and things like that. My grandmother thinks my girlfriend is a great person because she is so humble, hardworking, and studious. My family always treats her with a lot of affection, and she deserves it. My grandmother and my girlfriend have an amazing relationship, and that makes me so happy.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Estefany Maldonado is fifteen years old. She was born in Santa Ana, El Salvador, in the community called Metapan. Her favorite hobby is playing soccer with her friends. Her favorite foods are pupusas and hamburgers. Her favorite beverage is fruit drinks.
My Mamita
Estefany Maldonado
My grandmother’s childhood was very happy—she played with dolls that were made of corn husks and jump rope with her friends. Her name is Maria Del Carmen Vega and she was born on September 9th, 1931 in Usulután, El Salvador. She is eighty-six years old. Her skin is white. She has black hair, is tall, with black eyes.
She was very attached to her mother. She liked to help with the household chores so that the house was always clean and orderly. She never went to school, but her parents taught her to respect elders and to be polite to everyone no matter their age. They instilled in her to not take what wasn’t hers.
When she was young, she began to work in the fields, harvesting vegetables. She also worked cutting cotton. In her free time, she liked to dance and share with her parents and siblings who were very united.
At twenty years old, she married my grandfather, Esteban Flores, and they had fourteen children, only ten of whom are still alive. My father is the last child that she had.
To this day, my grandma is very happy. Every day she turns on her recorder to listen to music; she likes acoustic music. In the mornings, she listens to Spokesmen of Christ. She takes very good care of her house because she says that is what helps keep her bones flexible.
When I was very young, I remember how my grandma pampered my cousins and me. She loves all of her grandchildren equally. My grandma is the best. She was always buying us toys, and she gave us cookies, and juices. On many nights, I remember that my cousin and I would go to my grandma’s house and sleep with her all night.
In the mornings, we would go have breakfast with her and we would spend a lot of
time with my cousins. They’re the most beautiful memories of my grandma, from when my cousins and I were just little girls. They were the best moments.
Without a doubt, my grandma is my example of perseverance. Now my grandmother has many grandchildren and she tells us her story. I like when she talks about her life; I like to listen to her. When my cousins and I were young, I remember that we would go to the store and she’d buy us candy called “pirulitos.” I’ve liked them so much ever since we were little and she’d buy them for us at the store.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Estefani Esmeralda Vega Segovia was born in Usulután, El Salvador. She likes to listen to music and sing. Her goals are to keep studying to have a better future and to be able to fulfill her dream of being a fashion designer.
La niñez de mi abuelita era muy feliz. Ella jugaba con sus amigas, con muñecas, las cuales eran hechas de elote de maíz, y con salta cuerdas. Se llama María Del Carmen Vega y nació el nueve de septiembre de 1931 en Usulután, El Salvador. Tiene ochenta y seis años de edad. Tiene piel blanca, pelo negro, ojos negros y es alta.
Ella era muy apegada a su mamá. Le gustaba ayudar en los trabajos de la casa como hacer limpieza. La casa siempre estaba limpia y ordenada. Nunca fue a la escuela, pero sus padres le enseñaron el respeto a las personas mayores y a ser educada con todas las personas sin importar sus edades. Le inculcaron no agarrar lo ajeno.
Cuando era jovencita, comenzó a trabajar en el campo cosechando vegetales y también trabajó cortando algodón. En sus tiempos libres le gustaba bailar y compartir con sus padres y hermanos, los cuales eran muy unidos. A los veinte años de edad se casó con mi abuelo Esteban Flores y tuvieron catorce hijos, de los cuales solo diez viven, mi padre siendo el último hijo
que ella tuvo.
Hasta hoy en día, mi abuelita es muy feliz. Todos los días enciende su grabadora para escuchar música. Le gusta la música acústica. El grup que ella escucha en las mañanas es Los Voceros de Cristo. Ella hace el oficio de la casa, porque dice que eso le ayuda a mantener sus huesos flexibles.
Cuando yo era pequeña en El Salvador, me acuerdo de mi abuelita, como ella nos consentía mucho a mis primos y a mí. Ella ama a todos sus nietos por igual; no tiene preferencia. Mi abuelita es la mejor. Ella siempre andaba comprándonos juguetes y nos daba galletas y jugos. En las noches me acuerdo que mi prima y yo íbamos a la casa de mi abuelita y dormíamos en la noche con ella.
En las mañanas íbamos a desayunar con ella y pasábamos mucho tiempo con mis primos. Son los hermosos recuerdos que conviví con mi abuelita cuando mis primas y yo éramos unas niñas. Fueron los mejores momentos.
Ahora mi abuelita tiene bastantes nietos y nos cuenta su historia. A mi me gusta escucharla cuando ella habla de su vida. Cuando mis primas y yo eramos pequeñas, recuerdo que íbamos a la tienda y mi abuela nos compraba dulces que se llamaban pirulitos. Me gustaban tanto desde que era pequeña. Mi abuelita es mi ejemplo de perseverancia.
SOBRE EL AUTOR
Estefani Esmeralda Vega Segovia nació en Usulután, El Salvador. Le gusta escuchar música y cantar. Sus metas son seguir estudiando para tener un buen futuro y poder cumplir su sueño de ser diseñadora de moda
A Man and His Mustang
Luis Orozco
My grandpa’s name was Eduardo. He lived to be seventy-two years old. He was born in Mexico City in 1945, and he passed away in 2014 in Los Angeles, California. My grandpa sounds like an old man. Another thing about my grandpa is that he laughed like Ed-Edd-Eddy from Cartoon Network. My grandpa liked to wear old classic clothes and he also loved to drive old classic cars. He was a great man who worked so hard for his family. I think he went to the Marines for about four years. He also liked to pick up a lot of watches and loved to listen to old school songs. Same as my dad—he also loves to listen to old school songs.
My grandpa loved to spend time with us. He loved to take us out to the park when I was a young boy. One thing that I love about my grandpa is that he gave us money. My brothers, sister, and I love getting money. My grandpa was a hard-working man because he tried so hard to get money for his family. I think that he used to work at a factory. I love my grandpa to death because he was the one who taught me how be to be a man.
Another thing that I remember about my grandpa is that he always took us to the ice cream shop. And the best day was when he took us to Pizza Hut. My dad, my grandpa, and I love eating Chinese food. We ate Chinese food on the weekend. My grandpa was the world to me, and I always looked up to him and my dad. My grandpa taught me how to drive, and that is cool. My grandpa loved being around his family. His favorite dream car was an old 1980s Mustang. My grandpa smelled like strawberries. Also, my grandpa did not go to college. He was a smart man—he knew how to save money and how to take care of his savings. My grandpa was a wealthy man. And my grandpa was always clean and never dirty. When I used to go to his house it always smelled good.
When my grandpa passed away I wanted to see him one last time, but I couldn’t. So I started to listen to an old school song. I will always remember him for the rest of my life. And now, I am following in his footsteps by joining the Marines. I know that my grandpa is looking out for me because he is an angel. If I had one wish, it would be to see him one last time. When I go to sleep I’ll be dreaming about him— about the good times that we had together.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Luis has a long-standing interest in mechanical engineering. He is 17-years-old and would like to attend UC Irvine’s Engineering School. He was born in Orange County and grew up in South Central. Luis is a lifelong baseball player and would like to see the LA Dodgers win the World Series.
Faith, Sports, and My Grandmother
Elias Ledesma
An important elder in my life is Sabina Boatwright. She is my grandmother. She is sixty-two years old, she has light skin, with nice long hair. She is short, well at least to me, and she always has a smile for no reason. She likes to sing gospel music and read books on her nice leather loveseat. Although she lives in a whole other state, I remember those times when I used to always be with her everywhere she went, so this is what I know about her. She was born in New Jersey. My grandmother used to tell me how racist it used to be and it’s crazy how times changed. She was alone at the age of five because her mother died, so her father went weird and didn’t act like a father after that. She says he was broken bad, but she survived. When she was old enough, she moved to LA where she met her husband Alfred Boatwright, my grandpa. He was going to be an NBA player, but he got sick, which stopped him from that dream. My grandma said she was living the dream before my grandpa started doing drugs and gangbanging. They needed help and found religion, and I guess that worked out, he became a pastor. When she tells me things she always has joy and she is never mad. She’s always focused on the positive side of things, which is cool, because she lived a life that made her happy.
I was born July 10, 2001 in Los Angeles, California. Growing up, I noticed that I needed to be part of something, like sports, or with my friends when I used to like to skateboard. When I got older I realized I was all about dressing the best, girls, and money, and that’s pretty much been my reality to this day. When I look at my life now and what my grandmother told me about her life, I think it’s crazy because in her time it was not about looking the best, it was about getting through every single day. So they weren’t focused on the newest things, like how we are now. It’s crazy how times change because that’s a huge
challenge that my grandma had to face to go every day with people hating on the color of her skin. The way we think will either help us in the future or hurt us. It’s where your mind is at. I know that she thinks about makeup, looking good and stuff, but there were more important things at the moment. To her it was about the things she needed, not about what she wanted.
Me and my grandmother share lots of strengths, but the one I have to say is the strongest is our faith. My grandmother used to pray every day for my grandpa because he had cancer. We went to church and the pastor called my grandpa and grandma, and he said your faith is strong. The pastor prayed over my grandpa, and two days later he got a check up, and there was no sign of cancer. I remember it was a playoff game against Wilson High School and we were down by three with a minute on the board. We were in a huddle, and Jalen the QB called the play Jumbo 69. He hiked the ball and threw a “Hail Mary.” I was scared, but my faith was strong. If he dropped the ball we would lose, but by the greatness of our amazing skills, Trey caught the ball in the end zone and we won.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The author is Elias Richard Ledesma. He was born July 10, 2001, in Los Angeles, California. Some thing that is really important to Elias is that his siblings will grow up and have a good life. Elias is trying to show them examples of ways to succeed in and out of the classroom. He is interested in doing anything that is going to make him money because that’s how the world works—everything has to do with money.
Elder Patricia Martel Moore
My grandmother was born in Dallas, Texas. Her name is Patricia Henderson. My relationship with her was great, but she passed away a couple of years ago. She was tall with brown skin, a chubby face, and she wore her hair in a ponytail. My grandmother moved to Los Angeles with her mom at the age of twelve. They came to Los Angeles because they wanted to start a better life.
My grandmother Patricia always used to take me to the park where we used to go on the swings and swing back and forth. We also used to watch people play basketball on the court, and she used to tell me stories. The stories were about her life. When she was young, it was hard for her growing up. She had to struggle because her parents didn’t have money. Also she used to tell me to stay in school and graduate high school, and be something in life because I could do anything I put my mind to.
When my grandmother came to South Central in the 1980s, she lived on 56th and Central. There was a lot of stuff going on in that neighborhood. People were on drugs and people would just hang out and not go to school. Many were catching diseases and passing it to their kids. My grandmother took care of all her kids—she was a good mother.
My name is Martel Moore. I grew up in South Central Los Angeles and have lived in Los Angeles my whole life. I’m seventeen years old and still in high school. My life is challenging and sometimes difficult. When I’m in school, it gets hard sometimes, especially in math class. It is also hard in my Spanish class because I don’t understand what the teacher is saying. Every test takes me a long time to finish because it is hard, but I maintain and get through the hard part. Outside of school I like to play football. When I play football, it sometimes gets hard and challenging. I want to quit, but if I quit I won’t get better.
It’s either you go hard or you go home. My grandmother didn’t really have challenges in high school, but she did in college. She told me college isn’t easy, so she told me to always stay focused and keep your grades up, and study, study, study before every test. She had to study a lot because they had to do multiple essays back to back, but she said she didn’t quit. She even said she wants me to be like her and get a degree and get a good job that pays a lot, because hard work pays off, so always grind. Also she said, “Martel, you will not accept failure because success is free.” My grandmother was hard on me about respect. I respect people.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Martel Moore was born and raised in Los Angeles. His family has lived in South Central since the eighties. Outside of class, Martel plays football. He finds football challenging at times, along with math class, but he perseveres and maintains to get through the hard parts of the day.
Our Comic Relief Kenny Fuentes
My aunt’s name is Maria De Jesus. She is fifty-six years old. She was born in El Salvador on August 19, 1972. “It was difficult for me being raised in El Salvador because in the ‘70s there was this war going on and the Salvadoran military used to come into people’s houses and take their kids so that they could train them to join the army.” It was just her and her mom because she didn’t grow up with a dad. Without a father’s influence, things were hard for her.
My aunt always talks to me about how kids from my generation have it easier than she did and to not take everything my parents give me for granted. I know my parents aren’t rich, but they always provide for me. I don’t take my parents for granted, as my tia taught me. Our relationship is very strong—she has always been in my life and I’ve always felt love for her because she’s a very kind person. Whenever I see her, she always has a big smile on her face, cracking jokes. My aunt loves to make people laugh, no matter what mood she’s in or if you’re mad at her. She’s so full of joy, it’s impossible to stay mad. She always wants to make people around her feel happy, and that’s what I love about her. I remember we went to Big Bear on a trip she arranged for the whole family. She arranged the cabin for all of us and made dinner for the whole family. I had so much fun because it was the first time we had brought the family together; my grandma, both of my uncles, and their entire family, came as well.
The challenge my tia had to face was attending schools that weren’t as good as they are today. She also struggled helping her mom around the house. She didn’t get to finish school because she came to California to have a better life for her family.
She was twenty-three when she first arrived to the U.S. by airplane, and it was very hard for her to transition. When she first arrived in California, people weren’t hiring. For a period of time, she stayed with a couple of friends because she didn’t have enough money for an apartment. She eventually got a good job as a chef. She works crazy hours at this restaurant because there are only three chefs that work beside her. My aunt takes her cooking very seriously. She always double checks the food to make sure customers will enjoy it. She learned to cook from her mother who also used to be a chef. My aunt’s favorite dishes to make are pupusas, platanos, and pan con pollo. She balanced all of this while having three kids who all turned out to have good futures. One is a police officer, and the other two are in college.
If she had the chance, she would definitely go back and get her education because there are so many things she could’ve done if she had gone to college. My aunt is a really special person. I really admire what she’s done for her family and how she provided for her family.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kenny Fuentes loves pupusas, platanos, and panes con pollo. He especially loves eating these dishes with his aunt.
Her name is Elvira, and she’s sixty-one years old. She is about five feet, six and she always seems serious. Whenever I try laughing with her, she doesn’t laugh back. The only time I see her smile or laugh is when she watches this show called El Chavo, or when I tell her I love her. Then she smiles and hugs me.
Elvira was born in Oaxaca, Mexico, and she has been in California for about thirty years. When she came to Los Angeles, she didn’t really face challenges because at that time it wasn’t strict compared to now. If you didn’t have current papers or credentials, they sent you back to your hometown. At some point the border patrol had stopped my grandma, but she only had to sing the Mexican anthem to make sure she was from Mexico so she could cross to come to Los Angeles.
A memory I have with my grandma is of her always taking care of me when I was little. She raised me because my mom was always working, and I didn’t get to spend time with her. From kindergarten until the fifth grade, my grandma would drop me off and pick me up from school until I was old enough to go alone. When my grandma picked me up, she would wait for me in front of the school. I really felt her love and felt that she really cared for me because she would ask how school went and would make sure I was always safe. She would also take me to eat wherever I wanted and then take me to the park. My favorite place to eat at was McDonald’s, and I still remember the way we walked there, down Budlong, making a right turn on to Slauson, and continuing until we arrived. I would order one McDouble with everything except pickles, a McChicken, and a Coke. My grandma would order a McChicken and a diet Coke. We would share a large order of fries. After eating, we would go to the park. I would get on the slides, the swings, run around, or play
tag with other kids while my grandma always kept me in eyesight. Back home, she made sure I did my homework, ready to turn it in the next day.
One thing that has been passed down through my family’s generations is the struggle of finding a job, keeping the family stable with a place to live, and saving money in order to provide for our needs. My family has been through rough times lately, trying to have a stable place. We work hard and often work over-time. Through the years, we try not to get sidetracked from having a good family and providing what we need.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Emily Cruz likes writing, listening to music, and spending time with friends and family. She looks up to her mom because she is independent, strong, and hardworking, and hopes to be just like her. Emily believes in having happiness within herself, no matter what the situation.
My grandma’s name is Maria Mejia. She’s seventy-nine years old. My grandma was born in the city of Usulután in El Salvador. She has red hair, a sweet voice, and is short with brown eyes. She is caring, very positive, and she likes to tell family stories. She likes cleaning and cooking. She’s a mother of four children.
My grandma cooks seafood, such as fish and crab. My favorite thing she cooks is fish. She fries the fish, and then puts lemon and a hard white cheese on it. I eat it by ripping a piece of tortilla, then grabbing the fish with the tortilla, I eat it with my hands. My grandma cooks the fish at my house. My mom helps her cook. My grandma gets along very well with my parents, especially with my dad. She and my dad joke about stuff, making jokes about other people and themselves, and about people from their hometown. They joke about my mom, too. My mom teases my dad about being lazy, that he doesn’t help her cook, and he doesn’t do his chores!
One time when I was seven years old, my grandma visited us and we went to Disneyland with the whole family.We went on the rides. The Mad Tea Party ride was my favorite, but my grandma didn’t go on the ride with us. She went on the Star Wars ride with us, and she liked the explosions. She laughed with excitement and fear. I was sitting with her and my mom. We stayed for the parade at night and saw a bunch of characters from movies riding in customized vehicles. There were lights everywhere. We bought a Cinderella doll for my grandma as a remembrance of the day. I think she still has it.
My mom takes my grandma places to shop and buy food. She tries to show my grandma around Los Angeles and take her to places she hasn’t been. My grandma doesn’t want to go many places because her leg hurts her. We have to rub medicine
on her leg. Sometimes when she feels pain and my mom is at work, she asks me to put the medicine on. My grandma tells me that I should go to El Salvador to visit family. I have two older brothers and three aunts who live in El Salvador. I have never met them, and my grandma wants me to go to meet them. I can’t go, because I don’t have money and I’m too young to travel alone. Sometimes I wish I could go because it would be pretty exciting to go there. We have a lot of people in our family that I’ve never met, and I’d like to meet them. They live close to the beach, they fish to earn money, and they go swimming in the ocean. I would like to do all that with them.
My grandma didn’t go to school when she was young because she got punched in the nose at school. Her parents didn’t want her to get hurt again, so they kept her at home. She doesn’t know how to read or write. She worked from a young age, helping her parents, and she continued working until she had kids. Her children helped her at home. I never knew this about my grandma until my mom told me.
I have different life experiences than my grandmother. I do have to help my mom around the house, but I don’t have to work. I also get to go to school, and I know how to read and write. It makes me sad and surprised that my grandma didn’t have the opportunity to go to school. However, I like that she is always positive. Even when things are bad, she has the motivation not to give up. This is a trait she has passed down to me and my family.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The author was born and raised Los Angeles. When he is not drawing, the author follows his passion of designing video games. Family is very important to him. The author is inspired to become a graphic designer and play video games every day.
My grandpa’s name is Kenny Stephens. He is between the ages of fifty and sixty. He likes to be around other people. He is short, buff, has a deep voice, and has a lot of facial hair. He is cool, likes to joke around, and is always chilling. He had a job at the skating rink in Bakersfield. My grandpa likes to fish a lot. When he comes out to LA he goes fishing with my cousins. He also likes to watch sports a lot, but he is more into football.
The last time I saw my grandpa was during the summer of 2014. My mom had taken me to stay with him over the summer. On my first day, he took me out to roller skate. After, we went to eat at McDonald’s, then went back to the house to eat some more. After I ate, I went outside to play football with the neighbors at the park. While I was playing Black Ops, we heard someone yelling outside, so we went to see what was happening. Someone was fighting. Later I went to sleep, and when I woke up, I cooked myself something to eat while watching the Titans vs. Chiefs game on T.V.. After eating, I went outside to play football at the park with the neighbors again. On our way to the park, we stopped by the store to get snacks. When we came home, my grandpa took my brother and I to the movies to see John Wick. The time I spent time with my grandpa was fun. We also went to a water park and a party that was by a hockey stadium, so we got to see them play.
I grew up in Compton. One challenge I have is school. I struggle in math because I don’t like it at all, so I don’t study or practice. Another challenge for me is Spanish because it’s hard to understand the language. I overcome my challenges by asking for extra help with the subject. When I get older I want to play football and if that does not work out, I want to make music. Growing up in South Central is hard because it’s a dangerous area to be
around. I don’t really like to go outside a lot but when I do, I either play football at USC or go to the park and chill with some friends. Some of my hobbies are biking, skating, playing football, and playing video games.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Perris King was born in Los Angeles, California. He is African American. One of his favorite hobbies is to play football when he is out of school. His favorite team is the 49ers. He likes the 49ers because of his momma. Perris also likes to write rap music sometimes.
It Gets Better
Margarito Lopez
My grandma was born in Guatemala. Her name is Sonya Lopez. She owned houses in Guatemala, which she inherited from her mother. She and my grandfather had a property rental partnership. The only relationship I had with her was during my childhood. Not so much when I got older, since I sadly had to move away to Virginia. The last time I ever saw her was in the hospital. It was really difficult for me to know that one of my favorite family members was gone.
When I was small, my grandma would take care of me while my parents went to work. I remember always getting excited because I knew I was going to have a good time at her house. I would turn on her T.V. and watch this one specific show that became part of my childhood. She would bake cookies that she knew I would enjoy. My mom tried to recreate her recipe, but it just wasn’t the same. My grandma’s cookies were unique to me. When I finished eating, she would bathe me and end the night by reading books to me. The one thing I liked most was her voice. She had a calm, soothing tone that would put me to sleep in a couple minutes. My cousins and I agree that my grandma is one of the best people to be related to.
When she was young, living in Guatemala, she was a troublemaker. She was well known as the “bad example.” She would do really badly in school and bully other kids. She would also talk back to her mother. Her other siblings did well at home and at school; they were living their lives really well. When my grandma was seventeen, she had a moment where she thought about her future and how she would regret her past. Because of that day, she went to church and talked to the people there. She ended up becoming somewhat religious. Because of the church and the people she met, she left Guatemala and came to the
United States to become a nurse.
I was born in California. I’m not too sure what city it was, since my memories of my younger self weren’t quite good or happy—they are mostly kind of depressing. When my grandma wasn’t able to take care of me, my mom would send me to another babysitter. Being there was like a nightmare because I would get bullied.
I remember the kids who would bully me, tease me, and take my stuff away. One day I was sitting on some stairs, eating a cookie and the bullies came up to me. One of the kids had the indecency to slap it out of my hand, followed by throwing me down the stairs while I was still on my bike. Then he got me back up on my legs and gave me one of the strongest punches I ever felt while I was young. He knocked out my air and I ended up falling to the ground. The worst part was, my sister was part of that group of bullies. My grandma and I aren’t too similar, but we relate in both having a tragic past. Now that I’m in high school, my life has gotten better and happier. I ended up making new friends and live a mentally healthier life. I’m glad it ended up working well.
One thing I have in common with my grandma is that both of our lives got better as we grew older. We became more patient with stuff involved in our lives. The values I would pass on to my generation would be determination and patience. I would make sure the new generation has goals for their future and determination to accomplish them. I want them to have patience since it’s really helpful, and hopefully, they don’t start their lives badly, like by being rude or greedy. A bad trait I have is getting angry really quickly or being annoyed by a lot of things like noises, people, or animals. This does not include dogs; they help me stay calm and relaxed. Therapy also helps me work on my anger.
Ever since I was a young boy I haven’t known how to live peacefully. I started out really bad and my mom would would punish me for my wrong choices. Every time she punished me. I would think, “What is wrong with this woman?” Later on she told me that at a certain point, I ended up behaving on my own. I became more peaceful and because of that I noticed I wouldn’t get into trouble anymore.
Because of me being bad, my family has steered me toward a better path in life. Thankfully, I now know how to take charge of my responsibilities and control my emotions. Because of that, I’m glad to have the family I have, and I appreciate life. Knowing more about my family and talking to a relative is really helpful. I can relate to them and they can help me with any issues I may be facing in life.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Margarito was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He is most passionate about video games. If he is not playing video games, he is going on adventures with friends or watching Parks and Recreation on Netflix.
My Grandfather, Beenie Moloy, was born in Mexico on September 26, 1964, but moved, when he was a toddler, to Los Angeles. He has fashion sense, and wears a bunch of brands I admire. He’s funny, about five feet, five inches, and is strong and big. My grandfather said, compared to when he was my age, “school changed a lot,” with these different technologies and buildings. When he was bored, he played basketball or helped his dad fix cars. He has three sisters, and is the third oldest out of the four.
When he was around my age, he did gymnastics. He shared with me obstacles and challenges he had to face, such as the time he tore his ACL and broke his leg. My grandfather had to be in a wheelchair for about twelve weeks. He couldn’t play sports for about six to seven months, barely leaving the house. But my grandfather got through it by training as soon as he could for as long as he could, similar to when I was injured. I cut my knee playing basketball and almost tore several ligaments. I had to get nine stitches to heal the wound.
When my grandfather was growing up in the late 1960’s to early 1970’s, the gas crunch was ongoing. Odd and even days at the gas stations, all of them were full service. He claims it was the best Rock ‘n’ Roll of all time, Pop music was pretty good too, except for that one little fad called disco. His family was introduced to cable T.V. in 1979. I think by then, everyone had a color T.V. even though you could still buy a black and white one for fairly cheap. Touch tone phones became hip, and he used to watch a show called The Brady Bunch.
One of the memories I have with my grandfather is going to the park, shooting the basketball around. It was such a good game that we lost track of time; we were
shocked when we realized how long we had been playing for. We were supposed to be at my aunt’s house at 4:00 PM, and it was already 4:52 PM. We got in the car, and my grandfather drove so fast, the car was tilting sideways—sometimes he does that for fun. To this day, my grandpa still reminds me, ¨We need to finish that game!” He is determined because he thinks he’s going to win.
I was born in Beverly Hills but I was raised in South Florida for the past seven years. When I moved back to California, it felt as if my whole surroundings had changed. I miss the lake views, the wildlife, and just being there in South Florida; it was a different place and a very different experience. Nothing is the same—in Florida there are lots of turnpikes and long roads. Every time you turn around, the roads are different, even the animals are different.
I’ve had some challenges and some rough times, such as getting injured and having to sit out my basketball season; the loss of my dad’s mom, my grandmother, at a young age; and being around the wrong crowd. I overcame my challenges through hard work and I stopped listening to certain people, no looking back, just grinding every day until I reached my goal.
What I admire most about my grandpa is his decision-making. He always settles family arguments. I think it’s his bosslike image that gives him power on that side of our family. You can recognize my grandpa by his turquoise car and big rims, listening to Biggie or Tupac, while driving down Adams, all day, every day. I always see him driving by my local gas station— that’s his spot. Sometimes I wave at him or walk up to him and shake his hand. I’m taller than he is, but his knowledge is what makes him feel bigger to people—they show him respect. He has influenced me to do something with my life and be some-
body. He has taught me street smarts, how to keep going, and to never give up.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tramell Moloy was born in Beverly Hills. He attributes most of his upbringing to his childhood in South Florida. He loves nature and misses the lake views and wildlife in Florida. Tramell moved back to Los Angeles and became a student at Manual Arts High School in 2017.
Blessed and Highly Favored Ashley Carter
My great-grandmother would always say, “Baby, I’m blessed and highly favored of the Lord.” But my great-grandmother did not always lead such a blessed life. In fact, her life was filled with enormous challenges, and punctuated by patterns of abuse from both directions—abuse she received and committed.
My great-grandmother Rozina Elzie is eighty-three years old and was born September 4, 1933 to parents Hattie Bell Mitchell and Luther Mitchell Sr. in Mississippi. She moved to California when she was very young along with her mother and six siblings. My great-grandmother is short, wears glasses, has a round-shaped head, and wide nose. She also has a very soft, educated voice. My great-grandmother is and will always be a very wise, caring, loving woman who always held her head high when things took a negative turn in her life. She always told me, “Baby everything happens for a reason, it’s in God’s hands.” It took me a good while to understand my great-grandmother’s message that whatever happened, happened and don’t try to question God for the decisions he makes in life because everything happens for a reason. My great-grandmother truly believes that without God, she wouldn’t be where she is today. But I believe that along with her connection to the Lord, the hardships she experienced before she was saved by God also contribute to the woman she is.
My great-grandmother witnessed so much growing up and saw so such loss in her life. Her mother passed from heart failure, dying in my great-grandmother’s very own arms, an experience that has continued to weigh heavy on her throughout her life. To cope with her pain and frustration with the cards she’d been dealt, she turned to drugs and alcohol. My great-grandmother Rozina got pregnant at age sixteen by her first boyfriend Lonell Taylor, who is my
great-grandfather. My great-grandmother describes being a teen mom as though it were a breeze. She talks about it as though she didn’t have any hard battles to face since she had her mother there to help her raise her child. I don’t necessarily feel like becoming a teen mom is a breeze. I feel like when you become a teen mom, it’s hard because your teenage years are basically gone. You have a baby to raise and you no longer have an option to be selfish. It was especially hard for my great-grandmother to raise my grandfather without her boyfriend there at the time to help her raise her child, Lonell Taylor. My great-grandfather, just basically abandoned my great-grandmother and grandfather, leaving her to raise their child without providing any financial help or even stopping by to see my grandfather. This was a very sad and troubling situation to have to be in at such a young age. She had two more children after her first child to have to raise along with her six siblings on her own, it was a massive challenge that I’m sure caused her stress. That stress and weight she carried on her shoulders caused her to become violent to my grandfather Michael Taylor. She took out her anger out on my grandfather by beating him.
Rozina Elzie went through a tremendous amount of things shaping her into the woman she is now. The father of my great-grandmother’s last child, Tony, forced himself on to her and forced her to have his baby. Rozina was forced to raise three kids on her own whom she never really wanted in the first place. She even told me that if there were abortions back then, she would have aborted all of her children. I can empathize with her because I believe she was forced to play the role of mother before she even had children of her own. She had to feed, clothe, raise, and take care of her six other siblings. And once she had children of her own on top
of those siblings she was taking care of, it clearly was too much to shoulder. My great-grandmother turned to Christ to both dissolve and absolve her of these past moments of darkness. But while she feels she gave her life to Christ entirely, and that it’s almost as though her life started fresh again from that point when she was saved, I believe that you cannot let your past go, and that the experiences she had in her first twenty-five years are as much a part of her as her connection to Christ is now. The way I could interpret the choices she had made in her life is saying that she was a very immature young adult who did stupid things and made the wrong decisions in her life. When you’re young you make a lot of mistakes and don’t think about the repercussions after. I don’t agree with the choices my great-grandmother had made but I know that everything happens for a reason and she’s not same person she was back then.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ashley Carter is very passionate about singing and acting. She really enjoys listening to 90s R&B music. Ashley also enjoys writing on her spare time. She hopes after high school to attend college and pursue a career as a therapist.
“That day I cried as I left. I didn’t know if I would survive on the way...the journey that all migrants pass through is difficult, but I got through it.”
Your Future Depends on You
Luis Ayuso Robles
interviewed
by Danny Diaz
Luis Ayuso Robles was born in the capital of Mexico, Distrito Federal. At age seven, his parents moved to a town in Oaxaca where he spent most of his childhood. He began working when he was eight years old, selling gum on the streets. His first job was hand-painting plates and making artesanias made of clay at a ferrería. When he twelve years old, he began working with his father making roads. Luis worked in the day and would go to school at night. In 1973, Luis immigrated to Los Angeles with his wife, Catalina. They were both teenagers.
Luis is a hard-working man that came to California with the goal to live a better life. He has lived in the United States, mostly in the neighborhood of South Central, for over forty years with his wife and their children. Their children and grandchildren have graduated from Manual Arts High School, and his daughter works in the parent center on campus.
Luis and Catalina will soon return to Oaxaca to retire. For the past three years, Luis has been building a house there. They plan to leave this year.
DD: What were your first seven years like, growing up in Distrito Federal?
LA: The first seven years in the capital were very happy. What I liked most about that time was the celebration, El Día del Niño. For every good grade you received in school, you got a ticket at the end. At El Día del Niño, all the moms made food and sweets to give out. They had them out on tables. You could exchange your tickets for what you wanted to eat that day. So for that, I studied a lot. You would get to choose what you wanted from any mom. That’s what I liked the most.
The moms would bring the dishes or candies they did best. Some made enchiladas or bread. They made sweets or atole. Everything that people can eat in their house, the mothers knew the best way to make it. You would go up to the table with your ticket and they’d give you a glass of champurrado. They’d give you a plate of enchiladas or whatever is there! We’d sit on the benches to eat. If you still had tickets, you could get up to grab another plate. You’d look at the tables for what to eat next.
DD: What did you like to eat?
LA: Candy! Because in that time, they didn’t let one eat candy. There wasn’t money for it. It was tradition for kids to get only twenty cents every Sunday. It was very little! So that day, the mothers brought lots of candy for us. They weren’t candies like they sell here. They’re candies they would make with bread and marma-
lade. DD: What did you like about Oaxaca that was different from El Distrito Federal?
LA: The difference between Oaxaca and the capital was the tranquility, the respect people showed you, the food...the culture and traditions that exist there called my attention.
DD: How and why did you come to the United States?
LA: The motive to come here was I wanted my children to study more than I did because in my time, I didn’t know that high school existed. I didn’t know that college or university existed. I thought that school ended in the primary years and that was all. I wanted to change that. Here [my wife and I], we’ve worked together, the two of us. She’s provided education to my children. The two of us are a pair, working together to help educate our children.
DD: What was your first impression of the United States?
LA: Honestly, because I had these images of Beverly Hills, I had a very bad first experience here. When I first arrived and was dropped off at Skid Row, I was surprised to see everything there. I had seen poverty in my country, but this was different. People were sleeping on the street. My brother picked us up soon after and took us to his home in Alhambra. When we first got here, there was no one that spoke Spanish where we lived. We would speak it quietly. At that time, there would be people that came on buses trying to find immigrants. It stopped for a while, but I think that same feeling is coming back. We eventually learned to to gain our own ground. We’ve had so many experiences in Los Angeles that helped us learn how to gain our own ground.
DD: What are some differences you’ve seen here in the United States?
LA: Poverty is different here. It is seen that poverty is due to vice or that it is due to laziness or sloth. I don’t exactly understand why. The poverty of our people [in Oaxaca] is different. The streets are not paved, but they have food. The food there is natural, too. Here you eat food with preservatives, additives, hormones—things that are not good for the body. There, people thought they were poor, but with the years, they have understood how they are rich. In these times people know the food is better, even athletes are eating beans, cactus, all those things.
DD: What memories do you have of California?
LA: In California, one comes to work. That’s what I tell people who want to come here. I tell them, “If you want to enjoy the United States, you will enjoy it! But you also have to work much harder here than in your land because everything costs money here.” Rent, gasoline, cars—everything costs money! But you learn new things, both good and bad, and balance them.
DD: Why did you decide to build a house in Oaxaca? Why have you decided to return?
LA: The first thing I thought about was to come [to the United States] so my kids could study. Here my task as a father, as much as the mother, was to provide for the kids. As we saw them grow up, I said, “Thank God, we helped them!” Then as we got closer to retirement, we said let’s use our money to [move back]. Because when we grew older, being tranquil became most important—not riches because riches don’t bring happiness. You need the things that make you calm, food to eat, and a place to sleep peacefully. When you’re older, that’s what it’s about. You evolve over the years. [We decided to return] to take care of my father, and so Catalina could care for her mother, too. My father is eighty-seven years old.
DD: What are you going to miss about Los Angeles?
LA: I’ll miss my children and my grandchildren. The good thing is that I’ll be able to come and go. I’ll miss the friendships that we’ve made with the passage of time. To live, I think, is to learn to be tranquil with yourself. It’s the same whether you live here or there, the important thing is that you are calm. If you are not calm, you will not be happy.
DD: Do you have any advice for teens that you experienced during your teen life?
LA: It’s possible to not smoke and to not drink. Those habits are an investment that later affect your health over the years. When you’re an old man, you regret it and
say, “Oh, if I had not drank!...” because you can get sick. Life charges for everything slowly.
My advice is to try to stay as healthy as possible. You might spend your life making money while you’re young, but when you get old, you spend that money on health. It’s better to have what you need to live, but live healthily. That way, you’ll end at peace. There’s a saying, “One comes to the world to learn to die because when you die, you die calmly.” Those that have a lot of money don’t die peacefully, because all they think about is their money.
DD: What does your house look like in Oaxaca?
LA: I made the house to Catalina’s liking. I told her, “The only thing I want is my outdoor space.” Here I have my space where my little office is. If I want to be alone for a while, I’ll go in there, lock it, and stay locked up for a while! Likewise I wanted to have my space where I could have things to fix my car, the tools I need—a space that’s mine. I built a space inside the house for her, too. The inside of the house will be to her liking. She can change the curtains to whatever color she wants—it’s all hers.
DD: What is the most important room in your house?
LA: For us, the bedroom is important because it’s a place where we go to rest in the evening. First, we come home from work and we go to the kitchen. If there’s something to cook, I help her. We eat and we go to the bedroom after. We watch the television for a while or use the computer. We just sit there sometimes. We have a conversation or comment on something, or she studies. One curious thing is that the bedroom always has to be clean. Other parts of the house can be a mess, except the bedroom! The kitchen and the bedroom always have to be clean!
DD: You’ve been together with Catalina since you were eighteen. How does love last throughout so many years?
LA: It’s something difficult to explain
because…it’s difficult when you find love. Something changes inside of you. You learn how to forgive and forget, and learn that the other person has to forgive and forget, too. I think that’s the basis. You can’t lock yourself in past thoughts, or say, “Just leave me alone!” There is always the possibility that problems are revived again, but I think both people need to learn to forgive.
I had seen [Catalina] for so many years before I fell in love. All the children in the colonia would hang out around the neighborhood and just talk. Catalina and I met there. We would just talk and talk. One day, I was walking near the railroads behind someone that caught my attention. I knew I liked her, but I didn’t know it was Catalina. When I caught up to her and she turned around, I was surprised. I said, “So many years of seeing you and now I’m in love!” I fell in love with her right then. I began to buy her gifts. I bought her a soap once...she was surprised by the odd gift. I was learning how to show my love. Later, I asked for her hand in marriage in the Oaxacan tradition. You bring chocolate, bread, turkey, and mezcal to the family. That is the tradition of asking parents for their daughter’s hand. The daughter serves mezcal to the family. There I was, sitting there, very polite. They said she was too young to marry and that we had to wait four years. A priest wouldn’t marry us. We moved here before we were married.
DD: Any last words of advice?
LA: Feed yourself well. Exercise. Once in a while, you can eat garbage, but just a little bit. Exercise and good food, that’s all the body needs. Also, learn to forgive, it’s best you don’t hold grudges. Don’t hold resentment. Forget fast. If one is happy, it makes others happy. Laugh about anything.
At the end of the interview, Luis told me he was most inspired by his dad when he started working with him. My dad does mechanical work, and I am also inspired by him, the way Luis was inspired by his own father. Not everybody goes through the same experiences as others. It must have been rough starting off selling gum, coming from one country to another coun try that wasn’t exactly what he pictured in his head. Everyone has a unique story to be appreciated. Luis made his life better for himself and his family, which is something I want to do. He’s built a beautiful home. He’s made me appreciate that working hard pays off later in the future.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Danny Diaz was born on February 28, 2001, in Los Angeles. After high school, Danny plans to go to mechanic school or attend chef classes in college. Danny´s goal in life is to become a professional mechanic or a professional chef. His hobbies are playing video games and basketball. Danny Diaz wants the reader to understand that working hard to achieve your goals leads to a good life.
LUIS AYUSO ROBLES PORTRAITS BY MARISABEL PEREZ
CATALINA AND LUIS AYUSO, IN BETWEEN THE TREES THEY PLANTED ALMOST THIRTY YEARS AGO IN FRONT OF THEIR HOME.
Raising Two Generations in Los Angeles
Catalina Ayuso Morales interviewed by Jessica Munoz
Catalina Ayuso Morales is fifty-seven and was born and raised in Oaxaca, Mexico. She has been a mother and grandmother of Manual Arts alumni for over twenty years. She is very sweet and is always laughing. One saying she had growing up was “El camarón que se duerme, se la lleva la corriente”—“The current sweeps the shrimp that falls asleep.” She loves reading books, writing, and telling stories. When I interviewed her she looked nervous, but she was smiling. She was open about herself.
During the time she lived in Mexico, she didn’t study much. At the age of eight, she started working in the fields with her grandparents on Saturdays and Sundays. They would harvest corn and beans from the fields. She went to school during the week. Then, at the age of fourteen, she began to work as a caretaker and had to leave school. She took care of a child and cleaned the house. It was difficult for her to learn to take care of a baby at her age. Soon after, she moved to the United States. When she arrived, she worked at a place where they printed t-shirts and cleaned apartments. Later she worked for the LA Unified School District for twenty years. She worked in the cafeteria, making and giving food to students, until she retired. Although she left school while in the third grade, one of her biggest goals when she came to the United States was to earn her high school diploma. It was not easy. She had to start from the beginning; she had to learn English, take tests, and go to classes. In the end, she earned her GED and diploma.
One of her fondest memories was celebrating her children’s birthdays and throwing parties for the kids. She and her husband Luis have been in the United States for forty-four years. Since retiring, they have decided to go back to their hometown, Arrazola, in Oaxaca, Mexico. They will return there this spring.
JM: My name is Jessica Munoz, I’m sixteen-years-old, and I’m in the eleventh grade. My first question is how would you imagine your life if you hadn’t moved to the United States?
CA: Well, it’d be like it is when I go to visit now. Where my sisters are, they’re more involved in the house. They don’t work, but dedicate themselves to the home and here I had to work.
JM: Did your parents agree with your decision to go to the United States at such a young age?
CA: No. No, they wanted me to be there, to study, to finish studying. They didn’t like it at all because it was so far. They didn’t have any idea how truly far it was because they had never left our town, but they knew that it was very far.
JM: Do you regret leaving your family in Oaxaca at the age of fourteen?
CA: When I first came, yes, because I was very young. But now, no, because my children were born. They’re here. I kept in contact and my family back home knew everything. I’m not a teacher or anything like that, and I don’t know why, but they admire me a lot. Maybe because I’m not there close by.
JM: What was your American Dream?
CA: It was mostly to study. I really like to study, to read, and sometimes write, but I haven’t had the opportunity to make that a career. I do it a lot at home, but only for myself, to create things that I like: sayings, poems, recipes, everything.
JM: How did you come to the United States? How long did it take?
CA: My husband came here first. His brother was the only person we knew here. He knew Luis and I were together, and since there wasn’t much work, he told him he’d help him find work in the United
States so he could care for both of us. There wasn’t enough money for both of us to go, so I stayed with his mother for six months. When there was finally work, he sent for me.
JM: What was your reaction and what did you feel when you received your diploma?
CA: It made me feel very strange, but it felt very nice. I didn’t think I would achieve it because I did it when I already had my three children. They were there with me, and I liked that they were seeing their mother graduate.
JM: What were the first things you noticed when you moved to the US?
CA: When we first came here, we lived in Alhambra with my husband’s brother. I first noticed the green houses and the yards. It was difficult to adjust at first. I remember taking the buses and not knowing where I was. I had no family here. Luis and I had each other. He would wait for me at the bus stop.
JM: When you return to Oaxaca, what will be some of the things you will miss from here?
CA: My children, my grandchildren...the nature, the parks, how green everything is. Parks like Griffith, which I’ve gone to the most. I’ll miss it here—Los Angeles. It’s where I’ve lived the most time, even though I lived in Palmdale for some time. It was a bit sad there, but I did like the calm. Sometimes not even one car would pass by in one hour [...] very calm and quiet. But I also like the sounds of Los Angeles. All the time that I’ve lived here... I think maybe I got used to it. I’ll miss it.
JM: What are your best memories in Los Angeles? Your worst memories?
CA: I shared a lot of time with my family, went out with the kids, talked. The worst was the issue of language. I got frustrated a lot because I couldn’t talk, couldn’t com-
municate. I didn’t have so many people to talk to, only a certain group.
JM: What is the most difficult thing about being a mother?
CA: Sometimes, you can’t give [your children] everything you’d like. You want to give them the best example, treat them with the best discipline, teach them not to make mistakes, and attempt to get along with them...but sometimes they have some ideas and we have others, especially us who grew up in another country. We have different ideas from our upbringing, and they were born here so it’s not always the same. For example, my grandchildren know three languages. They like to learn other languages and coexist with other people and their cultures. I didn’t know that at first. I thought all I needed was what I had.
JM: Do you think that in the United States, traditions get lost with each generation?
CA: At times, yes it can be easy to lose [traditions], but I’ve tried to teach them to my children. [Generations here] are learning about so many cultures, but it makes me happy to see them learn ours. When we started visiting Mexico, they began to love it more and more. I’ve tried to continue traditions from back home, like Día de Los Muertos. I put my altars up. That’s how I try to teach them because it can be easy to lose. When I was working, it was harder for me to have time to share stories with my older grandchildren. Now, with one of my youngest grandchildren, Melanie, I’ve been able to talk more because we’ve had time to go out to parks and I tell her stories from there. If you are willing to share, generations will listen.
I am most proud of Mexico for all of its customs and traditions. We have many from where I come from. Towns are governed by them, and they are deeply rooted throughout Oaxaca. They say if you learn them and carry them with you, you’ll give them to others. Día de Los Muertos is
about all about remembering—remembering people that have left us. When I leave this earth, I want to be remembered, too. That’s why I love our traditions.
JM: What’s one moment in your life where you were very scared?
CA: There was a time when I had imagined something [...] like I said, I like to write things down, so I had it written somewhere and read it again the other day. I had written about a photo, and how I could see myself below the ocean, but this ocean was very dark. There was algae or something like plants, but all the plants were almost black, and I remember I took note of how bad that made me feel. I felt that something was happening to me. I didn’t know what it was or what would happen, but afterwards, something very serious in our family happened that I had sensed.
JM: What do you think you learned from working at a young age? What do you achieve from working since you were little?
CA: You mature much faster. Your ideas are more of an adult because you have much more responsibility and I think that that’s what I learned most. I matured at a very young age. I’d say that at fifteen, I was already a person of about twenty-five, thirty years old.
JM: What was your town like at the time that you left? What was happening?
CA: It was very poor, but very beautiful, lots of trees, lots of plants, and everything was watered by the rain because there wasn’t anyone to take care of them—just the rain. It rains a lot there. So, it’s green almost all the time. It’s very green, but not green like here. You see lots of mud because there isn’t much pavement. It’s also very poor. There are no stoves, people don’t have refrigerators. Now maybe a few people do, but back then they didn’t. All the time you would see women and smoke around them because they’d be cooking outside on top of three rocks. They’d put the pot on top of the three rocks.
JM: At what point did you learn to cook?
CA: At first, cooking was punishment for wanting to get married so young. My mom would say, “If you want to get married so young then your job will be to grind the corn and learn to make the tortillas.” Even though there were six sisters in my family, she made me do this all the time. I eventually said, “If this is what I have to do to get married, then I don’t want to.” It was a punishment she thought would make me detest getting married. When I first started to grind the corn, I didn’t know anything, because at thirteen years you hardly know anything. I would go back and forth to grind buckets of corn, grind it in a mill, and then bring the masa to my mother. She prepared the dough and she gave it to me to press. She cooked them. I told myself I didn’t want to get married anymore, but then I began to like cooking. That’s when I started learning. It was so difficult at first! The first time I made rice...I didn’t know rice grew so much! Luis and I had just married. There was rice for more than three days after that. It never finished. That’s how I learned.
JM: How old were you when you met your husband, Luis?
CA: More or less, twelve or thirteen.
JM: How does someone know they will be with another person for the rest of their life?
CA: I didn’t know. I just liked to talk to him. I liked to be with him. I think he was my first real boyfriend. I knew another person before him, but it was just that, just a person I knew. With Luis I felt something special, but I didn’t know it would be for a lifetime. When we first met, we were too young to get married. No priest would marry us. We would mostly talk a lot. Here, couples are different. We were a couple that held hands only. In the first year that we were together, we didn’t even give each other a kiss. We knew how to talk and nothing else. We would go out, get on the bus, and we’d always visit my sister. We’d get on a bus just for the ride. We would stay until the end of the route and get back
on, just talking and joking around. Sometimes we’d get out at the city center and walk around eating ice cream and talking. I think that’s why we still like walking so much. But I didn’t know…
My mother, his family, and our friends would say, “You won’t last six months together,” because we were so young. That’s what they say now when we tell them we’re returning to Oaxaca. They say we won’t last three months before coming back. They tell us we’ll no longer be used to living there. I haven’t found one person that believes we’ll stay in Oaxaca, but we’ll see.
JM: Will you have a garden to grow plants?
CA: There’s a garden in the front part. The house is small but there’s a place to sow things there. That’s my life right now, I can imagine it already. I’ll spend more time in the yard and in the kitchen because [my family] will want to eat. That’s what I imagine right now.
JM: How many generations of your family are in Oaxaca?
CA: I think, of all the ones I know of, there are...about four, and they are all there! It was only recently my grandparents, my mother’s parents, passed away. They were still there.
JM: What did your grandparents talk to you about?
CA: Many things, a lot of the time they talked about how difficult it has been living there, but sometimes difficult for them was not having a stove or a refrigerator. If you don’t know what’s out there, you don’t need it. For example, here you can go to the movie theater, but there a car with Coca-Cola advertisements would drive through, and they showed you movies on screens. You would carry your little seat and you take it to the projector [...] you sat down to watch the films there. They did it for free—you did not go to the movies or the theater. When you do not know something, you don’t want it, do not
envision it or need it. Once someone sees your microwave or refrigerator, they want one, too, but it’s not necessary. They might feel life is harder because they don’t have those things, but they have enough and even more. I remember my grandmother would bring us fruit [...] she had a sack this big where she would carry corn to sell, or peanuts. Sometimes other vendors would put guavas in that bag, sometimes mangos. She would bring all of this to us. Everything she would harvest that wasn’t for us, she sold. They had enough, and even enough to give to others.
JM: What advice do you have for younger generations?
CA: What you are doing is very good because like I told you in the beginning [of our interview], talk to as many people as you can. They say that the best thing is to travel, to visit places, and not just places like Paris or very nice places, which require spending a lot of money, but towns and small places. Here I think that the most basic, the easiest thing is to talk with other people. Talk and ask questions like you’re doing now. You made me remember a lot of things [...] that I had not let out. You made me take them out now—so ask and ask and ask. If you have the time to talk about Nintendo [...] or Facebook, that’s fine because it’s what’s here right now, but also take the time to ask “Why did you come? Why did you leave? Why this?” A lot of asking because that’s how we’re going to know, and I think that’s what can help youth like you. Then you have the opportunity to understand the many cultures here. With my English, the little bit that I have, I can read, and I can write. My problem is speaking it. I’m not fluent enough to speak to people. But I like to talk, so I make myself understand English with other people.
I have met many people in my work and in my life with my girls. Sometimes they’ve told me not to talk to strange people, or a strange man, [...] but I start talking to him and learn very incredible things about people, very incredible and beautiful. [...] I’m getting to know him, because if I don’t know him, the first impression can be “Oh
no...” But talk. That is the greatest treasure that I give to you; that you have to know about many different countries and that’s something that not everyone has where they’re from. You grow up with a group of boys and girls, but they’re from the same community, the same town and you do not know much else. When they used to tell me, “I’m from El Salvador,” I’d say, “Where is that? From Guatemala—where is that?” I did not know that other cultures existed, and other people, and other places. I thought where I [grew up] was the only place that existed, and there was nothing else.
For me that’s the most beautiful thing here —that you can meet people. Don’t try to get know someone by simply looking at them, but get to know how they think, and hear what they have to say, because they’ll have many things to tell.
Through her stories, I learned more about Catalina Ayuso and her upbringing in Mexico. I learned that at a very young age, she came to the United States. She followed her goals. Her goal was to graduate high school and get her diploma, and without the help anyone and without knowing English at first, she did it. She did it while raising her three kids. I learned what it means to be an independent, strong woman.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jessica Munoz was born in Los Angeles and grew up in South Central. Jessica is very passionate about cooking. She loves to go out and go to places she never been before. Jessica spends her free time walking her dog around the park. She likes riding her bike with her brother through the park.
CATALINA AYUSO MORALES PORTRAITS BY MARISABEL PEREZ
The Unknown of Mary Brown
Cameron Hall
My grandmother’s name was Mary Brown, and I picked her as my elder because her life intrigued me, even though I never got to meet her in person. What I wrote in this book is the story of my grandma’s life and the adversities she overcame when she was alive.
Mary Brown was a very nice person toward everyone in her community in the city of Chicago, where she was born and raised. She was about five feet, six inches tall with dark brown hair, and a very lightskinned complexion. She raised my mom and her two sons the best she could after her husband passed away. She played the piano and was a backup singer for a music group back in the 1960s. She helped out in the church she used to attend.
My grandma passed away before I was born. Although, sitting down with my mom and talking about it made it feel as if I met Mary personally. We both like music such as Al Green. Listening to how my grandma was and how I am now makes me think we’re almost the same person. Once I figured this out, it got real personal for me, and I got a little sad because I never got to meet her. I don’t know how she would’ve been as a grandma, but I feel like she would be proud of me.
When my grandma was seventeen, she was living in the dead-center of Chicago, which was a very dangerous place. It still is, even now. She entered the police department as a translator; she took it upon herself to learn seven different languages, some she learned from her parents because they were mixed with Portuguese and Native American, so they knew different languages, too, and contributed to the community. However, this made some other African Americans in the community not respect her anymore because she chose to work for the police department. Plus, other officers didn’t respect her because
she was colored. She really had a tough time, but she persevered and became very good at it .She even participated in the MLK demonstration in Chicago.
When her husband passed away, she saw this as an opportunity to share her secret. She announced she was openly gay in front of her whole church. I do not know more about this because she and my mother stopped getting along once she came out. My mom will not give more details about it.
I was born in Inglewood, but I was raised in South Central. I didn’t have to go through nearly as much as my grandma did, but I do have my own challenges. I’ve constantly been pulled over by police officers, I’ve been banged on and shot at by gangbangers, and have been racially profiled in a clothing store. With the store situation, I went in to buy whatever I wanted after saving my money from my job with the park. I was browsing the store and one of the employees kept coming back to ask if I needed any help, and I replied, “No thank you.” After I got what I wanted, I walked towards the line and the manager asked if I could empty my pockets as if I had stolen something. I let him know how I felt when they harassed me, and they apologized. I dropped the clothes I wanted and I’ve never been back to that store.
Concerning the police situation, I had just gotten off of work. I get off my bike to open my apartment gate. The police asked me to put my hands up and asked if I had a gun or weed on me. They put me against the wall and were going to put me in handcuffs until they saw my sister, then they let me go. With all of these experiences, I could’ve turned out worse, but I didn’t. I know what I want to be in life and these little bumps won’t knock my focus off track.
Regarding physical traits, my grandma and I only have our hair color in common. We have other traits in common like how we behave, similar abilities, and hobbies. My grandma and I have very little tolerance for annoying things—as soon as something bothers us we would stop dealing with it. She was also a very good writer, and my family says I’m the best writer in the family, like her. We both read books a lot when we were younger, nonfiction about monsters and things like that. We both enjoyed swimming; I used to like going skating but she loved it until the day she died.
I’m always told I act differently from my brothers and sisters. I was considered more considerate and responsible than my siblings by the time I was nine. My siblings saw the things I did as weird so I always felt different. Until one day I decided to ask my mom about my grandma and she told me I act like her. Now I don’t feel as alone about the way I act. She was successful in her life, and, as far as I am concerned, the way I act is helping me be successful too.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cameron Hall was born in Inglewood, California. Even though he has seen hardship, he knows he wants to better himself. In fact, he has been offered a scholarship to ASU which makes him feel like he is doing what he is supposed to be doing. Do not be afraid to ask questions. Cameron discovered he and his grandma are both very good writers. Even though he never met her, he now feels a connection to her he never would have known prior to writing this story.
Mabel Urquilla
My grandmother, Elena Murcia, was born in Santa Ana, El Salvador. She grew up in a small town called Canton el Cerro. She lived with her siblings, mother, and father. When she was thirteen years old, she had to quit school because she had to help look after her siblings, because her parents were working as farmers. She was twenty years old when she had her first kid. Unfortunately, her first daughter died of a flu. After the death, she continued on with her life. When she was twenty-two, she had my aunt. And when she was twenty-five, she had my mother. In total, she had three daughters. When she was thirty years old, she migrated to Los Angeles. She had to make a hard decision to leave her two daughters. My mother was four years old and my aunt was seven years old. She decided to migrate because she wanted a better job opportunity to support her daughters.
When she came here she got married to Jose, and she had a son. She is hard-working and dependable. Since she moved to Los Angeles, she started working as a janitor and has never taken a vacation. She has been working as a janitor for twenty-five years. Her eyes are black, like her hair. She is always smiling even if something is worrying her. For example, when my great-grandmother died, she was sad but she was smiling, remembering all the good times with her.
One memory that I have with my grandmother is when she visited me for the first time in El Salvador. I was five years old. I remember seeing her for the first time. She came to my house and she wanted to surprise my family. When she came to my house, I didn’t know who she was. I remember seeing my family hugging her, but I was confused because she was a stranger for me. She wore a nice dress with high heels. She looked pretty. I remember that the next day we went shopping. She bought me toys and clothes. I was so hap-
py because I was getting to know her. The Salvadoran Civil war was a conflict between the military-led government of El Salvador and the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, a coalition of several left-wing groups. A coup on October 15, 1979, led to the killings of anti-coup protesters by the government as well as anti-disorder protesters by the guerrillas. My grandmother, Elena Murcia, was seventeen years old when all this happened. She told me that during the Salvadoran Civil war it was difficult for her family because the guerrilleros didn’t want to see people outside after 7:00 PM. If the guerrilleros saw people on the streets at 7:30 PM, they killed them. But she says that the guerrilleros never hurt her family, because my great-grandmother used to feed them. At that time she was living with her mother at Canton el Cerro, a small town just outside the city of Santa Ana. The challenges that she faced during the Salvadoran Civil War were not being able to attend school and that her family was poor. Her parents used to work as campesinos, and she had to help her siblings with the house chores. In total there were ten people living with her mother—her father, six sisters, and one brother, living in a small house.
I was born and grew up in a little town called El Congo, and it is located in Santa Ana, El Salvador. I grew up living with my great-grandmother and my mother. When I moved to the United States, I was scared because I knew that everybody was going to speak a language that I didn’t understand. That made me feel isolated, knowing that I couldn’t communicate to make friends. My main challenge was learning English. It was difficult for me because when I went to SAITO High School, most of the students spoke English, and I was the only one who spoke Spanish. My classmates used to laugh at me because I couldn’t pronounce the words correctly. During that time, I didn’t want to go to school when I had to do a presenta-
tion because everybody was staring at me and paying attention to my pronunciation. I overcame this challenge by studying more English. I gained new confidence and stopped caring what other people were saying about my accent.
Some of the traits that have been passed down through generations in my family are black hair and brown eyes. The qualities that have been passed down through generations are being hardworking, competitive, dedicated, and strong. My grandmother and I are both hardworking. We never give up, and we’re very competitive. We also have similar personalities, because we take things very seriously. What I think I will pass to future generations is my personality because I like to focus on the things that are going to have the best results in the future. I’m also hardworking because in my family everyone works hard to get what they want. I think what I’m going to build for future generations could be a business or something else that may come to my mind in the future. Overcoming
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mabel Urquilla was born in a neighborhood called El Congo in the city of Santa Ana, El Salvador. She is passionate about music. Her secret talents are playing the guitar and the keyboard. She also likes to draw and is inspired by her family.
The Inspiration of My Life
Jaylon Williams
My grandma didn’t exactly have the easiest life. Her name is Bernadette Williams. She is sixty-five years old. She is fairly tall—about five feet, six inches, and is wrinkly. She likes to laugh and go shopping. From what she told me, she was born in Belize and moved to Los Angeles when she was in her twenties. She has a total of five kids: three daughters and two sons. She has always been a hard worker and has never given up. She was a caretaker for an elderly lady until that patient died from natural causes. From what my mom has told me, she has always done the most for her children. She sent money to Belize from LA to help her family. US currency is worth almost twice as much as the currency in Belize, so it helped my great-grandma and my mom. I’m pretty sure they lived close to the beach in Belize. My grandma came to the United States because Belize is a poor country. They did not have a lot of money or educational opportunities. She realized that in order to get anywhere in life or even just to survive, you have to work hard. I would personally say she is the definition of a Toiler. To this day, my grandma still wants to help, even if she doesn’t have to. Seeing her work so hard is inspiring. She is still working as a caretaker despite her old age. I hope I can have the motivation and will to work like her.
A vivid memory I have with my grandma is the time I went to pick her up from work. We were driving to her house, and she was talking to my mom in another language. I had no clue as to what they were saying and it sounded weird to me. They asked me if I wanted to learn that language, but I said I didn’t want to. To be honest, I didn’t care much for learning a new language. She told me she struggled adapting when she came to Los Angeles, but it ended up being okay. I wish I had tried to learn the language so I would at least know a little bit, but I don’t understand anything she
says when she speaks her native language. The language is Garifuna. According to Wikipedia, “Garifuna (Karif) is a minority language widely spoken in villages of Garifuna people in the western part of the northern coast of Central America.” I think about it sometimes, and I don’t think I fully realize how hard she had to work to even get a job out here while speaking a foreign language. I appreciate her because if it weren’t for her decisions, I probably wouldn’t be here today.
I grew up in South Central Los Angeles, not too far from USC. My mom was very protective when I was younger. She wouldn’t even let me go to the park across the street from our house by myself. She’s still a little overprotective, but not as much. Now I can see why she was so protective. She told me the city was changing, it’s not safe to be outside by yourself anymore. I go out by myself anyway to go to school and to work; I feel safe most of the time. If something happens, it happens. My grandma told me stories about roaming the streets with her friends without having a care in the world. My older sister also tells me how she and her friends went everywhere in South LA without having to worry about anything other than coming home late. In other words, she felt safe in her community. I hate how I can’t live like that in my community. To be honest, I’m just jealous.
My grandma is a great person. One great trait she has is passion. I’ve seen her work to the breaking point because she was passionate about what she was doing. When her leg was in a lot of pain, she still went to work and walked home just to help pay her kids’ bills. She genuinely cares for her family more than anything else, and that passion for keeping them safe keeps her going. That passion was passed down to my mom and then to me. I am also passionate about my interests. Whenever
I listen to music, I feel inspired to write my own. It depends on the music, but if it’s a song I can relate to, I do my best not to imitate it and make it my own style. I hope I end up similar to her. Being able to work that hard with life trying to throw you down is difficult, but she still managed to get by. In the end, my grandma is one of my biggest inspirations.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jaylon Williams is a unique individual. He was born and raised in South Los Angeles. Jaylon writes music in his spare time. He cares deeply for his family and is passionate about helping them. In the future, he wants to be a musical artist or computer engineer. He considers himself a great person who likes to help people.
Elizabeth Martinez is my grandmother. She is seventy years old. She was born in Belize City and she came to the United States a long time ago. I came to the United States within the past year. I hadn’t seen her in fifteen years, and now she’s dying, with a late stage of cancer. I never believed that would happen to her. I really love her and if she dies, I will miss her so badly. She always treated my brother and I well. I miss her so much. She spoke English, Spanish, Darefuna, and Patoi. She was a short, thick woman. She had three children: Sean, Dean, Decoust. She had six grandsons. My grandmother came to the United States with her sister. I have a picture of her and my cousin Deandre shortly before he got killed. He was taken down on September 10, 2016, in Belize City, in my grandma’s lot. He got killed because of gang-related activity. My grandmother worried for me and my cousin and my family. So she sent my brother, my uncle, and me away. She is a person that cares about her family.
I remember when we went to Caye Caulker, a tourist resort. I was five years old, my grandmother and I went there to swim and attend a party at the beach.Then we went to the lobster feast, and she ate a lot. I laughed at her because she was stuffing her mouth. After, we went to her cousin’s house, and there she ate a lot of mangoes. She had to go to the toilet because it upset her stomach. The next day, we went on the beachside where we saw some beautiful brides and she was taking a lot of pictures. Then, we went to a village that’s called Sanhail and we visited her stepmom and her father. She started crying because it was her first time seeing them in a long time. They talked about when they used to go to Caye Caulker, too. And they said that it was more fun when they were there, because they would sleep in the boat and eat the next morning. They also liked to swim with the dolphins in the middle of
the sea and they always had fun out there. My grandmother was enjoying her father and stepmother talking to her. After that, we went to her country to visit her stepson and he was surprised when he saw her. He hugged her so tight, and then she gave him money to buy some clothes and some shoes.
She was in a hurry to visit all of her family because she had to come back to the United States. The whole family took her to the airport the next day. I was crying because I was going to miss her, because we had so much fun. I would not see her again for a long time. She passed away last month.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jalen Russell was born in Belize City. He likes to sing. In the future, he would love to go to Jamaica. One of his secret talents is that he loves to dance. In his spare time, he plays basketball with his friends.
Caye Caulker with Elizabeth
Jalen Russell
The Travels of Abuelita Anonymous
My grandmother is very happy living in Honduras now because in El Salvador there is a lot of war. My grandmother’s name is Maria Lopez, but I call her Abuelita. I don’t know how old she is, but I think maybe she’s around fifty-four. Abuelita likes to cook. I like when she makes pupusas with cheese and beans. She also likes to take care of her plants. And she really likes to watch televisas. She is a little tall and thin. Her hair is black, and she calls me, “mi niño.”
Abuelita was seventeen when she left El Salvador because there was a lot of violence and war. Abuelita’s mother and uncles were all killed in the war. The house was destroyed, and she was very afraid. She needed to support herself. No one would give her work because she was a girl, so she left for Honduras. She did not know anyone there when she left for Honduras, but she met my grandfather in Honduras.
I was born in Honduras. Abuelita moved from Honduras to the United States when I was about three years old. She came here because she was already very old and my mother could take care of her. Abuelita returned to Honduras when I was fourteen. I have not seen my abuelita for two or three years, but I talk to her on the phone every month.
I am a little bit like my grandfather because, when he was alive, he would get angry very quickly, and I do as well. He used to lock himself in a room and not talk to anyone. This hurt Abuelita’s feelings. Sometimes when my mother scolds me or doesn’t give me what I want, I don’t want to talk to her. I think this hurts her feelings so I try to be kind, like Abuelita. Abuelita does not get angry very easily, but when she does, she goes into a room alone. When she is not angry anymore, she comes out and is very loving.
My best memory of Abuelita was when she took me to a church fair and bought me all types of food like pupusas and soda. The pupusas at the fair were different than the ones she made, but I liked them. What I liked about that day was that I shared it with Abuelita and had a lot of fun with her. My mother was there, too. This was one of the last times we did something special before Abuelita returned to Honduras. That day at the fair, she told me she loved me and that I have to take care of myself now, because she was returning to Honduras.
One way that I am similar to Abuelita is that we both want our children and grandchildren to study a lot so when they are adults they can have a good job. Like Abuelita, I want my children and the children of my children to never lack food, a home, or clothes.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The author was born and raised in Olancho, Honduras. When he is outside of class he likes to talk with his friends. In the future. he wants to visit Dubai with his friends. His secret talents are playing the piano and the guitar. The most important thing for him is family.
My grandfather likes to work a lot. He was born in Port Antonio, Jamaica. He owns some apartment buildings in California and some land in Costa Rica and Jamaica, which he often has to check on. My grandfather is short with white hair and a mustache. He likes to smile sometimes. In his room, he has pictures of his wife whom I’ve never met, but she looks good in those pictures. My grandfather also has a picture of them at a dinner where they are both smiling and sharing a toast; they looked happy in that picture.
He used to take me on rides to check on his apartments then take me to Olive Garden which is one of my favorite places to eat, and I would order their shrimp alfredo because it tastes good, and he would order the same thing. We used to talk during our meal. Now we don’t talk that much anymore. I mind my business and he minds his. I stay in my room, he stays in his.
He grew up in Jamaica. Jamaica was a British Colony from 1707 until 1962, so it was a colony when my grandfather was young. Alexander Bustamante became the first independent Prime Minister of Jamaica. Trade and tourism became important. At the time when he was living there, it was not easy. He had to work in agriculture and did not make a lot of money. That is why he came to the United States.
First he went to England to study. He had to wash dishes to make money. In Los Angeles, he became a lawyer. He had a car, but no home, so he slept in his car on Skid Row for a while. He made friends who helped him live a better life. He bought a big house in View Park, California then bought apartment buildings and land in the area. He bought land near Magic Mountain. At that time, land was cheap and he made good money as a lawyer. So now it is worth a lot of money. I was born in Limon, Costa Rica in 2001. I grew up there and came to the United States in 2012. In Costa Rica I was living with my mom and grandmother. My grandmother
had her own house. I traveled a lot with my mom during those times. We went to Panama which was nice; we stayed at a nice hotel. My mom passed away in Costa Rica. Before that, I moved to the United States to live with my grandfather and uncle who came to live here before I was born. My mom had told me we were only going to visit them like we had before. Then she told me I couldn’t go back with her because she wanted more opportunities for me. Costa Rica is a nice place, but people cannot get a job or a good career after they graduate. My mother died in Costa Rica when I was in the sixth grade.
My experience is similar to my grandfather’s when he was young, because he had a lot of obstacles to overcome and he moved around a lot. I moved from one place to another my whole life. From Costa Rica I moved to Los Angeles, and then started high school in New York. I recently came back to California. I’ve always had to start my life over, making new friends. My grandfather also traveled a lot, from Jamaica to England, then to the United States.
My grandfather and I are different. He approaches people and starts conversations with them. I stay more to myself. People approach me, and I am nice when they talk to me. I think I am handsome, that helps. When you move around a lot and make new friends, it also helps to have confidence. I learned a lot about my grandfather’s past. Now I understand some of the struggles he went through while growing up. Although I can’t say I can relate to him in certain ways, I understand the challenges he faced.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joshmark Lacy was born and raised in Limon, Costa Rica. He moved to the United States in 2012, moving from Los Angeles to New York, then back again. Lacey’s journey is marked by adaptation, moving around a lot has given Lacey confidence to make new friends despite his introverted nature.
Mila Daniel Mendez
The first time I met my grandma it was around two years ago. When I first met her she was very happy to be with our family again. My grandma’s name is Mila Mendez. She was born in El Salvador. When she was in school, she had to stop going because she had to support her family. She was about thirteen when she stopped going to school. She grew up in a poor town in El Salvador. I know from my mom and my aunt that even they lived very poor. When I talk to my grandma, she always tells me to stay in school and do good. I think this is because she never had a chance to go to school and go to college. Usually when I go to see her, she is happy I don’t think I’ve seen her get mad or negative.
One memory I have with my grandma is when we went to go pick her up from the airport. It was about 6:00 PM when we got there, her plane still hadn’t arrived. We ended up waiting for her for two hours. When we saw her, she looked really happy to see us, and she brought many things with her. One of them was a meal from a restaurant that’s in El Salvador. The restaurant is called Pollo Campero. We had fried chicken, beans, and rice. She also brought horchata.
In the eighties, when my grandma was about twenty years old, there was a civil war going on in El Salvador. She would tell me how when the soldiers came to town, they would recruit children, and they would hide in the rooftops. Despite all this, my grandma stayed in El Salvador and became a street vendor and made enough money to take care of her family. My grandma was working as a street vendor at the time, and she would give the soldiers free food so they wouldn’t bother her.
I grew up in central Los Angeles. I have one brother and five cousins and my parents both work. My dad is in construction and my mom is a nanny. When I get out
of high school, I want to be a professional music producer—I make my own beats now—and have my own video game studio.
One of the challenges I have is staying focused in school. I think of my grandma because when she was going to school, her family was poor, and she had to help out and quit school.
One of the traits that I’ve noticed has been passed down from elders in my family is that we are hard-working. I noticed this when my grandma came to visit and we had a party where my grandma sold food for the people who came, so that when she had to go back to El Salvador she would have money.
Now that I am about to leave high school and I want to be a professional music producer, my family and my grandma have taught me that hard work is really important in life. Hearing my grandma’s stories about living in El Salvador and being in the middle of a civil war has made me appreciate where I live now, in a peaceful country, where me and my family are comfortable and I have a future.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Daniel Mendez was born in Los Angeles, California. He is passionate about music and makes beats outside of class. When he finishes high school, Daniel hopes to continue to produce beats at a studio.
The person I chose to write about is my mother, Claudia. She is fifty-six years old. She resembles her father with clear white skin and green-colored eyes, with a soft voice. She was born in a small pueblo called Los Cerritos in Guatemala. She came to the United States at sixteen, at a very young age, looking for a better life by crossing the border with a group of people she didn’t even know. During that time in her life, her father had passed away and the only thing there was to do is start all over in a new country. The challenges my mom had to face in her community when she was my age were pretty bad. She saw how teachers used to smack kids’ hands with rulers, and the schools wouldn’t feed kids, how they do here. Me and my mom grew up very differently as teenagers.
One cherished memory I have with my mom is the time she took me out of school to go to Disneyland out of the nowhere. The day started with me waking up and getting ready to go to school like usual with no thought of even going anywhere but school. I was in class doing my work, just waiting for the clock to hit recess, then the teacher tells me my mom is here and I go to the office to leave the school and my mom just shows me the Disney tickets when we got to the car, and I never was so happy ever, mostly because I had no clue and the car ride there was so long, but when we arrived we had most of the rides to ourselves, and my mom took me on every one of them, and bought me so many plush toys I could never forget that day.
At seventeen years old, my mom had already spent a year in California and married my dad after meeting in the same apartment building. During the 1960s, the LA Dodgers were also here, and my parents have always been big fans of the team ever since they came to their home city. My mom always faced the challenge of learning by herself because she couldn’t have gone to a public school at the time,
due to her being not born in the United States. She had to learn on her own using what was around her, like television, radio, etc. When she met my dad, they both had an idea of what English was, but they didn’t speak it frequently so they would watch T.V. in English and talk to people with the words they got from the show they watched, and if they would use the word in the wrong way, they would be corrected most of the time by their co-workers.
I was born and raised in Los Angeles, with my older brother and my older sister, by my two parents. I grew up in a Spanish-speaking household where everybody spoke Spanish most of the time and would only speak English when we went out to eat or if it had to do with work. My brother and sister knew both languages and talked to each other in both languages growing up. In elementary school, I felt like I always had to pick one language over the other. My teachers sometimes couldn’t understand me and I couldn’t talk to some people because they didn’t know Spanish, so I took English as my first language. Doing this had its pros and cons because in school everybody spoke English and all the work was in English, but me not speaking the same language my parents used distanced me away from my family.
I didn’t know a lot, so introducing myself to other family members was embarrassing, and I was really shy, so that stood in the way of me even wanting to go to family parties or going over to relatives’ houses. I feel like my parents and I went through the same situation learning languages, but we all find a way to talk to each other no matter what.
What my mom and I have in common is a similar sense of humor. We look alike because we both have green eyes, same skin tone, and same hair. I’d like to pass down to other other generations my persistence and my humility because those are both traits that can get you
somewhere in life. I would like to pass down to other generations kindness and her amount of care for anybody in need.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The author grew up in South Central Los Angeles. He published his first story in an 826LA publication, Rhythm Runs Through Our Veins, as a tenth grader. His first story explores themes of family and tradition, and captures the perspective of a nine year old celebrating Christmas in a Mexican American household.
Hard Work Makes It Worth It At the End
Jesus Vazquez
My grandma’s name is Consuelo Velasquez. She is fifty-six years old and was born in Tijuana, Mexico. My grandma stands about five feet, six inches tall. She has brown eyes, gray hair, and she is very funny. When my uncle and grandma watch soccer and her team loses, she yells out curse words at my uncle and it makes me laugh every time. When she yells, she sounds like a chicken.
The challenges my grandma has in the United States are speaking English and fitting in with American culture. The challenges I’m facing are different. My challenges would be having a better understanding of how to do things, and needing people to physically teach me how to do things. These aren’t the same as my grandma’s challenges, but they are still challenges that are difficult to face. My grandma can speak some English, words like “ok” and “yes.” My grandma can understand English, but she doesn’t know how to respond in English. I can’t understand a lot of Spanish, and that creates a language barrier between us. Another challenge she faced was the need to buy expensive products after having her first daughter (my mom) because she had to provide for her daughter. My grandma stopped buying expensive products once she had her first daughter. My grandma also worked three different jobs after dropping out of high school at the age of nineteen.
My grandma’s cooking is good. She is a very experienced cook even though she didn’t take any cooking classes. The best dish my grandma prepares is chicken wings because she makes a type of hot sauce that has a citrus taste, with a secret ingredient that gives it a big kick.
My grandma and I don’t share any traits but her and my mom are both hard work-
ers. One memory I have is going to the mall and getting lost in a Macy’s because I was running around. It felt like I was lost for a long time, but it didn’t take that long for my grandma to find me. One of the security people found me and put me on the speaker for my grandma to find me. Another memory I have is during the sixth grade when she picked me up early to buy some shoes. She bought me a pair of Vans and Nike SBs. They cost around $80 or $90. My grandma was willing to spend some money on shoes for me, and I felt good because I had some old Converse sneakers that were beat up. My grandma is good because she is willing to spend her money on her grandchildren.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Here are some things that you might want to know about the friendly Jesus Vazquez. He was born in Los Angeles, California. He likes looking for new music on SoundCloud. Once, he made a song that was terrible. Also, here’s a fun fact! He wore a ripped shoe throughout 6th grade.
How I Stopped
Skipping Class
Francisco Pedro-Juan
In this story, I am going to talk about my Dad. My dad’s name is Marcos. He has a mustache. My dad has his big belly. He has dark skin. My dad did not grow up in the United States. He was born in Guatemala. My dad is a person that expects children to do good in their future. My dad gives us advice on what might happen if we do not do well in school. He told me that he never had an education. This affected my dad because he did not know how to speak English. He told me that when he came, he had a friend that helped him get a job. When he went to work, he did not know what his manager was telling him. But after a few weeks he started understanding English. My dad told me that we are lucky that we have the opportunity to go to school because he had difficulty in Guatemala where he had to work hard instead of school.
One memory about my dad is when he pushed me to go to school after I got in trouble when I never went to class. That day, they called my parents to tell them that I missed school a lot of times. Then I went home, and my dad asked me why I did not go to school. I told him that I did go to school, but he said, “No, you did not. They called you out, but you were not in class.” After talking about why I did not go to class, he gave me advice. It went like this: “If you don’t go to school, you will live in the streets. But if you do go to school, you will have a good job and you will have a good education.”
Some of the obstacles I faced during these years were really hard. For example, during middle school, I never went to class. This affected me in high school because I never learned anything, so it was hard for me to understand the material they were teaching. Another obstacle I faced is when I had a hard time paying attention in class. This was hard because when I tried to pay attention, there was always someone or
something that distracts me. I think that Dad went through harder things than I did.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Francisco was born Los Angeles and has lived here his whole life. He is passionate about soccer and plays every day with friends. He can play three instruments: saxophone, guitar, and piano. He is most inspired by his family, who push him to be a good student.
Languages of Belize Demetre Schmidt
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Demetre is passionate about playing sports like soccer. When he was little, his father and his grandfather used to play soccer in their prime days. Demetre grew up in a small country in Central America called Belize. He lived there from when he was three and left for the United States when he was seven. Demetre is interested in studying to become an archaeologist some day. Since he was young, he has been fascinated by human history and prehistory through the excavation of sites and the analysis of artifacts.
My grandmother Agnes Schmidt is quiet and has a lot of respect for people. She doesn’t really talk a lot, instead she shows it by listening to what people have to say. She lives with us in Los Angeles, and my grandfather does, too. She has two sisters that she is friendly with, although she does not see them that much.
Growing up, my grandmother would come over to my mother’s house after work to make the best meal ever. She would make her way to the gate of my house. Although she looked tired, carrying her heavy purse, she would always have a smile on her face when she would see my sister and I. The smell of her jacket was like cherry blossoms, and her long, curly brown hair would make me feel happy when I saw her. On the days she would walk into the house, I gave her a hug and put her work bag somewhere she could see it. She would always complain about me putting her bag somewhere she couldn’t find when she had to leave. My grandmother always started to cook when she entered my house.
She loves to cook her favorite Belizean dinner called sere. She loves this recipe because when she was a little girl, her mom would make sere when she came home from school. It smells like fried salmon. The smell always makes me feel excited and hungry. Sere is a fish soup with a little bit of coconut milk, plantain, cassava, and a mix of vegetables with other spices.
My grandmother used to speak to me in a language called Creole. People like to call it broken English. It is like an ill-written version of the English language, sometimes considered a pidgin language. That’s how my grandmother and I would communicate.
I grew up in Belama, Belize. I came to the United States when I was seven years old. When I started first grade, everything around me was different, and it wasn’t
like back home in Belize. The elementary schools in Belize were outdated. There were cracks in the walls inside classrooms. The floors were made out of wood, and it looked like everything was falling apart. The difference between going to school in the United States versus back in Belize was the atmosphere. Here, it was very cold in the mornings and schools were much bigger and wider. The classrooms in LA looked newly built and in good condition. In Belize, you wake up and it’s hot and sticky.
When I came to live in LA with my mother, the new friends I had made in the neighborhood couldn’t understand my language. I liked talking to my friends at school in Belize, but when I moved here the kids didn’t speak my native language. So when I first attended school in LA, I did not talk to people. That changed in second grade. I knew everybody. Learning to write and speak to others in proper English was a challenge, but my mom and dad helped me improve my English. They helped me learn how to speak to others so that they could understand me.
My grandmother has a lot of respect for others, and that has been passed down to me. She doesn’t interrupt you when you are speaking. I try to do that, too. It makes me feel good to have learned this from her. She supports our family. She tells us to seek our goals and to not to let anything get in our way. She chose not to be interviewed for this story because she doesn’t really like stuff like that. I still want to try to interview her. Maybe today she might say, “Yeah.”
A
My grandfather’s name is Jose Vitelio Villegas, and he’s sixty-four years old. For all of his youth, he only worked in agriculture because he refused to study any longer. He wanted to help his mother work, and that’s why he left school (and also partially for economic reasons). He is loving with people. With any person, he helps them have a loving heart. He raised me from when I was nine years old. I always lived with him because my parents immigrated to this country. He always gave me advice, and he would tell me how his life was. I also remember that he always did everything so that the family was better than before. With him, I learned to work in agriculture, and if today I can work, it’s because of him. The inheritance he will leave me is in having taught me to work.One of the memories with him is that whenever we went to work, he was the first to get up, make breakfast, and go to work all day. When we were working or we did something wrong, he got angry and said to us, “It is not like that. Understand. I’m already bored of explaining it to you, and you don’t do it well” That’s what he always told us, but always with a smile. I always understood it as a joke.
When my uncle was seventeen years old, he lived in El Salvador. He wanted to come to the United States, but he couldn’t because of the economy. So, he stayed in El Salvador with his mom. He worked to help her out. My grandfather’s dad taught him to work in agriculture since he was a child. That’s why my grandfather worked in agriculture all the time. He taught everyone to work to earn money honestly. He did everything to get his family out of the economy that they lived in until my dad and I came here. He stopped working because he’s very old, and we help him out. When he was young, he always liked to play soccer when he left work. He’d go to the field to play soccer with his friends to train because he participated in a soccer team. For all of his youth, he played soccer until he became the trainer of the team. He became very recognized for how he played.
My name is Eliceo Villegas. I’m seventeen years old. I was born and raised in El Salvador. Since I was born, I’ve lived with
my grandparents because my mom and dad lived with them. When I was eight or nine years old, my grandfather took me to work with him so I could learn. One of the most difficult obstacles in my life was when I had to leave my grandfather, my family, and my country where I was born. That day I cried at seeing that I was leaving them. And I didn’t know if I would survive on the way to achieving my American Dream because the journey that all migrants pass through is difficult, but I got through it. I was going along the way, and I missed them so much. I had the urge to return, but I also knew that when I arrived here, there’d be better opportunities to help my family. I have been here for two years, and I’m not yet accustomed, but I motivate myself to help my family. All I do, I do for a better future for me and my family.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Eliceo Villegas is sixteen years old and is from El Salvador. He lives in Los Angeles. He likes to play soccer, listen to music, and study. That’s why he wants to get his high school diploma and start his career as a mechanic in college.
Mi abuelo se llama José Vitelio Villegas. Tiene sesenta y cuatro años. Toda su juventud trabajó en agricultura porque no quiso estudiar más. Él quería ayudar a su mamá a trabajar. Fue por eso que él se salió de la escuela y también fue por la economía. Él es amoroso con las personas, a cualquier persona él le ayuda. Tiene un corazón amoroso. Él me crió desde mis nueve años. Yo me quedé a vivir con él porque mis padres emigraron para este país. Un recuerdo de él es que siempre me daba consejos y me contaba cómo era la vida de él. También me acuerdo que él siempre hizo todo para que la familia estuviera un poco mejor. Con él yo aprendí a trabajar en agricultura y si hoy en dia yo puedo trabajar, es por él. La herencia que me va a dejar es en haberme enseñado a trabajar.
Unas de las memorias con él es que siempre que íbamos a trabajar, él era el primero en levantarse y hacernos el desayuno. Ibamos a trabajar todo el día. Ya cuando andábamos trabajando o algo hacíamos mal, él se enojaba y nos decía “No es así. Entienda. Ya me aburrí de explicarle y no lo hacen bien.”
Eso siempre nos dijo, pero siempre con una sonrisa que yo lo agarraba como broma.
Mi abuelo a sus diecisiete años vivía en El Salvador. Él quería venirse aquí, a los estados unidos, pero no podía por la economía. Entonces él se quedó en El Salvador con su mamá. Él trabajaba para ayudarle a ella. El papá de mi abuelo desde niño le enseñó a trabajar en agricultura. Es por eso que mi abuelo todo el tiempo trabajó en agricultura y los enseñó a todos a trabajar para ganar el dinero honradamente. Él hizo todo para sacar la familia de la economía que vivían. Hasta cuando mi papá y yo nos vinimos aquí, él dejó de trabajar porque estaba muy anciano y nosotros le podíamos ayudar. Cuando él estaba jóven le gustaba jugar fútbol. Siempre que salía del trabajo se iba al campo a jugar fútbol con sus amigos. Entrenaba porque participaba él en un equipo de fútbol. Toda su juventud jugó fútbol hasta que llegó a ser el entrenador del equipo. Fue alguien muy reconocido por como él jugaba.
Tengo diecisiete años de edad. Nací y me crié en El Salvador. Cuando yo tenía ocho o nueve años, mi abuelo ya me llevaba para que anduviera con él trabajando para aprender. Unos de los obstáculos más difíciles en mi vida fue cuando tuve que dejar a mi abuelo, mi familia, y a mi país donde yo nací. Ese día lloré al ver que yo los dejaba y no sabía si iba a sobrevivir en el camino por lograr mi sueño de América. El camino que pasamos todos los emigrantes es difícil, pero lo logramos. Venía por el camino y los extrañaba mucho. Tenía ganas de regresarme pero también sabía que al llegar aquí hay mejores oportunidades para ayudarles a ellos. Tengo dos años de estar aquí y así no me he acostumbrado, pero le hecho ganas para ayudarle a mi familia. Todo lo que hago lo hago por un mejor futuro para mi y mi familia.
SOBRE EL AUTOR
Eliceo Villegas tiene diecisiete años de edad, y es de El Salvador. Tiene tres años viviendo en Los Ángeles. Le gusta jugar fútbol, escuchar música, y estudiar. Es por eso que quiere agarrar su título secundario y sacar su carrera de mecánico en la universidad.
“She was shivering, not because she had forgotten her sweater, but because she had given it to me.”
With Curly Untamed Hair
Anna Lopez
Her father was a farmer, her mom a housewife. Rosa Mejia was born in the year 1950, and raised in Usulután, El Salvador. She is the eldest of her three remaining siblings. She’s my aunt, she’s wobbling around in her PJs in the morning hunting for coffee. She’s my aunt, with curly, untamed hair, rushing to get anywhere on time. She’s my aunt, standing too close to the T.V. with intrigued brown eyes. She’s my aunt, with hard, creped hands, and an enthusiastic handshake.
My aunt lived in her hometown until she came to America at the age of twenty-eight. During her last couple of years there, she had to deal with the bloodshed that had taken away the lives of people she loved.
The Civil War in El Salvador started in 1979 and ended in 1992. The people were fighting for their rights, healthcare, freedom of expression, etc. By the end of the 1970s, death squads made up of guerrilla groups would kill about ten people a day. Rosa was sad and confused when she found out she had lost her two brothers who had died fighting for the rights of the people in their country. My aunt was able to come to the United States through the help of her parents. My grandparents worked extra hard, trying to harvest plants and selling their cattle in order to raise enough money.
I came to live with my aunt after my mother passed away. My father was dejected and overwhelmed. There were too many bills and not enough money. He had difficulty taking care of me and my siblings with his extended work schedule. It was a mournful and chaotic time for my family, knowing my father was a mess.
Having this in mind, my father asked my eldest brother Noe, who was eight at the time, “Mi hijo, would you like to go live with your aunt instead?”Growing up without either parent was especially hard, knowing I didn’t really have anyone I
could really trust or go to for advice. Losing people she loved was the hardest thing Rosa has dealt with. It is feeling that void and emptiness, even when everyone tells you it’s going to be okay. It is knowing someone is not coming back, but missing them every day. This is something I know I could not only relate to with my aunt, but with many people. Death is one of those unavoidable things everyone has to (or one day will) to go through. It is the inevitable outcome of life.
Despite not having my dad for support, my aunt was there to take care of me and my siblings. She always tried her best to overfeed us. My aunt does everything to put me first and try to keep me safe. I remember the night we waited an eternity for the bus to come. It was dark and cold, and despite the umbrella over us, we were still soaked. She was shivering, not because she had forgotten her sweater, but because she had given it to me. She gave me an extra layer of warmth when I was cold. She’s my aunt, the woman who put everything to the side to raise us as her own.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The author was born into the craziness of South Central LA. Her name comes from her grandmother, Anna Maria Lopez. This is the only reason she’s fond of a name so common. Family means everything to her. In terms of the future, she’s hoping for a high school diploma and a good nap.
When my aunt was young, her mother passed away, so she had to take care of her younger siblings, and she knew how to move them forward. After some years, she had some children and afterwards got separated. The situation in El Salvador was very critical, at least for a woman that had three children to maintain and siblings to help. She had to make a very difficult decision: to leave her family, not knowing how much time it would take to send for them to be brought here, but that’s one thing that’s difficult to calculate.
My aunt, Otilia Rangel, was born in El Salvador and she was raised there for most of her infancy. She’s sixty-six years old. When she was twenty years old, she came to live in Los Angeles. Her personality is very good; she’s nice, honest, and responsible. She’s a very strong person and has known how to face adversities that come up. I have a good relationship with my uncles and aunts, especially her. My aunt is the best person I’ve ever known and from whom I’ve learned so much, such as being clean and having my things in order.
So shortly after she saved enough money, she decided to come to Los Angeles. And she worked hard, without stopping, to bring her children as soon as possible. But when her children arrived, the eldest child got angry with her and even today, they cannot forgive her for leaving them alone. I think that is the biggest problem my aunt has had, and it is a conflict that was caused by making the decision to be here.
After a few years of being here, she made the decision to buy a house with her current husband. He is Mexican, and he’s sixty-nine years old, and that is one of the things that cost her the most, because a while ago her husband spent a lot. She gave him an ultimatum that if he would go with his friends to keep drinking, he would
stay with them. Or he would stay with her and buy a house. He decided to stay with the family and leave the vice.
One of the best qualities I see in her is that she has a big heart with animals just like with people. She has two dogs, Marly and Gorda, and a kitten, Milagros, who is very sweet and playful. She cares for them as if they were her children too. Milagros has a very peculiar story. They found her under a car when she was a newborn and very thin. It seemed as if they were her last days, because she was very ugly. Then my aunt took care of her so much and then she got better little by little, her fur became bright yellow and her ears perked up. I guess it was because she was happy. Something that I admire about my aunt is that if she looks at an animal in danger, she feeds them and then takes them to a place where they can help them.
I am sixteen years old. I was born in Dallas, Texas and raised in Mexico, since I was a year old. I have three brothers and a sister. I like to play sports and to experience new things. I have gotten involved in different sports such as basketball, cross country, SRLA, soccer, and now I am thinking about participating in tennis and track and field.
One of the challenges I had to face like my aunt did, I think was the language. It’s very difficult to be in a new place where you cannot communicate, but just like my aunt, I will overcome that challenge. Another challenge we have in common is that we both left our families to come to the United States.
When I came here, I entered a foster home. The funniest thing is that I did not know I had an aunt here in Los Angeles. After a few months, my aunt found out and took me to live with her, and I am very happy to
be with her and my cousins. My aunt supports me, and she takes me to all the marathons (SRLA) for school. It’ll be 3:30AM, and she will be preparing breakfast for me—oatmeal—and cutting fruit for me to eat after running. That’s something no other person does for their niece, including taking me to places where I’m meeting with the group. She has become a person whom I admire from whom I’ve received care and admiration. She’s one of the best people I’ve known.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Saray Jimenez was born in Dallas,Texas. She likes to talk with her friends outside the classroom. She loves to run and participates on the Cross Country team at her school. In her free time she likes to draw.
Saray Jimenez
Saray Jimenez
Cuando mi tía era muy joven su madre falleció. Así ella tuvo que hacerse cargo de sus hermanos pequeños y los supo sacar adelante. Después de algunos años, ella tuvo sus hijos y después se separó. La situación en El Salvador era muy crítica, o por lo menos para una mujer que tenía tres hijos que mantener y hermanos a los cuales tenía que ayudar. Ella tuvo que tomar una decisión muy difícil–tener que dejar a su familia, no sabiendo cuánto tiempo para después mandarla a traer. Pero eso es una cosa que es difícil de calcular .
Mi tía Otilia Rangel nació en El Salvador y se crió allí por la mayor parte de su infancia. Tiene sesenta y seis años de edad.
A la edad de veinte, se vino a vivir a Los Ángeles. Su personalidad es muy buena. Es simpática, honesta, y responsable. Ella es una persona muy fuerte y que ha sabido enfrentarse a las adversidades que se le atraviesan. Yo tengo una buena relación con ella. Mi tía es la mejor persona que he conocido y de la que he aprendido mucho, desde cómo ser limpia y tener mis cosas en orden.
Así que al poco tiempo que ella pudo juntar el dinero, decidió venirse a Los Ángeles, y trabajó duro y sin parar para traer a sus hijos más pronto. Pero cuando llegaron sus hijos, el mayor se enojó con ella y aún en día no la puede terminar de perdonar por haberlos dejado solos. Creo que ese es el mayor problema que ha tenido mi tía y es un conflicto que se causó por tomar la decisión de estar aquí.
Después de algunos años de estar aquí ella tomó la decisión de comprar una casa con su actual esposo mexicano. Tiene sesenta y nueve años y él es una de las personas que más le costó. Su esposo tomaba mucho y como dice mi tía, sintió que se estaba descarrilando así que ella le puso un ultimátum de que si iba con sus amigos a seguir tomando y que se quedara con ellos o se quedaba con ella y su familia y compra-
ban una casa. El decidió quedarse con su familia y dejar el vicio.
Una de las mejores cualidades que veo en ella es que tiene un gran corazón con los animales tanto como con las personas. Los cuida como si fueran sus hijos también. Ella tiene dos perros Marly, y Gorda, y una gatita que por cierto es muy dulce y juguetona. Ella se llama Milagros y ella tiene una historia muy peculiar. La encontraron debajo de un carro recién nacida y muy delgada. Parecía como si fueran sus últimos días agregando porque estaba muy fea. Entonces mi tía la cuidó tanto y después fue mejorando poco a poco su pelaje amarillo brillante y sus orejitas más levantadas; supongo que era porque estaba feliz. Algo que admiro de ella es que en cualquier momento donde sea, si ella mira a un animal en peligro ella los alimenta y luego los lleva a un lugar donde puedan ayudarles.
Yo tengo dieciocho años. Nací en Dallas, Texas y me crié en México desde que tenía un año de edad. Tengo tres hermanos y una hermana. Me gusta hacer deporte y experimentar cosas nuevas. Me he metido a diferentes deportes como básquetbol, cross country, Students Run Los Angeles, fútbol y ahora estoy pensando en participar en tenis y el atletismo.
Uno de los retos que tuve que enfrentar igual que mi tía fue el idioma; es muy difícil estar en un nuevo lugar donde no te puedes comunicar. Pero al igual que mi tía, superaré ese reto. Otro reto que tenemos en común es que ambas dejamos a nuestras familias para venir a los estados unidos.
SOBRE EL AUTOR
Saray Jiménez nació en Dallas, Texas. Le gusta hablar con sus amigos fuera de clase. Le encanta correr y participa en el equipo de Cross Country de su escuela. En su tiempo libre le gusta dibujar.
A Coincidence
Destiny Kapple
The elder I would love to introduce goes by the name of Joan Mckay. Joan is a mom, a friend, a grandmother, a neighbor, and more, to many. Joan is my adoptive mother, but I call her Grandma. She is kind and loving, but can be over-dramatic. She is sweet, short, and very social. Joan was born in the late 1960s in Belize, which is an independent country on the eastern coast of Central America. Unfortunately for her, education was not really a priority for many children at the time. She fell into that category as well and decided not to focus on school. Ms. Mckay later moved to the United States by herself around the age of sixteen to find better opportunities.
I’ve heard the story over a million times. My grandmother tells everyone who she meets how, when I was one month old, I had a heart attack during an Emergency Room visit because of a breathing problem. You can only imagine everyone’s reaction in the hospital room when they heard doctors and nurses screaming Code Blue for a newborn. Surprisingly, I survived that incident, but unfortunately there were many more battles to face after that. I was diagnosed with congenital heart failure and since then I have been in and out of the hospital. Growing up, I went back and forth to the hospital with my grandma for check-ups and even had to get incisions at my groin to detect my heart and take pictures of it. At the age of seven, I had to undergo my first open-heart surgery at Children’s Hospital LA. Because of my grandmother and her support, I don’t recall ever being scared to have my surgery.
Maybe it was because I was too young to understand what was going on or because I felt it was my responsibility to make sure I was strong for her. After the surgery, I remember waking up in my hospital room, my home for sometime, to my family, but my grandmother always visited and
brought home-cooked meals for me.
During her teenage years while still in Belize, Joan began to experiment and became pregnant with the first of the four children she would have. Unfortunately, while moving to the United States, she only had the option to bring two of her youngest children with her. There were many obstacles for her to face because she didn’t have a home or money. Forced to get a job, she began to clean people houses and became a caretaker to make ends meet.
Her two children (enrolled in elementary school) were forced to grow up at a young age and take on responsibilities that children shouldn’t have to. As her kids began to get older, she decided to go to medical school and study cardiac care.
My grandmother made sure to let me in on the secret of my adoption and who my parents were. She told me I would always be loved. For the most part, we grew up in Arlington Heights and Mid-City, which for me was a very loving community. Everywhere I went, I just felt loved because the neighbors were like family, and we all looked out for each other. I think, because of the way I grew up, I enjoy being around friends and family, and being surrounded by positivity. Being a heart patient, I’ve always received pity because of my diagnosis, so there was always a barrier around me. I remember always being limited in activities I could do, but because of my personality, I’ve always tried to find loopholes around it so I could participate in extracurricular activities. One of my pet peeves is being limited and told that I can’t do something. I know I have to prove people wrong and show that my condition does not disable me. It does not depict who I am. It’s just one misfortune in the story that made me the person I am today.
My grandma and I don’t look at all alike; but I know for sure we are both caring,
family-oriented, and strong. We are very strong individuals, mentally and physically. I say physically because health-wise we have really fought through every obstacle and mishap that happened to us. When I say family-oriented, I mean my grandma hustles and grinds for us all to live a better life. I know if I was stuck with a choice like that, I would try my best for my family.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Destiny Kapple is a very headstrong teenager. She is family-oriented. She loves life itself and loves to joke around with friends and family a little too much.She has a good heart and is dedicated to whatever she puts her mind to, including her grades.
My grandma’s name is Ana Maria Melo and she is fifty-eight years old, more or less. No one knows for sure, because she doesn’t even know. She didn’t have that many older people in her life to tell her these things. What she did know, was that she was her own parent taking care of herself and her siblings, and eventually her own children and their children. She was born in Hidalgo, Mexico. She moved to the United States thirty years ago, when my father was born, because it was difficult to raise a family in Mexico. Since then, I’ve only known her as abuelita.
I didn’t have contact with her for a couple of years after my mother took me with her to another state. My abuelita’s mother had twelve kids, and she was one out of the eleven who had to care for them. She always worked hard as a teenager because she knew what she wanted to do. She kept working hard and never let anyone get in her way to achieve her dream. She was a social worker who helped kids who didn’t have a mother or father. There was a time when she worked for the government in Mexico, and they had her doing things that needed to be taken care of in her community. She always helped people because she understands their problems having experienced them herself.
Later on in her life, she made the choice to go to the United States, live a new life, and see what it would bring her. She brought her three kids with her and had nothing to start with. She had to provide for her kids, so she looked for jobs, but the problem was she didn’t know English very well and needed to learn more. She met someone at church who helped her practice her English. She later on worked as a house cleaner then became a social worker again so she could help kids in California who didn’t have a family or weren’t being taken good care of.
Her character is great, she’s a individual
who works hard to help her family, and she always likes to learn something new that can help her or others around her. She’s an honest woman who always stands up for what she thinks is right and works hard to make a difference in her community. She looks like she may be upset, but she isn’t upset at all, it’s just how she looks. Once you speak to her, she’ll have a nice smile on her face. The way she speaks is wonderful, her voice can easily get you tired, and you’ll be impressed with her knowledge from her experiences. She understands how life is a huge struggle that everyone lives through every day.
I think my grandmother might just be the sweetest person alive. When I was little she would keep me wrapped like a burrito and put me on her bed. When I would wake up after sleeping, she would ask if I wanted anything to eat, and I would respond with a no because she would make me very healthy food with vegetables. She had a book full of different meals to make for me or anyone who was in her house. She always read to me about a book or something she knew, but I didn’t pay much attention because I was more focused on my toys.
She is a very smart woman who knows how life is. She always loves to help people who are struggling in life because she doesn’t like to see people, including her family, suffer. She always talked about how family is important. I should never let anyone push me or get me down. She always advised me to play smart because if I made a choice that wasn’t right, it would make me feel bad. She always reminded me to make good choices and to never stop what you love doing no matter what. She is always the one person I talk to about everything because I trust her. I used to lay down with her on the bed and tell her everything I think and feel about everything in life. I asked her questions about anything I could think of. I wanted to
know more about how life works and why people are the way they are. She always said I was a very curious boy who always wants to know how everything works. We had sad times, like when she told me she isn’t always going to be with me when I get older. I felt really scared, and I didn’t want to know why, but my mind kept saying, “Ask more questions.” She told me she will be in heaven with God. I asked her why God would take her away from me and my dad. Her answer made me cry and hug her tight. She said everyone grows old then dies because God has a plan for everyone. He has a plan for me, too, but I didn’t want that. I wanted her to stay with me and never leave my side. She is a straight-up person who doesn’t lie or make up stories. She always tells the truth to you. She is never scared of anything because she said it was all in our heads. She is right because when I would see something that scared me, my mind would make up some kind of monster that would want to hurt me or my grandma. We always used to do everything together.
I don’t know much about what was going on during her youth. She was mostly living in a neighborhood where there were bad things going on—shootings, fights, and much more, but there wasn’t enough for me to say. She faced more problems at home than where she lived. She saw homeless children, but there were other children who didn’t have a home or parents to take care of them. She went to school, but school is where she had trouble understanding why people were suffering and what she could do to make a change in her community. She kept learning more so she could find any type of way to help, no matter how small the effect. She never stopped working hard at a young age because she always fought for what she thought was right. A really big challenge she was facing was her father being abusive to her, her siblings, and her mother. She wouldn’t say much about what happened because she
Ana Maria
Kevin Morales
sounded like she didn’t want to.
I was born in Downtown Los Angeles. I was raised in Los Angeles until the age of six. My mother came to the United States at the age of seven. My father came to the United States at the age of nine with his mother and two sisters. I grew up in Los Angeles in two different parts of the city. The areas were great, but mostly sad how there was homeless people in the streets. I had a good childhood, but I wasn’t such a good student at school. Most of the time I was in trouble for fighting with the other kids whom I had assumed didn’t like me because of who I was or just wanted to pick on a kid who had friends who were different. We were kids and we do stupid things as kids. One of the biggest challenges I went through was being taken to a place I have never been to and having to grow up without a father who was there for me.
I moved to a new home after my mother wanted to move away from the city, and my sister and half-brother were there, too. We moved to a small town called Fallon. It was hard for me to start a new life knowing I was taken away from my father and having to live with different men who dated my mother. The school was terrible, the kids were so mean, and I didn’t understand why I had to start at a new school and make new friends. I didn’t want this, but I didn’t get a choice. There were some nights I couldn’t sleep because I missed my father and didn’t really fit in with the other kids in school. I felt like an outcast because they thought I was a weirdo.
I made new friends who loved playing games as much as me. We always played with Pokémon cards and pretended to be superheroes, and sometimes we would play with our toys in the sand because we didn’t really hang out with the other kids. I felt like I didn’t belong there, I knew my home was in Los Angeles, but my mother wouldn’t tell me why I couldn’t see my father anymore or why I couldn’t go back to see my grandmother. She would get upset when I asked questions about him, so I stopped mentioning him. Eventually
I started to forget what he looked like and what his voice sounded like.
I am now sixteen years old and live with my father in Los Angeles. I attend a new school where I feel like I belong. My relationship with my father is better. We spend more time with each other and sometimes do father and son things like going out for a run at night or going to the movies. I have new friends who I can open up to and bond with. We sometimes hang out after school, play soccer, or go to the Science Center.
I am a better person than I was before. The mentality I had before has changed a lot, and I try to tell people how I really feel about things in life. I don’t make bad choices or have friends who are mean to me, and I don’t have to experience things I don’t need to see until I’m ready for a new life lesson. I ask questions about anything I want to know and learn more about. I go out and learn from people or my family. They teach me new life lessons, give me advice that I’ll need in the future, and tell me how to play smart in life.
My grandmother and I are similar in some ways, while there are things that make us different. We like to learn new things and read books. She reads to expand her vocabulary and teach her family members. I like to tell others about what I learned and show them where I learned it. We like to learn by asking questions but I don’t teach anyone in my family because they already know enough about life. She faced tough times in her life that involved family, and so have I. Ana always loves helping people who couldn’t help themselves because it gave her a good feeling inside. She loves knowing she can change peoples’ lives in a positive way. I enjoy helping people too but sometimes I don’t really understand why I feel bad. She prefers reading books but I’m more of a comic-book reader. I think what I will pass on are my looks as well as some of my personality traits and my father’s last name. I want to provide a better childhood and have a whole family that is together.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kevin Morales can be described as a smart, outgoing and kind. His father says that he is an above average kid: he has many interests and complexities. Kevin values perseverance and finds it important to improve and grow as a person everyday. Outside of class, Kevin plays soccer. In the future, Kevin hopes to pursue a career in psychology.
Grateful Carlos Odilon
My grandma’s name is Maria. No one knows her age because...well, no one in her family has her birth certificate. No one told my grandma about her birthday because they didn’t have the time or the money to throw a party. She was born in Oaxaca, Mexico. My grandma has a great personality. She might look like she’s a bit grumpy, but she’s actually a good person to talk to once you get to know her. My grandma is not very tall; she’s about four feet, four inches. She doesn’t speak English, and she can barely speak Spanish. The language she speaks is called Zapoteco/Zapotec. It is a language that is used in indigenous parts of Mexico. It’s been spoken for years by Zapotec people in South-western Mexico.
A memory I have with my grandma is when my family and I went to visit her and my Uncle Eulogio to celebrate New Year’s Eve in 2015. When we got to their place we greeted each other and shared how we’ve been, since we didn’t live with them and didn’t talk that often. It was a good time because I got to interact with her since I last lived with her in 2013. I got to know what she’d been doing for the past few months, thanks to my mom. I thank my mom because my grandma’s Spanish is a bit hard to understand, so my mom translates for me when I struggle. I remember my mom translating what my grandma said, “I’m doing well, and I’ve been distracting myself by going to the park and just hanging around and relaxing.”
My grandma was telling me all this while my mom and her were cooking food to eat later on with the whole family gathered around together. They were cooking a dish they make on special occasions called salsa con res o pollo, which, in English, is pork or chicken with sauce and sides of rice and beans.
In my grandma’s youth, she had to work, so she didn’t really have a youth. She
technically became an adult at the young age of sixteen because she had to help out her family, which seems very grown up to me, seeing how teens in this decade aren’t doing what she did.
My life is a bit similar to hers, yet different in a way. It’s similar to my grandma’s life because she and her family were struggling with money. Sometimes they had to eat the same thing because they didn’t have enough money to buy food or other things they needed. In my case, my family also struggles to sometimes buy or make food. We don’t have enough so we have to eat the same thing for sometimes up to two days. But here’s a difference between us...my grandma didn’t have time to have fun or play games. She had to go through struggles so she could eat and help her family out. In my case (which I don’t like because I should do better), I don’t work. Instead, I’m at home playing video games while my sister and parents work so we can eat and have a good life.
My grandma is special to me because when I see her or talk to her, it makes me think about how she suffered and worked hard when she was young. It makes me realize that I have too much of a good life and I should be more grateful for the life I have. Soon I’ll be talking to my kids about how my grandma was, the stories my mom told me about my grandma, how I look up to my grandma, and how grateful I am that she gave my mom the life she had so that I could have a better life.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Carlos Odilon was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He is sixteen years old. He is the only boy and the youngest of four children. His parents are from Oaxaca, Mexico. In his spare time, Carlos likes playing video games— he’s into action and adventure games. He likes to know how the story plot of the game is being processed and made to get to the ending, whether it’s going to be good or bad.
Sunday at the Swap Meet
Sebastian Pimentel
The elder I will be talking about is my grandma, Lupe Melara. She is seventy years old, and she has been through a lot to get where she is now. She was born in Mexico, but came to the United States where she became a mother and then a grandmother. My grandma is loving, caring and a hard worker. Although she is full Mexican and speaks only Spanish, her skin color is very light. She had to work really hard to get where she is now. My grandma has been a nurse, owned a pharmacy, and has taken care of foster kids throughout her life. That goes to show how hard she worked as she started off as an immigrant. Now that she has papers to show, she can live in this country peacefully. She is a landlord of four houses. She enjoys cooking for her grandkids and is happy with her life.
Some memories that I remember clearly to this day are about me and my grandma going every Sunday to a swap meet. My grandma has been with me my whole life. Since I was a child, she would look after me in her house while my mom worked. On weekends, my grandma would take me with her to the swap meet. The swap meet is like an outside mall where there are stands instead of real stores where people can sell food and any items that they want. Although they weren’t the best quality of products, they were cheap. It worked for someone to save money. I remember these memories very fondly. It was just me and my grandma and sometimes my mom just going out together, getting food, and bonding in general. We don’t go anymore because we just don’t spend as much time together as we used to. But that doesn’t mean I don’t still cherish those memories.
I grew up in the city of Los Angeles. The challenges I face are nothing serious— just everyday things like walking to school, taking care of my pets, and doing chores. Just normal things to do; however, for my grandma growing up in Mexico, some of
the challenges she faced were far more serious.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sebastian Pimentel describes himself as an introvert, but this doesn’t mean he doesn’t like adventure. Sebastian loves playing video games: his favorite is Smite, a battle of the gods. He loves indulging in fantasy and reading mythology. Sebastian hopes that after reading his story, the reader will be motivated to keep moving forward.
Can you imagine what it’s like for you to always take care of everyone and never have time for yourself? My grandma Amalia Magdaleno has always been a part of my life. She is my mother’s mother. She was born in Mexico and was raised by her grandma. Now she has lived in the United States for a long time. I remember her being here since I was born. She has short and curly brown hair. My grandma has really good cooking. She can make many different kinds of food. My favorite dish that she makes is called mole, which has chicken and rice. My grandma’s personality is very cool, and she has always been funny. She likes to have fun and take care of the whole family. I appreciate my grandma because every morning she gives me advice on how to do better.
She moved to the United States to look for better jobs and better health for her kids. She wanted a better education and better doctors for her kids because, in Mexico, there really isn’t much medicine, so more people are sick and the environment is not really healthy either.
When she came from Mexico back in the day, it wasn’t really hard to cross to the United States. The hardest part was sending her kids first. My grandma had five kids in total, three girls and two boys. Raising her kids was hard because she didn’t really have much money.
When I was four years old I remember my grandma cooking for me. I remember the first time she made me chicken mole with rice. When I first tried it, the mole had a sweet, candy taste and I knew from then on, this was going to be my favorite food. I like being in the kitchen when she is in the process of making this dish because the smell always makes my mouth water. Her grandma told her she had to learn how to cook since my great-great-grandma wasn’t going to be around forever. When my grandma was little, she would always
be in the kitchen paying attention to how my great-great-grandma would cook. My grandma will make sure everyone eats regardless of who they are.
Another thing I like about my grandma is that she tries to help everyone, even if she doesn’t have enough herself. I find this amazing because sometimes it’s difficult when you don’t even have enough to take care of yourself. But I feel like it makes my grandma happy to help others. There are times when my grandma will put a box together, full of shoes and clothes, and send it to Mexico.
I remember my grandma’s sixty-second birthday. My entire family got together and threw her a surprise party. When she arrived nobody opened the door, then we all came out at once singing happy birthday. She started crying tears of joy and hugged everyone. The party was full of food and loud Spanish music. Everyone was vibing, having fun, and dancing. I even remember my grandma being pretty tipsy from drinking micheladas This moment stands out to me because this is the only time she didn’t have to take care of others, and she could just have fun.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Daniel Navarro was born in Los Angeles and has lived in South Central all his life. When he is not walking his Yorkie, Camila, his biggest hobby is riding bikes with many friends and working with his uncle to build up a chrome Aventon fixie. Daniel is most inspired by his mother because she has always worked hard. She makes sure he is humble. One day in the future, Daniel wants to become a businessman and be the owner of his company.
Amalia’s Delicious Mole
Daniel Navarro
“Life is like a mountain… you gotta work hard to get to the top. Nothing is given in life, but anything is possible. If you want something, work for it until you have it in your hands.”
Hard Work
Success Comes in Cans
Roderick Polian interviewed by Adelaida Salgado
Roderick Polian is sixty years old. He was born and raised in the streets of South Central on 57th and Hoover and graduated from Manual Arts High School in 1975. He is one brother of eight siblings—all of them attended Manual Arts. In high school, he played varsity football and ran track. He is known as “Mr. Manual” among Manual Arts alumni.
In high school, he was determined to graduate. One of his biggest challenges was being an average student and not meeting the standards his mother would’ve liked for him. She wanted him to go to college and have a secure professional career. His ultimate dream, though, was to become a professional athlete. He describes graduating from Manual Arts as bittersweet–he was seventeen years old, entering life and embracing his future. He knew that his classmates were parting ways.
Roderick is a true Toiler, a very hard-working person. He’s worked different jobs, including at his family’s mom-and-pop shop. He was an assistant coach at Manual Arts from 1998 to 2003, under coach Glenn Bell. There is an alumni saying he lives by: “If you cut us, we’ll bleed purple and grey.” That’s how much he loves Manual Arts.
AS: How did you earn the nickname “Mr. Manual”?
RP: I am fortunate enough to remember everything from my brother’s three years and my three years at Manual. When [alumni] and I get together and reminisce, I remember those times like they were yesterday. I started to support a lot of alumni events starting in 1995, because of an article in the paper about coach Glenn Bell. He coached me my senior year at Manual, back in 1974–75. He was a mentor of mine back then. When I read the article saying he had come back here as the head coach, I started coming up [to Manual] again. Eventually he asked me to help do a little assistant coaching. I helped with the football teams from 1998 to 2003 until he left. Anytime there were alumni events during those years, I was always there, and I would always wear purple and grey. So they called me Mr. Manual, because I was a historian, a griot—a person that knows and remembers. Some of my alumni friends–they forgot! But me, I still remember it ‘cause I really cherish those—I mean, oh my God, they were good times for me, you know.
I have classmates that didn’t like high school. Back then, Richard Nixon was in office and the country was faced with inflation. Their parents were looking at [my friends] like, “Well, okay, when June come, you know you out on your own!” So the pressures of the times that was going on then–inflation, gas, everything going up under Nixon’s term, were hard. A lot of my classmates and friends had a hard time in high school. When we try to get them to come to alumni functions, they say, “Aw nah, I don’t want to. Don’t come talk to me about Manual. I didn’t like high school.” When I be like, “Well, what’s wrong, why?” They say, “‘Cause I was under pressure from my parents.” A lot of them were. When you graduate, you out on your own.
AS: What made you have so much Manual Arts pride? What happened here?
RP: Like I said I was fortunate to experience my brother’s three years. He’s two years ahead of me, his name is Cedrick Polian. He came here first. He started at Manual in ’69 and graduated from the class of ’72. He was a football player and a three-year varsity letterman. I was in junior high school. Even though he didn’t want me to, I always asked, “Man, can I go, can I go!?” I was a tag-along little brother. He did not want me to go, but our mother said, “No, let him go, let him go!” So, the comradery of the students, the spirit—Manual was really spirited in those days—as a junior high school kid was magical, man! I mean, I always say Manual was magical. The unity and the comradery was just awesome.
AS: Who influenced you the most growing up?
RP: My mother. Me and my brother–you’re gonna hear me include him a lot because being the younger brother, you know he’s my hero. I always have looked up to him and still do. Me and my brother were raised by a stepfather. Our father and my mother separated when I was two years old but then we were raised by a stepfather. Some people might say, “You had the best of both worlds.”
We had a nickname for [my mother] when we were coming up. There were three men in the house. My stepfather, my brother and myself and she was the woman of the house. We called her the Warden. I gave her that nickname, The Warden, because she was the boss of us three men. She was the head honcho! Everything we did, you had to get her approval. So it was my mother [that influenced me]. She’s deceased—she made her transition in December, 1995. She was the backbone.
Me and my brother, we had a good relationship with our father. He remained in our lives even though we were raised by a stepfather. So first momma, then daddy.
AS: How do you think she shaped the way
you grew up and transitioned through life?
RP: She instilled resepct in me and my brother. She demanded it. I remember she would sign my junior-high-school yearbook. One of my all-time favorite quotes that she wrote was: “Success comes in cans.”
AS: In cans?
RP: In cans. When I first thought about it, I thought a soup can! A literal can! What she was saying was success comes in cans. Meaning, I can do this, I can achieve. What she instilled in me, instilled in us, was “Try.” You can. Whatever you want to do, achieve it. You can do it. Just like Manual’s motto, “It can be done.”
She was an inspiration. What they instilled in us, I took heed to. It helped me to raise my own kids. I know I couldn’t duplicate the way my mother raised me, but I did try. My daughter was around twelve when her grandmother, my mother, passed. I tease my daughter today because she tries to do things to emulate her grandmother. I tell her—and it’s only teasing but I say—“You’ll never be able to fill your grandmother’s shoes. You half-fill them or maybe three-quarters fill them but you’re not gonna ever be able to fill that lady’s shoes.” Like I said, I nicknamed her the Warden. She was allright. She was the boss.
AS: After witnessing two different riots, in what ways have you seen your community rebuild itself?
RP: I was eight years old when the Watts Riots happened. My father was a manager at a supermarket right there on 103rd street in Watts–the main street there. As a kid, I saw it tore down. They demolished it. The lootin’, the burnin’...it took years to recover. To this very day there’s still some places in Watts that the city just never rebuilt.
In ’92 with the Rodney King Uprising, I have to give the leaders of the city good credit because after that riot, they did build it up again. Tension—it’s a growing process. It was one of those unfortunate things
that happened when everybody just got to that point where they just couldn’t take it no more. They expressed themselves in a negative way, but mankind, womankind, it’s still going, we’re still going. It’s not ever going to be perfect.
I always try to be positive. I hold on to that for my daughter, my son, and my two grandkids. Instead of being negative and saying, “It’s just going to get worse,” I don’t try to instill that into them. Whatever negativity you get or however life treats you, get the positive out of it. I really believe you can get a positive out of negative, but you have to have patience. Focus on the will to get a positive out of a negative.
AS: How would you compare the Watts Riots to the Rodney King riots now that you can reflect on both? Both seemed to be about social injustice. Are they similar in that way?
RP: What I’ve learned about the Watts Riots was: the unemployment rate was at its highest among the Black community. There was a lot of police brutality. They were bringing in Southern White cops from the South. There was brutality going on, high unemployment rates, and that summer was hot. With everything combined it just–poof. Sometimes even though we disagree, we have to live with police. I wouldn’t want to imagine society without them. Sometimes the police, they make you. My opinion is they’re just an organized gang, but we need them to survive. Can you imagine if there weren’t any police? They have their advantages and their disadvantages, that’s what I’m saying.
The story is they stopped two Black males on Imperial and Avalon, and it escalated from there. They got into a conflict and just the tension was enough—it was like a spark. People were tired of the problems that were going on, and it just exploded.
Now in the Rodney King incident, that was totally different. Everybody saw the video—they had him down and he wasn’t resisting. They had him down, and they just kept beating him right in front of your
face. You saw this abuse, and they got off without charges—but rioting wasn’t the answer. In Watts, there were places people tore down. That was in ’65 and it was ’92—almost thirty years and they still hadn’t built it back up. It wasn’t the answer! That’s how I felt, but people had their own minds.
I remember I drove down Vermont, all the way to work, and saw the devastation. As someone that was born here, raised here–that morning drive hurt. Here was all the stuff I had seen all my life, the furniture stores, the businesses—to see the devastation hurt.
AS: Thinking about racism, poverty, and all the other hard things we deal with in life, what is your advice on how I can overcome the oppressions that still exist in 2018?
RP: Make a commitment to yourself. Even if it feels like it’s over your head, just make that commitment to yourself. It’s hard, but you gotta keep going. I remember when I was in junior high at John Muir, I told myself, “Through this journey in life, I’m gonna laugh as much as I can. The hustle bustle, the rat race of survival, I’m not gonna let that get me down. I’m gonna have a good spirit and just enjoy life through this journey.” You do run across experiences, but you can’t doubt yourself. You just gotta dust off your boots and keep going.
I remember when I played football at West LA Junior College [...] the opposing team would call out the N-word, but I laughed it off. I would laugh it off ’cause I knew they were tryna get in my head. I never ever experienced brutality from the police, so I thank God for that. Right now, I’m a sixty year old Black male, and it’s hard to prove age discrimination. I want to get back to work, and I’ve been looking for a job, but it’s been rough. I’ve been to interviews and ’cause of the white hair they never called me back. It is hard to prove, but I’m experiencing it. But I’m not gonna throw in the towel; I’m not gonna fall down and wallow in sorrow. I just gotta keep going. Each day is a new start.
One thing that I’ve learned from Roderick is to have a good attitude about what life throws at you. If you let things get to you, you might not do what you want to do in life. A good attitude also helps you make friends, have connections, and be a happy person in life. That is what I’d like to pass down to other generations. It’s good to have, especially when the world feels like it’s crumbling down on you.
Roderick and I both try to be positive in the darkest of times. I’ll pass this on to future generations and push through whatever life throws at me.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adelaida Salgado is quite busy as a student, incredibly studious and athletic. She is described by her loved ones as an intelligent student and a great daughter. Adelaida gives her all in anything she does. In the future, Adelaida hopes to become a surgeon.
Yo Soy Guerrera
Estela Grande interviewed by Brenda Romero
My name is Brenda Romero, and I am sixteen, turning seventeen this year. I am a junior in high school, and I am interviewing an elder by the name of Estela Grande, who came to Los Angeles from Honduras at age sixteen. I chose to interview Estela because she is courageous. At the age of sixteen, she left home on her own and traveled from Honduras to Mexico to here—the United States. I like that she is unafraid to tell her own story. She is very passionate about education and how it propels and changes the lives of her family, including those of her grandchildren. She left her parents and made her own family here. It wasn’t easy, but she did it. She also attended Manual Arts High School and happens to be one of the volunteers here at the parent center. Estela has lived in South Central, Los Angeles for forty years. When I first met her and listened to her stories, I knew Estela was someone who I deeply respected because of how unafraid and humble she is. She is a strong woman with a rough past, and yet she could see good value in people. She is a woman with a great heart, and I am proud to present her to you.
BR: What did you like and what didn’t you like about school?
EG: I tried to love [school], but when I surrounded myself with bad friends, they shifted my life away from it. When I came into the ninth grade, I wouldn’t get to school until 11:30 AM. Sometimes, instead of coming to school, I would leave...and because of that my grades would get lower and lower. I was in Honduras at the time [...] just about anyone could pass their classes there, but school is harder to afford over there because you have to buy your notebooks, books, paper, everything. It took a lot of sacrifices from my parents. My father traveled for work, and my mom was a butcher and sold pigs.
School wasn’t important [to me]…those friendships ruined my life because they didn’t make me interested in school. They’d say, “Let’s go, let’s go to the street! The teacher won’t say anything, they’re not gonna call from school!” There wasn’t a beeper, there weren’t cell phones, there wasn’t anything. There was only the house telephone. “Your father is traveling and your mother is at the market. They won’t believe it...or understand what they’re saying.”
It was like that until, little by little, I found an intelligent friend that dedicated herself more to school, not to the streets, not even to friends. This person became my friend and she would say to me, “No, no more leaving school.” Before then I didn’t want anyone to care, and I didn’t want good for myself. I wanted everything to be about the streets. I didn’t want to read from books.
You have to read books. There is importance in every letter, in every word that is in books. My son who is twenty-three years old says, “Mom, books teach you a lot. They teach you to be important. All the work that these people create is intelligent, Mom!”
I started taking remedial classes [in
Honduras], but when I had too many bad experiences there, I had to do what I needed to do and I left!... I came here. I entered [Manual Arts]. I began the tenth grade in this school without knowing how to read or write in English; here I was, but I was the same. I still liked the streets. The police would find me and angrily ask, “Why did you leave school?” In that time, they didn’t protect kids like they protect them now! Before, no. They would throw us around. I would often cross the street when the light was red, and once a policeman told me, “I’m going to put you in jail for crossing.” He gave me almost thirty tickets—honestly! I was like sixteen years old [...] life burns like a leaf. My friends tell me, “Oh, the police! Get those ten tickets and walk!” But then I had to pay for it in jail later.
While there I had a toothache—there was so much pain in my tooth! Even after two days with the toothache, [the officer] told me, “No!” when I wanted to get help. I had challenged him by crossing the street when the light was red. I didn’t care if cars ran over me. He was punishing me for challenging him. I was seventeen years old. [...] Make friendships, but good, clean ones.
That is what my granddaughter is like. She has many friends [...] she’s calm. She likes to read and write in her notebooks. She tells me, “Abuela, you tell me to do everything you didn’t.” I tell her to never disrespect her teachers [...] I say, “Come on, let’s study for your exam so you pass it,” because I wish I would’ve done that. If I would’ve finished school, I would be earning more than ten dollars an hour. If I would’ve worked for a degree, I would be earning twenty or forty an hour. I wouldn’t need to take the bus and get only bread and a bananas to eat. So, take advantage of school, be important! Take your notebooks every day, don’t put them in a drawer. Study them because they are your future, your life for the future of your family, your mother!... Because your priorities have to be God, your family, and your school; they
are the most important things in your life! Now that I am fifty-fve years old, I am going to school again to learn English.
BR: You often call yourself “rebelde” or “rebellious.” What does that mean to you?
EG: I received rebellion at home and carried it with me. Some kids are mistreated in their homes, and they try to get back what they lost. According to them, they try to recuperate what they lost. That’s what rebellion is. I was very rebellious! I’ll explain why I was a rebel.
First, because when I was five years old, I was abused inside my home. At nine years old, I began to defend myself. At eighteen years old, I married a crazy man that told me he loved me. What he did was hurt and beat me. He would leave me with purple eyes [...] and I thought that was love until a judge and psychologist told me it wasn’t. He injured my hand and eye permanently. I was unwell in the head because I wanted to have a man, but he was a man who did not love me. I teach my children that violence brings violence [...] they won’t receive what I received.
BR: How long have you lived in the community?
EG: I’ve lived here for forty years. My house is the most beautiful thing that I have! My home and my family are at peace. I supervise my children, I look to see that they’re eating and sleeping well. I came to school with my children when they were here. Even if had work until 4 AM, I would be here [at Manual Arts] at 8 AM on the dot. I would would sleep only two hours, but I’d see my kids awake, getting ready to go to school, and the sleepiness would go away. I would walk them down the street. I was in their classes because they were rebels. They didn’t want me in their classes. I want them to be important in their lives, because the day I die, the only inheritance that I’ll leave with them will be school and lessons for how to overcome adversities in their lives. They’ll
remember, their mom urged them to fight. I’ve lived thirty-three years without a husband, and my children were happy with their mother. I’ve tried to give them the best example. My privilege is to see [all my children] happy. I’m very happy because I can work and make my own money, I go to mass every morning, I go to school, I go to sleep, and, at 10 AM, I am riding the bus to work again.
BR: What were your best and worst memories from your youth?
EG: The worst [memories]? When I was five years old until I was nine. The best? Memories with my children. That’s why I go to the priest to confess on Saturdays. I want to get rid of whatever bad memories I have, so that I can be happier.
I had horrible moments married to that crazy man [...] but not anymore. When I dress up and make myself pretty, it’s for myself. I like when people tell me I’m still beautiful. It makes me think, “I’m not that old yet!” A woman must never let her self-esteem fall. I’ve dropped that self-esteem my entire life. Now when I go to therapy, I tell them, “I want to bring my self-esteem up again.” I had low points, but I got up. I am a warrior.
BR: If you had the opportunity to change the past, what would you change?
EG: All the trouble I got into for not paying a ticket and going to juvenile hall. It was horrible to be locked up for two days in a small room. There was only a bed and a toilet. No televisions, you showered in cold water, and you woke up at 5 AM. I wasn’t born to be locked up because I am deeply afraid of being closed in. I felt like I was drowning and they called me crazy. I would change that. I don’t consider myself perfect, but I am a loving mother, aunt, cousin—a loving daughter, sister, and friend. Life can be wonderful, and you can only live it once. Live it out like you’d like, but do it well.
BR: What advice would you give young people in our time in regards to friends, work, money, or love?
EG: Make friends that want an education, [...] graduate, and go to college. In regards to money, only use it to pay the rent and bills. Don’t love money, because it’s not important. You only need it to care for yourself, to buy clothes and food. And love: you must earn it, adapt to it, and you must want it. You must learn to recognize it. You have the ability to love yourself, too. Money isn’t love because one day you have it, tomorrow you don’t. My father had money, he had five jobs, but he never took care of me. You must learn what love and friendship truly are. I’ve learned so much in this life, including how to read and write. You must learn to keep walking.
Thank you for giving me this opportunity. It is good to get what is in my heart, out, and to clean my whole aura. I feel free.
It’s important to actually take the chance to talk to someone you don’t even know; here they are, ready to tell their side of the story and perspective in life, and that is exactly what Estela Grande did. I give this woman a lot of props for it because it really is not every day a person talks about their life like that, but she was brave and was very much ready to do that.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brenda Romero, like the woman she interviewed, is a guerrera herself. She did not know what to expect in interviewing her elder for this project, but she ended up discovering a new sense of courage.
The elder I chose is Cilia Rachelle Wednesday Rogers. She’s my auntie, but not just any auntie. She’s the auntie that I can go to for anything and everything— from every conversation in the book to money. She was born in Santa Monica, California, and even though she’s fourtyone years old, she still has influenced me and brought me the greatest memories growing up. She has chestnut brown skin, warm brown eyes, and a big smile. She’s very fashionable, chunky, and about an inch taller than me, five-feet six inches. She has a mid-range, raspy voice because of singing, which she does for her career. She’s a good person at heart, but sometimes her actions can be misinterpreted. She’s the kindest, most loving person who can show an intensely scary side if you mess with anything within her values.
She was born out here in California, but went to Missouri, which was an old slave state and is, of course, a racist state. They didn’t treat her as the African American queen she really is. She also went through different kinds of abuse at different foster homes. As an African American woman, she represents love even through the dark days she goes through. She’s fun-loving and encouraging, but do not mess with her possessions and values because she will show intense violence through her silent attack mode. I’ve been taught to always respect “your elders” and that “elders” means not old people but the people who’ve already been through the stress we call life. As an elder she’s young, but she has already had an adventurous life, starting from a young age.
She was raised by her father and hired nannies until he married her stepmom. They moved often, but she kept visiting her grandparents who became her inspiration. There was a custody battle between her parents, so she moved in with her grandparents and finally started going to public schools and church. She then moved to Missouri at the age of thirteen. For the year she lived with her father, she went
through sexual and physical abuse. Like all people who get tired of a life of battle, she ran away with her brother and got put into foster care with her brother.
When things were rough in her life she looked for encouragement. She took experiences at her racist school and turned them into an opportunities to do better and get out with accomplishments. Her escape was music—music saved her life because when she was down, she used singing to keep going. She then got a career out of music and today she sings in big venues, like clubs and concerts for different celebrities, or to her close friends. One of the best things about her is that she knows when to be an aunt and when to be an advisor and that a teenager’s mind can be the best thing, especially when you don’t feel like being fussed over.
My auntie and I can definitely relate in a few ways. I have gone through loads of trials as a teenager and I’ve seen things not every child is supposed to see. My parents got separated and that scarred me. It’s not only the fact that my dad left my immediate family, it’s the fact that it took my mom so long and so many crying nights for him to come back and abuse my family in a mental way. I was off the rocks with my father. Not only did I look like my mother, which was already a trigger for my father, but I also fought against him for my mother. We lived in many houses and kept moving. It was kind of like my parents playing tennis with my brother and I, and it got tiring. My brother and I would complain a lot, but because we were little kids, we were always told we didn’t have a choice in any matter.
I was bullied from kindergarten to eighth grade and that also scarred me, especially because I already had depression and anxiety. They would call me ugly and push me into a wall or down the stairs, and tease me for always spending time alone. I was always the one in the books, and they would tease me for being a bookworm and
always being nervous to present in front of a class. I had my mom and aunt to thank in those days. Auntie would tell me: “Never show your weakness because then that’s when they know they have a power over you.” Because I always kept that quote in mind, it helped me through my toughest trials.
My mother’s part of the family always sings in church and the bug caught onto me. Before music I was stuck in my own mind not knowing how to get out. But then Gospel music came into my ears and changed my mindset for the good. Whenever I’m down, I sing, or dance.
To be abused mentally and physically means you’re going to go through mental illnesses, such as depression and anxiety, and even bipolar issues. You don’t know what to do with yourself and you think you have no one to help you because you don’t trust anyone. You feel your body slowly melting away, and you think this is the end. Fear tells us that our parents or guardians are going to beat us again, and we’re going to get in trouble for doing what we love. But like my aunt used to always say to me, “Never let your mind take over you because it is easy for that to happen, but keep fighting for yourself because no one else is going to fight for you.”
My auntie was the one to teach me how to love, but how to also be a fighter and laugh in my toughest times. She encourages me to lead and cherish everything in my pathway and to be smart with my decisions. To her, I say, I love you, and thank you so much for everything.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Growing up, Ashley Powell moved around a bit. She grew up in a couple of neighborhoods around LA County, from Carson to Los Angeles. Ashley loves music, singing, and dancing. She finds comfort in Gospel music. Her narrative describes her relationship with her aunt, family conflict, and learning to love.
Ashley Powell
My Grandmother’s House
Bryan Ramos
My Grandma’s name is Maria, and she is sixty-one years old. She was born in Mexico. She later came to the United States. Maria has black-grey-curly-wavy hair. She is not that tall. She’s shorter than me, which makes me feel taller than I am. Also, she smiles a lot. Every time I see her, she has a smile on her face. Even though she faced some challenges, she maintains a positive attitude. She’s also a really good cook—she makes a lot of good food. For example, she makes basic food like quesadillas, rice and beans, but to me it doesn’t matter. It’s delicious, and everything she she makes, I eat.
She’s a good grandmother and hardworking. She takes care of my cousins. She wakes up early to recycle bottles or pick up bottles in different locations. She’s a funny person because she makes jokes about me sometimes. She’s a religious person because she goes to church twice a week. She would tell me to come read the Bible with her.
I had good memories at my grandma’s house. I grew up living next to her. When I was a kid, I would go to my grandma’s house almost every day and spend the day with her. I don’t remember too much, but I remember having a lot of fun at her house. There was always a lot to do. I would play games, like hide and seek, with my cousins, and she would be reading the Bible in the living room.When I used to be at her house playing violent games like Mortal Kombat, or Grand Theft Auto, she would tell me to turn it off and play non-violent games. She didn’t like blood.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bryan Ramos was born in Los Angeles and grew up in South Central. Bryan is passionate about spending time with family and hanging with friends. Education is important to Bryan. His mother always tells him education is important. Bryan enjoys science because it’s a way to explore new things, and he’d like to study engineering in the future. One day, Bryan would like to travel the world.
Another memory I had at her house with her was helping her out with stuff like cleaning the house, or washing dishes. She goes to church, and I used to go with her when I was younger, but I stopped going when I got older. She talks a little bit of English, but primarily speaks Spanish. She used to take me to school in the morning and pick me up after school. She would tell me how education is important because she wanted me to be a good role model, and teach the kids right from wrong. She would talk about visiting Mexico and she would ask me if I would like to go and visit.
My memory is of when I was thirteen years old and my grandfather had a pick up truck. I remember traveling with my grandfather to buy things for lunch and it was then when he asked me, “Do you want to learn how to drive?” And immediately I answered, “Yes!” And then, he stopped the car on a less busy street and told me, “Come pass through here to the driver’s side.” I got nervous because I had to drive home and learn at the same time, and then I took a breath, and he had patience with me and taught me to drive. Since that day, I started to drive. When the two of us left together and weren’t in a hurry, he would teach me how me to drive.
A trait of our family would perhaps be our way of thinking because the majority of my family thinks the same. From what I know of my ancestors, they also think similarly. Well, I think that will continue. What my elders and I have in common is that we like traditions and celebrate holidays, but I do not think it will continue much because a large part of my family moved elsewhere. I don’t think their children know about the traditions that we did.
One of those traditions is called Semana Santa. We would travel to another city to celebrate, and all of our family would gather. We bought breads that we loved. Because my family showed me the value of coming together, I will show this to my family someday. I will try to do what is best for the family that I will have and give them what I lacked, like having my mother when I was a child or a father that I never had. That is the reason why I will not allow for my children or wife to ever need anything, and I will educate them to be good people.
My grandfather is seventy-eight years old, and he was born in Guatemala in Huehuetenango. He is my grandpa. He is a very strict person when he corrects a person. He does this when they don’t do things well, but he is also very understanding. When
he taught me how to drive the car, he had a lot of patience with me. He was the one who raised me and taught me many things that could help me in life. One of the things that he always told me is, “Always learn to do everything because you don’t know when it’ll help you.” One of those things he taught me was how to sow corn and how to sow cucumbers. I liked that he taught me how to raise cows. He had more than thirty animals, and I liked to go in the afternoons to go see the animals.
And in my grandfather’s life, he had to take on very hard challenges since he was a child because he had to leave school five years after he started, to help his father with a problem that he had. Ever since that moment, he started to work, and he was only twelve years old. One day, when I was with him, I asked him some questions. I wanted to know more about him. I asked him, “Where did you live?” He answered, “I lived in a town called Malacatancito, it was very beautiful, but when I was five years old, my father told me that we had to live in another part of the country because he had bought land in a place called Centro Uno La Maquina.” And then I asked, “What did you do when you were a boy?” He said, “I spent my time working hard, and when I started to study, it was more difficult for me because I had to get up at four in the morning and I finished at seven. Then I went to school and when I came back to school, I had to go back to work.” I finished up with asking, “How did you spend your free time?” He said, “When I had free time, I played soccer with the family and friends I had, and I played with wooden toys. It wasn’t much, but I was very happy.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cristoffer Aguilar was born in Guatemala. This is his second time publishing with 826LA; he was first published in, Rhythm Runs Through Our Veins a book exploring cultural roots and memory. He works as a painter, and he believes in preserving his family traditions.
Aprendiendo a manejar
Cristoffer Aguilar
Cuando tenía trece años de edad, mi abuelo tenía un pick-up truck. Recuerdo que ese día viajaba con mi abuelo y viajábamos a comprar cosas para el almuerzo y entonces fui allí cuando yo le quise preguntar si me enseñaba a manejar el carro. Entonces él volteó a verme y me preguntó, «Quieres aprender a manejar el carro?» Y de inmediato le conteste que «Sí!!» Entonces él detuvo el carro en una calle menos transitada y me dijo, “Ven pásate para acá,” y entonces me puse nervioso porque tenía que conducir para la casa y aprender al mismo tiempo. Luego respiré y me tranquilicé. Lo bueno, él tuvo paciencia conmigo y me enseñó a conducir. Desde ese día empecé a conducir, y cuando salíamos los dos juntos y no teníamos que regresar rápido, él me enseñaba a manejar hasta que aprendí más. Nunca creí que manejar requiriera paciencia porque ahora tenía que hacer todas las compras de la casa porque yo era el único hombre que estaba en la casa aparte de mi abuelo.
Un rasgo de nuestra familia sería la forma de pensar porque la mayoría de mi familia piensa igual y, por lo que sé, mis antepasados también pensaban igual. Bueno, creo que eso seguirá por mucho más tiempo. Lo que tienen en común mis mayores y yo es que nos gusta hacer las tradiciones, como los días festivos. Pero no creo que seguirá tanto porque una gran parte de mi familia se mudó para otra parte y no creo que sus hijos sepan de las tradiciones que hacíamos.
Una de las tradiciones que teníamos era que cada Semana Santa viajamos a otra ciudad y toda nuestra familia íbamos a comprar panes que a nosotros nos gustaba muchísimo. Como a mí me enseñaron la convivencia con la familia, yo trataré de enseñarle lo mejor a la familia que tenga y darles lo que a mi me hizo mucha falta, como tener a mi mamá cuando era niño o un padre que nunca lo tuve. Esa es la razón por lo cual no permitiré que le haga falta algo a mi esposa y mis hijos. Los educaré para que sean personas de bien. Entonces
mi abuelo era muy importante en mi vida.
Mi abuelo Cruz Chanchavac tiene setenta y ocho años de edad y nació en Guatemala en el Departamento de Huehuetenango. Él es una persona muy estricta. Él corregía a una persona cuando no hacía bien algunas cosas, pero también es muy comprensivo. Cuando él me enseñó a manejar el carro, él me tuvo mucha paciencia. También es comprensivo con las personas y la razón que hablaré de él es porque él fue la persona que me crió y me enseñó muchas cosas. Él me dijo cómo tenía que cosechar maíz y como tenía que cosechar pepinos. Él tuvo que enfrentar desafíos muy duros porque él tuvo que dejar la escuela a los cinco años.
Un día cuando estaba con él, le hice unas preguntas. Yo quería saber más sobre él y le pregunté: «¿Dónde viviste?» El dijo: «Yo vivía en un pueblo llamado Malacatancito, era muy bonito, pero cuando tenía cinco años, mi padre me dijo que teníamos que ir a vivir a otra parte del país porque había comprado tierras en un lugar que se llamaba, Centro Uno La Máquina.» Luego seguí preguntando: «¿Qué hacías de niño?»
Dijo: «Pasé mi tiempo trabajando duro y cuando comencé a estudiar fue más difícil para mí porque tenía que levantarme a las cuatro de la mañana, y terminaba a las siete de la mañana y luego iba a la escuela y cuando regresaba de la escuela tenía que volver a trabajar. Yo terminé preguntando: «¿Cómo pasabas tu tiempo libre?» Él dijo: «Cuando tenía tiempo libre jugaba fútbol con mi familia y amigos que tenía, y también jugaba con juguetes de madera, pero tal vez no era mucho, pero era muy feliz.»
SOBRE EL AUTOR
Cristoffer Aguilar nació en Guatemala. Ésta es la segunda vez que publica con 826LA; fue publicado por primera vez en el libro, Rhythm Runs Through Our Veins, que explora las raíces culturales y la memoria. Él trabaja como pintor y cree en preservar las tradiciones de su familia.
Louie of All Trades
Kevin Gutierrez
My elder’s name is Louie Galicia. He is fifty-five years old and my mother’s boyfriend. Louie was born in Los Angeles in the early 1960s. He has two daughters. I met him in early 2017, when my mother introduced him to me. I could tell, right off the bat, that he wanted to be on my good side.
Louie was born in Boyle Heights in 1963. He moved to Pico Rivera when he was in the fourth grade. East LA, at the time, had a unique culture. They say it was the Golden Age of Rock and Roll. Louie went to Schurr High School, home of the Spartans. He said if it was not for football, he wouldn’t have graduated high school. In order to play sports, he needed to have at least a 2.0 GPA. He also played basketball, ran track, and wrestled.
Louie makes the whole family laugh. He is always in a good mood. I know Louie cares a lot for me because he is kind to me. He visits my mom and I often. It’s normal to see him on the weekends. We have conversations about the Rams and he’s told me he is very grateful for the Rams returning to LA. He said they’ve been his team for as long as he can remember, and that they were LA’s team when he was young. We’re always talking about whatever is going on. He cooks some really good food, especially the meat. He’s tall and a big fellow. He is also an interesting person. Every now and then, he tells me an old story of his.
Louie loves motorcycles and riding them. He also has a nice sense of humor. I remember we once went jet skiing on a river. He rented jet skis for my family. It was a fun experience.
posed to stop but did not. Louie did not see it coming and got into a severe accident. Louie said it was the worst pain he felt in his life. He broke multiple ribs, broke his scapula, dislocated his shoulder, fractured his lung, and broke his hip. He was out of work for several months. It cost him his career in fire-fighting.
What happened next for Louie? He now works for a water company. It has been his career for the past thirty years. He owns his own plumbing business. Louie already had plumbing experience prior to starting his business. At a young age he had summer jobs that had to do with plumbing. Louie loves to help people—it’s his passion—so plumbing is something he enjoys. He wants to fix and build things. Plumbing actually led him to meet my mom! Louie has met a lot of people because of his career. He has also helped many people, including me. I’m happy to know a plumber. He definitely is enjoying life. It feels good to know he has bounced back from that terrible accident.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kevin Gutierrez was born in Los Angeles. He is athletic. Kevin likes to play basketball, baseball, cycle, and skateboard. Kevin believes in hard work.
After high school, Louie went into the Air Force. He was in the Air Force for four years, and then went into crash rescue firefighting. Louie is a good person. He told me he wanted to help people. He wanted to fix things, so fire-fighting became his career. He wanted a career that he would love. One day, Louie was riding his bike and he decided to show off and do a wheelie. There was a car that was sup-
I asked Louie for some advice, and he told me to make sure to hit the books, go to college, and get a stable career that I love. He said that your career should be your passion and what you love to do. He said it’s normal to make good money but be miserable. Louie used to work for Sysco Food distribution company, and they were paying him good money. He said it was the worst job ever. He was a lab rat for them, using a forklift and driving up and down aisles. He said he hated it. His point is that when you hate your job, it is not worth it. It’s best to find something that you love to do. That way it is not just a “job,” it’s more like getting paid for doing something you like. I learned a lot about my elder, and I appreciated doing an interview with Louie. I agree with what Louie told me, because I want to to be passionate about my career as well. I really want to be an accountant, and I know that I’m going to enjoy working with numbers.
My
Conversation with Byron Scott
Renaud Martinez
An elder that I know, that had a big influence on me, was Byron Scott. The challenges he faced when he was my age were trash talk, adversity, poverty, and being in a rough neighborhood. I do face similar challenges, but there’s so much I can’t even put into words. I’m not sure what decisions he had to make to get to where he is now, but I know for certain he worked really hard to get to where he is. Our conversation was somewhat like a star player and his favorite coach, or a student with his favorite teacher, or a son with his dad.
Byron Scott is a former Laker in the NBA. I was at his basketball camp. I don’t consider him an elderly person or senior citizen; he’s really not that old. He gave me a lot of good advice for my future in basketball. I asked him what can I do to be an NBA player. The advice he gave me was probably some of the best I had ever heard. He told me to work hard and give 110 percent, even when nobody’s looking. He really drilled in the mentality to give your best and play hard, always. The camp was in Garden Grove. It was a thirty-minute car ride on the freeway, but we took some type of luxury bus. It was like a travel ball bus. The bus had TVs and outlets where you could charge your phone. Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance were also up there. They were doing Q and As. They were also taking photos with the kids that attended the camp. Other elite coaches that were up there. It was just a really good experience. I’m for sure going back next year, and the year after that. For me, this is a really important memory because not only is that the first time I got to see an NBA player in person, but I learned a lot. I got one-on-one advice, as if he were my own coach instead of just a basketball-camp coach.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Renaud Martinez can be described by his family as polite, kind, and responsible. Renaud’s friends would see him as incredibly loyal. Outside of class, Renaud loves playing basketball. He hopes to play in the NBA one day.
Persistence in the Real World
Luis Valdez
I’m going to write about my father Francisco Valdez. My father was born in Mexico, in a state called Puebla, and was raised by my grandma and grandpa. My dad looks like an older version of me, with a beard and a mustache. He mostly speaks Spanish, but he understands English. He would always be working when I was a kid and I barely spent time with him. Now I consider him the most persistent man I know.
From the age of ten, I would go with my dad every Saturday and Sunday morning, picking up cans and selling merchandise from his old job. He would give me advice about life and tell me heartbreaking stories that he has witnessed. To this day I remember most of his lessons and use them in my life. He taught me that life isn’t fair nor is it easy because no matter what you do in life, there will always be suffering.
Seventeen wasn’t an easy age for my dad. He lived in Santa Ana Tamazola, Estado De Puebla, Mexico; where it’s more expensive to attend school than not. He never had a good education. At the age of six, my dad would have to work from six in the morning until eight at night, going to El Campo for the food and materials they needed to survive. He would also have to plant crops in the field behind his house and get food and water by the river. He overcame these challenges by being persistent because he had to support his parents. All the money he earned went to his parents, and he had no choice but to move on with his life.
I was born in Los Angeles on May 19, 2001. Where I grew up wasn’t safe. There were gangs in the neighborhood which was new to us. When I was around ten years old, my dad was a victim in a random shooting that happened in front of our old apartment, by 23rd and Wall St. Seeing him get shot was really scary for me. I thought I was going to lose him. Because of that, I moved schools because our fami-
ly had to escape that terrible neighborhood. Moving to Menlo Avenue Elementary School wasn’t a big deal for me because I knew a few friends there.
I started thinking of ways to help my family like making money selling water and collecting cans. I helped my dad recover from the gunshot wounds. It took him about a year and a half to recover before starting to look for a job again. Since the injury, he has been working with a demolition company.
The main trait I inherited from my dad is persistence. A huge lesson my dad has taught me is to work for my future because once I get out of school, I have to live in the real world, where you need money to get around. He helped me get my first job at a car wash. If I told you every detail of my family’s life, you would be surprised at how far we’ve made it from being poor immigrants. If I ever have children, I want them to learn the meaning of work and persistence so they don’t turn out lazy.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Luis Valdez is a sixteen year old, born and raised in Los Angeles. He is currently a student attending Manual Arts High School. He likes to play soccer with his dad after school. His dad is obviously better than him, but enjoys spending time with him. Luis used to work at a car wash every day after school, but he is now focused more with school. When he grows up, he wants to be an engineer. Luis wants the readers to know that you won’t get anywhere in life without being persistent because the world is full of struggle.
Ruben Fernandez is my grandfather. He was originally born in Armenia, but grew up in Honduras. He is tall and lightskinned. His hair and beard are dark and tidy. His voice is deep and strong, reflecting his personality, which is domineering and powerful. He is opinionated when it comes to people making choices. He has a very short temper and will yell if people don’t take his advice. When he gets to his limit, he erupts with a mad look, making everyone scared. His actions don’t really scare me because, to me, he is kind. He always tells me how intelligent I am and how successful I will be when I’m older.
Growing up, I was the youngest of five grandchildren and the only girl. That’s probably why I am his favorite. I have happy memories of Grandpa taking me to kindergarten. One day in particular, I remember it was pouring, with flashes of lightning. I remember waking up to the sound of it and being scared. As I started crying, my grandfather rushed into my room to calm me down and comfort me by giving me hugs. While I was getting ready for school, the thought of going outside and hearing the lighting terrified me. To calm me down, my grandfather let me stay home. That day, he planned a movie day and also planned to enjoy some popcorn and my favorite candy. His main goal for the day was to make me happy and distract my mind from the terror of the lightning.
My grandfather as a young child faced dangers and terrors far greater than lightning. He was only two during the Armenian genocide, during which 1.5 million Armenians were murdered. Although he was too young to remember, the Genocide impacted him significantly. He lost many family members, and he and his immediate family fled to Honduras. Many were killed and left behind. At that time, his father and mother knew the best for their children which was to leave the country and start a new life. When they moved to Honduras, his father knew that it would take a lot of
hard work to stabilize his family financially. His family faced a lot of problems with money, communication and not knowing the language, and adapting to a new environment. Throughout the struggles, they successfully became a very strong, stable family. Their hard work paid off with them eventually opening a market store and having their dream house in a safe place.
I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. The biggest challenge I had growing up was that I never had a good bond with my mother or father. I also had a lot of difficulties being around my grandmother, aunts, and some uncles, due to my mother’s decision to be independent. My mother made the decision to move out when I was born. She wanted to show her father and mother that she could be independent and look out for herself. Because of my mother’s mindset, my grandfather was really upset because my family couldn’t spend time together with me or my mother. I remember, as the only child, being alone with my mother during the holidays.
After several years, my grandfather believed that it wasn’t fair for me to not interact with my own family. He chose to speak with my mother and let me choose whether I wanted to see my family more often. Finally, I chose to spend time with my family more often on my own, and to this day, I try to spend every other Sunday with my family.
My grandfather faced similar problems when he moved to the United States. He spent many holidays away from his family, which was the hardest part of his life. Another thing that I believe I have in common with my grandfather is having a short temper. We can both be really kind. However, when we dislike something or disagree with a person, we attempt to snap out of it. An Armenian King
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ada Fernandez likes to sing, walking down the streets of Los Angeles. She is a very confident and conceited teenager. She values going out to eat with her family and enjoying the little moments of life.
The
Life of a Giant
Daniel Salazar
My grandpa happens to be the most influential person in my life. Daniel is his name and I am greatly honored to have his name passed on to me. My grandpa is sixty-eight years young and came to this country as an immigrant from San Salvador, El Salvador. He has been in this country for nearly forty-eight years. He is an old-fashioned man who wakes up early in the morning, makes coffee, and starts his day off. He was in the El Salvador Army and is now a farmer, so he is used to starting the day off early. He is a strict, but very humble person whose personality will influence you in a positive or negative way, depending on how you take his strict advice. Being around him will entertain you; even though he’s an old guy, he’s up to date. It’s like having another normal friend in high school whom you can talk to seriously about something and also have fun with.
“Life is like a mountain,’’ my grandpa always says. He has been saying that throughout my whole life. That quote, to me, means a lot, because like he says, “You gotta work hard to get to the top; nothing is given in life, but anything is possible in life.” If you want something, work for it until you have it in your hands. If anything gets in your way, you have to eliminate or work through it. Overcoming obstacles isn’t easy, but if you try over and over again, you’ll find a way to accomplish your goal, and, finally, all that hard work will pay off. One remarkable memory I have with my grandfather is of him carrying me in a field when I was about one year old. That memory shows how my grandpa has been in my life.
My grandfather was born in San Salvador, El Salvador, in 1950. He was born into a family of farmers who raised him to be a humble, hard-working man. At the age of sixteen, he joined a training camp for the El Salvador Army. Around 1969, there was a lot of conflict going on between El Salvador and Honduras over a soccer compe-
tition. The soccer match got Hondurans angry, which led to them banning Salvadoran soccer players as well as migrants from entering their country. My grandfather would go to soccer matches and evacuate people safely because sometimes fights would occur. People would bring weapons and some arguments were taken seriously to the point that people would injure their rivals or, in worse cases, kill them. In his perspective, evacuating a group of people was dangerous because anyone could have a weapon, or he could get hit trying to break up a fight. My grandfather has been a very strong man throughout his life and has gone through lots of struggles to become the person he is.
My grandpa is a very humble and nice person. Usually for a family member’s birthday party and for holidays he gives away a 100-dollar bill. He has worked so hard all his life that now he just likes taking care of everyone and making sure his family and loved ones are good. He loves everyone individually and gives all of us different advice when we tell him about the problems or worries going on in our lives. My grandpa isn’t a complicated person; he likes being straightforward and deals with problems in the most proper way. He’s a man of few words, but when he tells you something, it is for you to reflect on. You must accept the advice even if you don’t like it.
I personally like my grandpa’s advice, even if at times it is harsh. I prefer to accept things as they are, even if it’s my fault. My grandpa’s advice makes me learn from my mistakes and reflect on what I am doing in my life. It gives me the opportunity to think about how I’m forging my path that’s leading to my future. One piece of advice I’ve always followed from my grandpa is to stay in school and become somebody in life. He always makes sure I’m good in school because I personally dislike school sometimes. My first day of high school was one memory I’ll always
keep. My grandpa woke me up that day and told me to get ready. He took me to a restaurant downtown for breakfast. While we walked outside, he told me to look at all the business buildings that were around. As I observed, he told me I can work in any of those buildings or even make one of them my own and be the boss, but that journey starts in high school. I have troubles in my life, but with his support and advice I manage to work hard to reach my goals and make my grandpa and family proud. I am growing as the days go by, and I face many challenges in this world, but with the support of my loved ones, I can achieve any goal I set my mind to. Life is like a mountain, you must work hard to get to the top.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Daniel Salazar is named after his grandpa. This is quite fitting since he considers his grandfather as one of his largest influences. His story explores his grandfather’s perseverance. Hopefully, this narrative inspires the reader to overcome life’s mountains.
Acknowledgements
Donald Bakeer Foreword Writer and Interviewee
Donald Bakeer is a poet, actor, author, and educator. In 1987, he published South Central L.A. CRIPS, the novel that, in tandem with its critically acclaimed film adaptation South Central, has helped combat the thirty-five-year gang-murder epidemic. Bakeer’s work focuses on ending gang wars through art and fighting a growing culture of anti-literacy. Bakeer, recently retired after thirty years of teaching in South Central LA, is also a fifteen-year member and former President of the International Black Writers and Artists Los Angeles, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting artists, writers, and performers.
Las Fotos Project Interviewee Portrait Photographers
Las Fotos Project is a community-based nonprofit organization that inspires teenage girls through photography, mentorship, and self-expression. Offering year-round programming, Las Fotos Project provides girls with access to professional cameras, quality instruction, and workshops that encourage them to explore identity, learn about new cultures, build leadership and advocacy skills, and strengthen their social and emotional well-being.
Star Montana
Guest Artist and Student
Portrait Photographer
Star Montana is a photo-based artist who lives and works in Los Angeles. She was born and raised in Boyle Heights, which serves as a backdrop to much of her work. Her imagery deals with class, social environment, and identity within the personal: her family. Her work has been exhibited in museums across Los Angeles, including, most recently, the Main Museum.
We were so fortunate to partner with passionate educator Cris Aviña. His dedication to his students at Manual Arts High School
shows his unflinching desire to embolden the next generation of young writers and thinkers. His approach is undoubtedly a stepping stone for students’ paths toward self-actualization and empowerment; it was a true honor to work together on this project.
Principal Dr. Erica Thomas generously offered her support throughout the project. For the past three years as Principal, she has welcomed 826LA to the school community at Manual Arts High School and has helped the 826LA Writers’ Room develop into a [classroom] space where students can powerfully engage in the writing process.
With the help of Assistant Principal Mistie Barela-Johnson, we secured our partner teacher. We are extremely grateful for her efforts to bolster literacy on campus and her help brainstorming ideas.
To our librarian, Marcia Campbell, for giving us the resources and space to invite students, volunteers, interviewees, and 826LA staff to run this project, thank you.
Star Montana generously dedicated her time as teaching artist this year. Upon entering this project, students were met with her bravery and beautiful work; her work in the classroom inspired students to enact their own vulnerability and expression. She strikingly captured their author photos, as well. We are so honored to have collaborated on this project with her.
The photos in this book resonate with life, color, and history. We could not have done this without Las Fotos Project and its amazing student photographers, Marisabel Perez and Jackie Rosas. Interviewees and staff were so impressed by their talent, skill, and dedication to travel to different locations to capture our interviewees throughout Los Angeles.
Myra Porter-Robertson was key in making this project come to life. As Alumni Liaison for Manual Arts High School, her rich
knowledge about the school and its alumni spans decades. Her passion to preserve history and school pride is instilled in the book. She connected us to Manual Arts alumni from as early as 1947, and took the time to share her personal history in an interview.
The interviews in this book are a doorway into the hallways of Manual Arts High School. Each interviewee had a profound story that captured moments in time within South Central—its changes, its complex history, and the generations that have resided here for years. Their willingness to answer questions and share their stories has made an indelible imprint on the community of this school. We could not have reached this depth without the following interviewees: Denice Todd, Myra Porter-Robertson, Roderick Polian, Kenneth Bell, Estela Grande, Morrie Notrica, Catalina Ayuso Morales, Luis Ayuso Robles, and Donald Bakeer. We thank Donald Bakeer for also writing the foreword to this book.
We are proud of the young authors that are collected in this book; we are grateful for their courage to undertake the demanding task of collectively writing a book in eight weeks. They interviewed elders in their families, asked daring questions, and reflected on how younger generations are affected by the decisions of their elders. These stories reveal to us deep love and persistence; they are as much about family love as they are about strife and survival. They capture the strength students used to write this book.
We were consistently reminded of the impact our volunteers have on this work; this year, they have been integral in guiding the writing process and also in inspiring our writers to bravely leap into their personal history and the history of their community. It was moving to see bridges being built across race, class, age, gender, and opinion throughout the project; students and volunteers collaborated to write authentic and powerful stories. This book would not have been possible without the following volunteers:
In-Class Writing Volunteers
Abby Harris
Allegra Tepper
Amelia Sargent
Ana Cruz
Angelina Del Balzo
Anya Leta
Ari Saperstein
Ashley Paul
Brian Dunlap
Brigida Vega
Carol Davis
Christina Simelaro
Claire Lobenfeld
David Topf
Debbie Chesebro
Diana Vargas Avelica
Diana Watson
Frank Kearns
Guadalupe Mejia
Hannah Crews
Jacqueline Zhou
Janice Wu
Joshua Pringle
Kaya Haig
Kerstin Zilm
Lacey Schauwecker
Laryssa Wirstiuk
Lawrence Gordon
Leah Gonzalez
Matthew Keadle
Megha Gupta
Michael Reyes
Miguel Camnitzer
Miguel Roura
Nancy Keystone
Nisreen Barazi
Noelle Armstrong
Peter Donald
Philippe Perebinossoff
Sara Doyle
Sarah Ramos
Sharon Cohen
Tiana Martin
Extra editing help was needed when our in-class sessions ended and a select group of volunteers contributed their time as copy editors. Thank you for helping make student work shine more brightly.
Copyediting Volunteers
Sharon Cohen
Sara Doyle
Anya Leta
Claire Lobenfeld
Mirna Orellana
Ashley Paul
Philippe Perebinossoff
Michael Reyes
Miguel Roura
Amelia Sargent
Edrick Sarkissian
Marlene Vadell
Our dedicated interns were crucial to this book’s development over two months. They had a hand in every part of this project, including in-class support and coordination. They transcribed hour-long interviews, worked on translations, and were instrumental in the copy-editing process.
Endless gratitude goes to the designer of this book, Rachel Mendelsohn. Her impeccable design boldly captures the spirit of this book; and these stories have found a home in the sharp and colorful pages she has created.We must also thank Charissa Ng for her social media savvy skills and marketing genius.
An extra special thank you to the kind and gifted videographer Spencer Chase for capturing various interviews beautifully through film, and thank you to Shawn Silver, who directed and produced amazing footage.
T Sarmina
Project Manager and Editor
Marisa Urrutia Gedney
Project Advisor
Angelica Butiu-Coronado
Project Assistant
Miranda Tsang
Copy Editor
Rachel Mendelsohn
Designer
Alexis Lopez Intern
Melina Castorillo
Intern
826LA Supporters
This project was made possible in part by grants from the Flourish Foundation, the All Ways Up Foundation, the Joan Leidy Foundation, and the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.
826LA’s In-Schools Program
is supported in part by:
All Ways Up Foundation
Annenberg Foundation
Baskin Foundation
California Community Foundation
Carol and James Collins Foundation
The Eisner Foundation
Joan Leidy Foundation
Karisma Foundation
Los Angeles County Arts Commission
Skylight Foundation
Vera R. Campbell Foundation
Weingart Foundation
826LA also thanks its Partners in Time members at the Future Level and above:
Anonymous Anonymous Anonymous
Jonathan Barach
Philip Barach
Scott Boxenbaum
Blake and AmyAnn Cadwell
Ray Carpenter
Henry and Inell Chase
Matthew Cherniss
Allison Citino
Grant and Virginia DeVaul
Terena and Anders Eisner
Vince and Lesley Fiorillo
Jon Gibson
Scott and Jamie Ginsburg
Rebecca Goldman
DeAnna and Kenny Gravillis
Claire Hoffman and Ben Goldhirsh
Rachel Kropa
Tai Lopez
Louis Lucido
Gilbert Mares
Louise Nutt
Cheryl Petersen
William Ryan
Patrick F. and Sarah L. Spears
Kira Snyder and Allen Blue
Deborah Thomsen
Sarah Rosenwald Varet
Learn how to become a Partner in Time at 826LA.ORG/PIT_EVENTS
Board of Directors Advisory Board
Henry Chase
Matthew Cherniss
Dave Eggers, Emeritus
Terena Thyne Eisner
Jodie Evans
Scott Ginsburg
Claire Hoffman
Christine Jaroush
Susan Ko
Louis Lucido
Krystyn Madrigal
Sarah Rosenwald Varet
Rebecca Goldman
J.J. Abrams
Judd Apatow
Miguel Arteta
Mac Barnett
Steve Barr
Joshuah Bearman
Amy Brooks
Father Greg Boyle, SJ
Stefan G. Bucher
Mark Flanagan
Ben Goldhirsh
Ellen Goldsmith-Vein
DeAnna Gravillis
Spike Jonze
Miranda July
Catherine Keener
Keith Knight
Al Madrigal
Staff
Joel Arquillos EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Marisa Urrutia Gedney
DIRECTOR OF IN-SCHOOL PROGRAMS & COLLEGE ACCESS
Beatriz Garcia
PROGRAMS MANAGER, MAR VISTA
Lauren Humphrey INSTITUTIONAL GIVING MANAGER
Cheryl Klein DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
Mariesa Arrañaga Kubasek
VOLUNTEER MANAGER, ECHO PARK
Shawn Silver EVENTS MANAGER
Miranda Tsang
PROGRAMS MANAGER, ECHO PARK
Rachel Mendelsohn
DESIGNER
Tara Roth
Katie McGrath
R. Scott Mitchell
Lani Monos
B.J. Novak
Miwa Okumura
Jane Patterson
Keri Putnam
Sylvie Rabineau
Sonja Rasula
Luis J. Rodriguez
Terri Hernandez Rosales
Brad Simpson
J. Ryan Stradal
Natalie Tran
Sarah Vowell
Sally Willcox
Latesha Adolphus
IN-SCHOOLS PROGRAM COORDINATOR
Mike Dunbar
PROGRAMS COORDINATOR, MAR VISTA
Alejandra Castillo
PROGRAM COORDINATOR, MAR VISTA
Pedro Estrada
PROGRAM COORDINATOR, ECHO PARK
Rebecca Escoto
PROGRAM COORDINATOR, MAR VISTA
Carinne Mangold
TIME TRAVEL MART STORE COORDINATOR
Jennie Najarro
VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR, MAR VISTA
Kenny Ng
PROGRAMS COORDINATOR & DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANT, ECHO PARK
Emmanuel Portillo
PROGRAMS COORDINATOR, ECHO PARK
T Sarmina
WRITERS’ ROOM COORDINATOR AT MANUAL ARTS HIGH SCHOOL
AMERICORPS VISTA MEMBERS
Nicolien Buholzer
TUTORING SUPPORT COORDINATOR
Helen Lim
VOLUNTEER TRAINING & RETENTION COORDINATOR
Charissa Ng
COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING ASSISTANT
826LA is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. Our services are structured around the understanding that great leaps in learning can happen with one-on-one attention, and that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success.
With this in mind, we provide after-school tutoring, evening and weekend workshops, in-school tutoring, help for English language learners, and assistance with student publications. All of our programs are challenging, enjoyable, and ultimately strengthen each student’s power to express ideas effectively, creatively, confidently, and in his or her individual voice.
TUTORING
From Monday to Thursday, students attend 826LA for free individual tutoring in all subjects. Once homework is completed, students read books from 826LA’s library and write stories based on a monthly theme. Students submit their writing for inclusion in chapbooks, which 826LA publishes throughout the year. To celebrate students’ hard work, 826LA unveils these chapbooks at book release parties, where students read their work to thunderous applause from their volunteers, families, and peers.
IN-SCHOOLS
Because not all students can come to us, 826LA brings specially trained volunteer tutors into under-resourced public schools. There, volunteers provide one-on-one or small group assistance with writing projects. 826LA works with teachers to craft all projects, which are designed to engage students while targeting curricular issues. In addition to visiting twenty schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District each year, 826LA has a third site within Manual Arts High School, called The Writers’ Room, located in South Los Angeles.
WORKSHOPS
826LA’s workshops bring students together with artists, writers, and professionals for creative collaboration. Whether the subject is writing for pets or preparing for the zombie apocalypse, our workshops foster creativity while strengthening writing skills. This includes two long-running workshops: our reading development workshop Barnacle’s Bookworms and our Journalism workshop.
FIELD TRIPS
During the week, 826LA invites public school teachers and their students to our writing labs to participate in a morning of collaboration, creativity, and writing. Whether Storytelling & Bookmaking, Choose Your Own Adventure, Memoir, or Personal Statements, field trips at 826LA support teacher curriculum and student learning by offering a safe space for students to be their most imaginative and to work on their writing skills. In a few short hours, students brainstorm, write, edit their work, and leave with something tangible—a bound book or a revised essay—as well as a renewed confidence in their ability to tell their stories.
