visiting east los angeles

[joker69]

Hello

This is my first post/topic on this very interesting board. I hope i don't sound like a troll.
I read a lot of gang books and saw a lot of movies in the past two years. I'm very interested in the chicano culture and in chicano gangs. After a few very good books and a lot of research i decided to visit los angeles in july 2009. My plans are to visit boyle heights, east los angeles, pico union and south los angeles. I want to see those areas with my own eyes to picture my imagination. One of my biggest leisure acivity is photography. So i want to take some good street photos from those areas. I searched a long time for nice murals and graffitis and i think i will visit some of them.

Here are some steps of my planed route:

> e 8th street + s Concord steet -> Mural estrada
> s Bonnie brae + w 6th street -> 18th street gang mural
> 1920 e1st -> homeboy mural
> e Cesar e Chavez + n lorena street -> los cincos puntos (famous taco bar)
> n indiana street + floral drive -> El Pinto ( the three of east la from blood in blood out)
> corner arizona ave + whittier blvd -> Welcome to East LA sign

i search for some other places. I really want to take a photo from a pair of "shoes on wire". Where can this be found in los angeles?

When i show some respect to the people who live in those areas, is it pretty safe to walk around? Is it possible to take some pics from 18th street tags out of a car? Or is south los angeles unsafe to drive trough? Do you have any good ideas where i can take some good photos from the chicano street life in los angeles?

I really have to thanks

greetings

Andres

[JustB]

East LA is fine - really all of the areas you mentioned the people won't care one way or the other. It's not like you've seen in movies. Lots of ordinary middle-class people of all races live in East LA, Boyle Heights and all the "Barrios" you mentioned. Just don't look for trouble and you'll be fine. You can find the shoes on the wires all over now - mostly white kids living in gentrifying neighborhoods do it now, in an ironic way.

[all eyes on me]

I was actually in Eas Los this past weekend. Never been there before so I wanted to see it for myself. TV makes it seem like you cant drive through the area without getting shot at. I was off of Ford and Olympic trying to find the Maravilla Varrio...

[joker69]

@ JustB

Best thanks for your reply. I read three books about gangs in east los angeles and it sounds like a very interesting area in los angeles. So it's no problem to walk in those areas?
How dangerous is it to walk and photography in pico union, south los angeles and around the macarthur park? Do gangs think it's a provocation when i photography their tags?
About the shoes on wire. Which is the best place to see those shoes?

Best thanks

[brownpridesac]

if u want a good view of downtown l.a. u should visit the angelino heights area, or tear drop park..close to echo park.. but on that east l.a. topic i dont think its too safe because i have cousins in the angelino heights area and i gues some guy was driving around video recording the neighborhood and the "taggings" and going through alleys doing so, so they got word that there was an intruder or enemie rolling around the heights. so 1 of them whistled i guess to let their homeboys know there was an outsider in the hood, but yea just be careful if you do go , east l.a. is a beutiful place to visit..

[joker69]

if u want a good view of downtown l.a. u should visit the angelino heights area, or tear drop park..close to echo park.. but on that east l.a. topic i dont think its too safe because i have cousins in the angelino heights area and i gues some guy was driving around video recording the neighborhood and the "taggings" and going through alleys doing so, so they got word that there was an intruder or enemie rolling around the heights. so 1 of them whistled i guess to let their homeboys know there was an outsider in the hood, but yea just be careful if you do go , east l.a. is a beutiful place to visit..

Hello brownpridesac

Best thanks for you reply. I looked on google maps around angelino heights. It looks really nice and you have a great view on down town. But you said it could be quite dangerous. So i don't think that i will visit angelino. I really respect the people in those areas and i don't want to provocate them. I think the best is, when i stay away from this place.

But what i have to do, when a gang member talks to me in east la or pico union? Should i go away or reply to this man? But i really hope, that no one cares about me and my photography.

Are there other nice barrios in la where i can take some photos?


Best thanks

Andres

[JustB]

Andres, it's not like the movies really. East LA is very safe - there are some streets with gangs on them but most is just fine. Angeleno Heights is not in East LA at all - it's on the West side of the LA river. It's got more gay yuppies than homeboys these days! It's very safe, I bicycle through there at night all the time. You have nothing to worry about now.

I don't know the Pico-Union area very well, but I would not hesitate as a white guy to go there and walk around.

Most of the time the gangbangers are more interested in each other than they are in you. Stay away from the truly dangerous areas (Drew Street, for example) I would recommend not taking pictures of anyone without asking them first, and if you see someone tagging or committing another crime DONT try to stop them or take a picture.

For getting a 'feeling' of LA gang life, without getting too dangerous I would recommend you visit Highland Park (ave 50 area specifically), Cypress Park, Frogtown, Macarthur Park area, maybe Chevy Chase park in Atwater on a Sunday Afternoon, Caesar Chavez in Boyle Heights, Broadway in Lincoln Heights.

[all eyes on me]

Just B, where do I go to find the Maravilla Varrio? Also I wanted to check out WF and Hazzard...

[ridincitiesforever]

Maravilla has a varrio around blanchard st and hicks ave. That is Gage maravilla. White Fence I think has a click around Lorena and 4th. Big Hazard has a spot in soto st near hazard park. I don't recommend walking around Hazard Park at night, I heard from others it's one of the most dangerous spots in East LA. Innocent people get killed there. Other parts I mentioned, if you are not looking for trouble, nothing will happen.

[joker69]

Just B, where do I go to find the Maravilla Varrio? Also I wanted to check out WF and Hazzard...

The raskals maravilla between princeton street and whittier blvd.
The gage maravilla is around the n gage ave.

[all eyes on me]

Thanks for the info. So the Maravilla Varrio isnt an acutal project like for example Jordan Downs in Watts? I saw a pict on another site that made it seem like it was an actual housing community, not just a neighbor hood. Are these areas safe for me to be in? I dont look gangster, but I am a clean cut black guy. I know about all the tension between the brothers and latinos in the LA area. I was just surprised that I didnt see anything when I was in the area of Ford and Olympic. I didnt know where to go exactly, because the streets end and the freeway and pick-up on the other side...

[brownpridesac]

Andres, it's not like the movies really. East LA is very safe - there are some streets with gangs on them but most is just fine. Angeleno Heights is not in East LA at all - it's on the West side of the LA river. It's got more gay yuppies than homeboys these days! It's very safe, I bicycle through there at night all the time. You have nothing to worry about now.

.

whoa lol i dont think the "homeboys" in angelino heights would like that comment about gay yuppies in that area , because i havnt seen any around, what i do see is rockers and hipsters in fact i talk to some of them and they respect gangmembers in that specific area , lol now about riding your bicycle at night are you kiddin me??? anyways andres look angelino heights has good viewz of l.a. it has old victorian houses, thats area alone has been in movies like "fast and the furious part 1" , michael jackson's film "thriller" and that movie "training day" im pretty sure if your go in the morning to take some photos mind your own business, you know act calm just dont looks suspicious and if there was any confrontation with a gang member just act cool tell him your just enjoying the view of this beautiful area and you wanted to take some pictures for a class or something? thats my suggestion.. and oh yea it is in the west side but i thought it would be a good area for a tourists to visit,, and if you go down the hill youll run into echo park lake wich is another good are to take some snapshots,, trust me..

[femun]

Thanks for the info. So the Maravilla Varrio isnt an acutal project like for example Jordan Downs in Watts? I saw a pict on another site that made it seem like it was an actual housing community, not just a neighbor hood. Are these areas safe for me to be in? I dont look gangster, but I am a clean cut black guy. I know about all the tension between the brothers and latinos in the LA area. I was just surprised that I didnt see anything when I was in the area of Ford and Olympic. I didnt know where to go exactly, because the streets end and the freeway and pick-up on the other side...

The Maravilla Projects are on Mednik and Floral Their actually nice looking They were rebuilt in the late 70's or early 80's.

[MARTINEZ]

Alright step aside fellas

Lemme take over on this one

Real EAST LOS Area gang member coming thru…. Step aside … make way



If you want to go thru the Maravilla varrio(s)

Notice I put the an “s” because it’s plural, there are many different Maravilla varrios, NOT one big single MV hood

Don’t let anyone tell you other-wise



Go down Whittier Blvd (the former cruising capitol of L.A.) all thru EAST LOS unincorporated

As there are NO MV varrios in Boyle Heights …. Only unincorporated



If you want to see the oldest Maravilla varrio…. Go to Obregon Park, that big hole where the park is located …

that’s where the name comes from …. El Hoyo Maravilla aka The Hole … the oldest MV gang



Then go down East bound down Whittier Blvd

When you see the famous Whittier Blvd arch ~ East Los Angeles, you’re in between MMV, AMV, FMV, FMVR



Go up on Arizona, thru AMV hood then we’ll bust a right on Cesar Chavez,

and you’ll you have the MV Projects, home to Rock MV, HTS-MV and Rascals MV.


All around Garfield High school is Marianna Maravilla hood with a lil Rifa (MV’R) sprinkled in there


…..

You can also go all the way up Gage Avenue from 3rd street heading north,

You’ll pass thru GMV, see some murals and then Gage turns into Pomeroy Ave (PMV) and cruise all the hills Rowan hill and thru Juarez Mara hood


You know what, unless your a jura, a rata or a no good mother-fucka

Buy me a case of beer and a sack of the good shit and I’ll take you to their hang-out spots

VIP Access … from a distance of course

You’ll see real live gang members in their natural habitat


And to put icing on the cake (that will cost you another case of beer )

I’ll take your ass to the infamous Maravilla Killers 1st hood and 2nd hoods in EAST LOS


THE LOTT 13 SURENOS Gang

You might want to bring a few hood rats and a few more sacks to keep those Animals happy

[MARTINEZ]

awe shit ^^ there's no edit button,

I meant to put FR'MV = Frasier Maravilla, not FMMV

They're in between Whittier blvd and Olympic blvd up and down Frasier Ave

[sickside]

nice

[jdm894g]

back in the day(89-91) I never had a problem traveling though east LA as a brotha. Im a little more hesitant now than i was back then. I would be conscious in any hood because I'm an outsider. I have a lot of respect for all neighborhoods.

All eyes on me...we may have to hook up and dip though some hoods...but then again 1 brotha is cool and two may be a problem.

[sickside]

Alright step aside fellas

Lemme take over on this one

Real EAST LOS Area gang member coming thru…. Step aside … make way



If you want to go thru the Maravilla varrio(s)

Notice I put the an “s” because it’s plural, there are many different Maravilla varrios, NOT one big single MV hood

Don’t let anyone tell you other-wise



Go down Whittier Blvd (the former cruising capitol of L.A.) all thru EAST LOS unincorporated

As there are NO MV varrios in Boyle Heights …. Only unincorporated



If you want to see the oldest Maravilla varrio…. Go to Obregon Park, that big hole where the park is located …

that’s where the name comes from …. El Hoyo Maravilla aka The Hole … the oldest MV gang



Then go down East bound down Whittier Blvd

When you see the famous Whittier Blvd arch ~ East Los Angeles, you’re in between MMV, AMV, FMV, FMVR



Go up on Arizona, thru AMV hood then we’ll bust a right on Cesar Chavez,

and you’ll you have the MV Projects, home to Rock MV, HTS-MV and Rascals MV.


All around Garfield High school is Marianna Maravilla hood with a lil Rifa (MV’R) sprinkled in there


…..

You can also go all the way up Gage Avenue from 3rd street heading north,

You’ll pass thru GMV, see some murals and then Gage turns into Pomeroy Ave (PMV) and cruise all the hills Rowan hill and thru Juarez Mara hood


You know what, unless your a jura, a rata or a no good mother-fucka

Buy me a case of beer and a sack of the good shit and I’ll take you to their hang-out spots

VIP Access … from a distance of course

You’ll see real live gang members in their natural habitat


And to put icing on the cake (that will cost you another case of beer )

I’ll take your ass to the infamous Maravilla Killers 1st hood and 2nd hoods in EAST LOS


THE LOTT 13 SURENOS Gang

You might want to bring a few hood rats and a few more sacks to keep those Animals happy

mvr had very lil in MMV, MYA MVR i would say had way more...i was always confussed because they had problems with each other but yet they still kick it..you would see sometimes MYA MVR tag in there hood but you will see MMV tag right next to them but nither one of them crossed each other out, and my family from MYA somee of his friends where from MMV

[MARTINEZ]

They must have been giving each other MV passes because traditionally MMV and MYA' MV had gone at it ^^

[sickside]

They must have been giving each other MV passes because traditionally MMV and MYA' MV had gone at it ^^

Yea they have gone at it preety hard, but over the years ive seen more hit ups of each other next to each other and neither one crossong each other out. But yea it could be some passes going around. Maybe a family thing or something. Arizona and hubbard is where you were see the tags of both time to time. In the L shape store area when you would make a right if you are comming from Whitter Blvd. You would always see a tag of MMV blasted right there are Vets chilling . But I would say MVR and MMV gone at it more resent than MYA and MMV. MVR like 5-6 years ago was going at it vs. MMV nasty style.

[sickside]

They must have been giving each other MV passes because traditionally MMV and MYA' MV had gone at it ^^

Yea they have gone at it preety hard, but over the years ive seen more hit ups of each other next to each other and neither one crossong each other out. But yea it could be some passes going around. Maybe a family thing or something. Arizona and hubbard is where you were see the tags of both time to time. In the L shape store area when you would make a right if you are comming from Whitter Blvd. You would always see a tag of MMV blasted right there are Vets chilling . But I would say MVR and MMV gone at it more resent than MYA and MMV. MVR like 5-6 years ago was going at it vs. MMV nasty style. You would find a cool number of Ford too on Arizona and 3rd. you would make a left if you are comming from the whitter Blvd. they all live all around that lil liqure store on the conner. But I think alot have moved out because you would see FORD hit up on that store back in the days now you would only see MMV hit up on that store all the way to Humfreeze elementary. And one or two vets from LMV I remember lived in MMV hood too! and one of them has a son from MYa trust this I know because my family kickit with thAT family and they never had a problem with MMV and trust MMV knew of them and vis vasa..And one or two fools from GMV..and 2-3 fools from stoners but MMV always fucked with them 2-3 fools from C12, MMV fucked witht them too. But the ones who got it sick from MMV for living in there hood were from VNE two brothers lived in MMV that got put on VNE ...MMV ran up there house shoting every thing in it. I will never forget that when I was a kid. One guy from LK also lived there and if you go down hubbard passing KERN you will see a house on the left there garage a big LK "still there" but you cant notice it u have to look at it because they tag the letters with the borders but that guy is gone so gone MMV made sure of it.

[sickside]

damn i just remember, you make a right on hubbard comming from whitter blvd. than you make a right on kern...go down and to your right side before whitter blvd. you would see like a fruit stand and two vets ..they are still there and been there with no problems ever since I was a KID. they are from KMV trust !...sometimes there sons would help them out. and there kids look like straight thug ass mother fuckers MMV never kick them out or gave them any type of issue. My family used to buy fruit of them, and just 2 years ago the last time ive been down there those 2 damn vets where still there.

[MARTINEZ]

sick side

you got family from diff MV gangs?

lemme ask you a question:

What do they say about THE LOTT X3?

Aside from the "customary" - fukk those vatos! we dont get along

[AztecNinja]

sick side

you got family from diff MV gangs?

lemme ask you a question:

What do they say about THE LOTT X3?

Aside from the "customary" - #%@& those vatos! we dont get along

I dont mean to side bust but one of my homeboys used to stay right there off of Bkln and Ford across from that Chuy's car repair place, when we would go down there to pick him up he always had some story of the LMV's getting lit up by TLSX3.

[MARTINEZ]

You aint side busting EAST SIDER

Its all firme

thats exactly what I'm lookin for ... i wanna to see if these vatos know whats crackin in EAST LOS unincoroporated

Orale

[sickside]

You where mention certin times but only yours not the second LOTTx3 hood just the first 1...for MMV the ones who i remember going at it with them a bit (but only on that side of there hood and that one block not the whole block just a conner and a block) was VNE back and forth! and stoners with C12 next to them.

[MARTINEZ]

sick-side

lemme make sure I'm understanding you right

the MV vatos that you know or are releated to only spoke about THE LOTT 13 ~ 1st hood in City Terrace/East Los

not really the 2nd hood???

[HiloBoy]

Not trying to step on anyones toes but Ill tell you what Ive heard about the lott
Jose Gonzalez...shot at a group of non-bangers in 1997 on Cordova Ave in Lopez hood b/c he thought they were from Lopez. And then, if Im not mistaken, he killed 2 of them. HOmero Cardenas, a member of lott gang, ratted his homeboy Jose Gonzalez out. ANd in 2001, some 15 yr old female (Brenda Sierra) was kidnapped and taken to san berdoo (crestline) sexual assaulted and killed?? And coming form an outsider, those 3 instances dont seem too gangster to me. Shooting innocent people, ratting out your homeboy, raping and killing a teenager??

[andrew]

hey joker69......gangs play for keeps
choose a safer "hobby"

[joker69]

hey joker69......gangs play for keeps
choose a safer "hobby"

hey

i don't think it's a hobby. i want to take some photos of la streets and gangs are a huge part of it. I don't want to see gangbangers, but i want to see the murals and taggs. I will visit those neighborhoods early in the morning. So i think it's pretty safe. What i heard about east los angeles is that it's not like in the moving. You can walk there along the streets and nothing will happens.
But i don't know how safe are pico union, south la, firestone.

greets

[MARTINEZ]

HiloBoy

I’m gonna go out on a limb and say your cop …

yeah…. probably a cop who is of Hawaiin decent...Thus the name Hilo “Donut-eating” boy


Ding ding ding ding

We have a winner!



Cause every piece of info you put on your post, is straight from the world wide web

Which tells me, with absolute certainty that…..

1. you don’t know shit from your own street expierence …and

2. youre searching for info on an open case




but fukk it – as my favorite rapper Ice Cube said, “Try to fukk me, but I’d rather fukk you!!!!”

but let me entertain this cop – and only a cop would write the shit that you did ….

It’s called fishing for info


But let me entertain your bull shit

ready….



Are you sure,



Here we go….



“…Jose Gonzalez...shot at a group of non-bangers in 1997 on Cordova Ave in Lopez hood b/c he thought they were from Lopez. And then, if Im not mistaken, he killed 2 of them...”/

Those vatos were 100% from Lopez Maravilla.

The only reason you think they’re not is becaseu that’s what YOU READ on the web…..


Its not uncommon to DENY gang membership to a cop, and Lopez MV are known for deny membership or ranking out

that was a known LMV hangout…. So get the fukk outta Puerco!

I can speak on it cause the case is over 12 years old and homeboy P----- from THE LOTT 13 Chicos is already doing time for that!



“….Also, HOmero Cardenas, a member of lott gang, ratted his homeboy Jose Gonzalez out...”

That bitch ass vato was never my homeboy, he was a “Claimer” only and yes he was a rat ^^^

That’s why he got his jack broken and he went into hiding.



And the other shit you mentioned….never heard of it….ever.

[HiloBoy]

Well obviously u were fishing for comments when you were asking ppl about the lott??
You just caught some feelings b/c you did not like what you heard. And yea, maybe ppl do claim to be non-bangers when they get shot at or killed BUT you saying Homero Cardenas was a "wannabe" and a rat etc is the same freaking thing!! You are claiming he is not your homeboy b/c you would never claim a rat as a homeboy BUT if he was a stone cold killer, well then, you would be jerking off to his name as we speak...

You are right, I read all this on-line...

All i did was google lot stoners and all this came up

This is an open thread and I read about east la. relax gangster, all I did was post what is available...