A quintet of cholas. Note, posting this picture in no way implies affiliation with or endorsement of 13, surenos or the color blue. Please do not shoot at me. Please do not grafitti my trailer.My humble weblog has been honored by a visit from Madame Pamita. I wrote her a note explaining that I had posted one of her songs. She viewed this very blog and sent back a nice reply giving me permission to use her music. Yesterday was her birthday. Wish her a happy birthday.
Also I have reason to believe that Brownfemipower, from La Chola has been here. I've spoken well of her in the past and will continue to do so in the future. She is a poet of revolution.
If there were English Cholas, Lady Sovereign would be one of them.
14 comments:
You've been busy, my man!
A personal visitation and endorsement from Madam Pamita, no less. Thinks are definitely looking up...
Are those cholas Crips ? No wonder you posted the pic in B&W only.
Many happy returns, of course, Madame Pamita, should you be checking in to catch up on the latest.
Fine ukulele playing indeed!
No Ib, those cholas are surenos. They are throwing sign, most of which I can't read, but the 1-3 or X-3 at the top, even I can read. In real life, this was a somewhat daring move on my part because I am living in X-4 (Norteno) country. There are kids, and a few grownups, who take this stuff seriously unto death. A store clerk, who was wearing his red shirt, with company logos, as required by his job, was beaten up by some kids "claiming blue". It seems they had to beat up anyone wearing red, well, because they are claiming blue. There aren't many Blacks around here, and few of those are gang affiliated, but close to half the county is Latino and there is constant battling between and amongst the various factions. There are Surenos (Southerners) Nortenos(Norhterners) and lately MS-13's(El Salvadorans) The gangs aren't strictly racial. A lot of poor, or criminal minded, white kids are affiliated and the North/South/Mexican/Salvadoran claims are not necessarily reflective of a gang member's place of origin. It is claimed that all of the hand sign, colors and numbers originated with the Crips and Bloods. Actually these are old traditions. The Hells Angels, for example, "claim" Red and White and the number 81. I don't know about HA handsigns, but there's a lot I don't know. As a bus driver it pays to be dimly aware of this stuff.
PS, La Chola is not gang affiliated. She is a Mexican-American intellectual. She calls herself La Chola to indication that she is a tough girl, at home on the street. A chola is not necessarily gang affiliated, just a through and through homegirl.
aw, jon, here I was all trying to stay low and under the radar!!! haha. You are very sweet, and yes, I've been all over your blog, because it simply rocks, and it would even ifyou didn't post totally hot (if slightly intimidating) pictures of cholas on your blog.
much respect
xo
I saw that someone had been here from Ypsitucky and had come from Dear Kitty and I said wow! BFP walks among the dudes. And by the way, I like your new direction just fine. Health is a woman's issue is a class issue is a race issue is a gender issue is a workplace issue is a... I'm trying to work with the local anarchist kids, so I have to be a little bit 'political' but this has as much to do with poetry as it does with politics in the conventional sense. A real pleasure to hear from you. I'm glad you liked the little sisters at the top of the page. I was a little worried that someone would think I was making fun of them, or claiming some kind of status with somebody's set. I just wanted my non-US readers to see what real down Cholas look like. And, yeah, they look good too. Love back to you.
I am slowly - but surely - being educated into gang etiquette back here. I didn't know about the proliferation El Salvadorans ; MS-13's is a new one on me - the thirteenth letter of the alphabet thang ?
Apologies too, La Chola, as to my ignorance.
you wouldn't be from ypsitucky would you? not many folks from the big city know our quaint nicknames!
Hi BFP. I lived in Michigan back in the '70's. Long story, my oldest friend, a boy genius, got a scholarship to UofM. A whole string of his friends followed him to Ann Arbor. I was the night janitor at the YMCA. We went to White Panther Party dances at the Ypsilanti carpenter's hall. My friend married a girl from Lincoln Park and I know her whole family a couple of whom went to EMU. After a summer in Ann Arbor, I moved to Detroit. I worked in the DAP at River Rouge, for a short while. Then I got a job as a city bus driver. Little did I know that was what I'd end up doing for most of my life. I wanted to save up money and go to college. After a year with the Department of Street Railways, I quit to go to school at Wayne State. I took a Friday and Saturday part time job at Jefferson Assembly. No sooner had I gotten the job and settled in than Chrysler cut the entire second shift, not just at Jefferson, but at the entire company. There were no jobs to be had anywhere in Michigan, so I moved to Oakland, California. This all happened before I turned 21. It seems impossibly long ago. Everyone I knew left Michigan, but I was back and forth to the Midwest for years after that. In addition to Michigan I lived for a couple of unhappy years in Chicago and for 7 or 8 years in Indiana. I liked Indiana and still wonder what would have happened if I had stayed, but again the economy was dreadful and I couldn't support myself. When I lived in the Midwest, I would visit Michigan several times a year, checking up on my friends, Bob and his wife. They finally moved to San Francisco. Continuing to follow Bob around, I finally moved there a couple of years later. One day I woke up and saw an old guy in the mirror and realized that I've become a Californian.
I should also say that my Mom's family invented the Midwest. The only people who've been there longer are Indians. I have a bunch of family in Nebraska and Indiana. When I go back there, it takes about a day for my accent and demeanor to change from Californian to Midwesterner.
PS for BFP, I'm OK with you disabling comments. I followed the whole controversy with whatsername and support you 100%, but now I can't say anything about your Mariah Carey video. I love Mariah Carey, but who I really loved were the dancing concession stand workers.
haha, don't even get me started on that video. I shoot the big fat middle finger at any person who dares to tell me soft curvy mariah is not desirable. I can't decide if I want to stick my tongue in her soft belly button or rest my face between her soft curvy boobs. haha.
and I mean, for real, what better way for the 5.50$ an hour concession workers to spend the night, but slapping their asses while on the very counters they serve popcorn on?
haha!!!
oops, that was me, bfp! i was signed in on the wrong account!
and thanks for sharing about your time in michigan/the midwest. I love to hear stories about folks relationships with the michigan/midwest. I've got such a cantankerous relationship with the midwest myself, but underneath it all, i love it desperately and would totally do something corny like cry at a highschool football game preshow just to show my support.
the odd thing is, as I've talked with more and more people, I've found a lot of people really *like* the midwest a lot, but had to leave because they weren't safe there (queer folks, for example) or weren't able to support themselves. I wanted desperatly to leave when I was living in religious town, but since I moved to ypsi (which as you probably know is more industry/libertarian based with a strong flavoring of university quirkiness), i feel like a duck in water. I found my home. Even the evil racist homophobes facinate me, and I want to get into their skin and see what makes them tick.
You mean there are people who don't find Mariah Carey attractive? I mean, OK if she's not your type, but she is certainly pretty, and inasmuch as it's just us two friends putting our heads together, I agree that she's hot.
I think I'm going to write something about the midwest as a blog post.
i went to high school with those girls in the first photo lol
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