Now I don't know why you came to East L.A. but since you're here I might as well give you the run down on all the strange customs and strange dialog you'll surely see while you're here. Now you may be wondering why I'm telling you to do some things that sound weird, but I assure you it;s for your protection.
First, take off your hat and jewelry.
Wearing fancy things make you a target around here. I don't really care about the LA Dodgers or whatever team you like or who bought you that nice necklace or whatever, please take it off.
I'm sure you'll appreciate not getting robbed by a stickup kid that likes your things. Next take out your wallet. Take out your money and place it in in one of these rubber bands, but leave a 20 or 5 out of the roll. Place the roll in your left pocket and the loose bill in the other. If we get run up on give them the loose bill and for the love of God don't say anything stupid like "Lets talk about this."
Next thing, we're surely gonna meet some people while we're hanging out here. Please don't assume that we're all Mexican. We're not. Its very disrespectful to call someone a Mexican when their not, since East L.A. is a melting pot for Latinos. Now some of the people you meet may not speak English and that's OK. In East L.A. everyone speaks Spanish, even the Korean Liquor Mart owners. Many Latinos have been living here in the States for decades without learning English and have been living comfortably.
A very important rule that your should remember is to never ask if someone is here in the United States illegally. It's considered very rude to ask that question even though 1 in 7 Latinos in East L.A. is here illegally.
If they say they ARE here illegally act like its no big deal and don't repeat it to anyone. Another thing you might hear often is the word "
Freebie." The word is a slang term for people who get Welfare, WIC, or live off the government in any of other capacity. You'll see a lot of them hanging around but please don't stereotype us all as Freebies. Its very important. Calling a hard working Latino a Freebie isn't well received, those are fighting words. Please remember. It's very common for hard working Latinos to look down on Freebies even though a Freebie might have more or less than that working Latino. It's the principle of the thing.
On the streets you might see many 2-3-5 cars. By that I mean cheap run down cars that are looked upon with pride and admiration by others.
A 2-3-5 is a $2000 car with $3000 rims and a $5000 stereo system. It might sound strange but this does tend to be the norm. You see if you live in East L.A. and buy a nice BMW or luxury car there's a high chance that it'll be stolen from outside your home in less than a month. Buying a cheap run down car and improving it seems to be a smarter move.
Now before we move on when you here the following words, its a good indicator that the conversation has something to do with you, Chino, Gringo, Huero, Rubeo, Negro, Mayate.
Next time I'll tell you about gangs, customs of the household, taboos, and why you see so many teenage girls holding babies.
That's all for now, so any Questions? Have you ever been to East LA and experienced this?
Comments (16)
i personally haven't, but i've been to east LA a couple of times when i was younger. they just probably thought it was unjust to rob a kid :P
I've driven through East LA countless times, and I tutor in City Terrace/Boyle Heights. Most of the people are very nice, if you stop and actually talk to them, but I still get scared sometimes, especially at night. During one of my tutoring sessions, I heard glass shattering, and even though I knew my car wasn't parked anywhere near where the sound came from, I was still praying to God it wasn't my car =(. Sometimes I'm ashamed of reacting in such stereotypical ways, but I can't help it =(.
@onliadreamer@xanga - Thank you very much for tutoring in my community. One of the best things about driving through East LA is the many murals you see on the side of buildings. When I was a kid I used to try and count/see them all, although I sure there are many I haven't seen yet.
I think East LA is getting a lot better with all those fancy cafes and art galleries. Some of the people are really nice too if you get a chance to talk to them- lots of history and stories. The food is great (!!!) and you shouldn't let fear keep you from going into town to get some- just go during the daytime and don't attract unnecessary attention. :)
I live right by east LA 0:] and my grandma lives there. It's not a bad place at all imo. Just keep to your own business and you'll be fine xD
Great post. Written very well. Very good information for those of us who don't do a lot of traveling. So if ever around that area I now know... well, quite a bit. Sounds interesting to visit during the day for several hours. I've always been interested in the languages and customs of those in different countries, hearing, learning, and sometimes engaging in; and I'm all for having your customs in your homes. But talk about rude, how rude is it 1. to be talking about someone behind your back 2. especially in another language 3. to be speaking a different language than those around you. I personally wont be putting myself in those areas for those reasons. I don't speak the language so I don't know what they're saying, but I do know some words and where they're going with it. Regardless, I don't plan on visiting any other country. If I change my mind, I'd learn the language. I think that where you go you should speak their language. I also understand English is pretty much known and spoken everywhere. My point remains the same. Whoever comes here, legally or not should learn the language. I don't care if it takes them 5 years, but those who want to live in a country, to benefit from or to be with family, or whatever reason, should be appreciative enough to know and use the language of that country, especially publicly. So for that reason, I don't care to be around the people or areas that wont show appreciation for/to for what they have legaly or illegaly. Good post, just another reason for me not to visit LA. I think there should be more posts about areas and things to know when visiting.
Ha ha, I had to laugh at the comment by SirenVixen...she's not going to enjoy another culture unless she first learns the language! I've been trying to learn Spanish ever since we moved to CA from Michigan and it's not that easy. Being a Rubia, has never prevented me from visiting other countries but I confess to being shy about East LA. Nevermind that the neighborhood I live in looks just as scary to outsiders, it's familiar and comfortable to me. Most of my neighbors are Hispanic and I find that they are difficult to get to know. They stick to themselves, they don't invite the non Hispanics to their parties, and they barely say "hola" when they pass by my house. Maybe it's because of my awful Spanish
Oh East LA and the like..
I used to live in Boyle Heights when I was a kid. It wasnt nice always having to stop playing as soon as the sun went down.
dude, i just do not understand the whole wallet trick. care to elaborate again. it's confusing.
"If we get run up on give them the loose bill and for the love of God don't say anything stupid like "Lets talk about this."
What do you mean if "we get run up on"?
In EastLA, aren't there like plenty of Asian immigrants who dress very fashionable in a non-American way?
indeed. call them your amigos even if you don't know them. never use the word freebie, beaner, wetback, and don't accidentally make any handsigns, even the peace sign because it'll be mistaken for a rival gang and you don't want them to bust any caps in your you know what
wear a bullet proof vest, great running shoes, casual and not flashy clothes to draw attention to yourselves that you're some rich snot with lots of money and smile:) welcome to east L.A.! LOL
@DeLasombra@xanga - Yeah, definitely. Some of the buildings are really beautiful too, even if they're a little run down. I've never really cared to learn Spanish until I started tutoring there, but I really want to learn it now (even though I won't have much use for it when I go to Korea for grad school =D).
i practically use to live in east la lol
i went to a magnet school, so there were a lot of kids including my friends who lived in east la and south central.
i remember getting stranded in those places at all hours of the night after a backyard or flyer party..id be with just one or two other girls dressed in party outfits and most of the time intoxicated..it was pretty scary but good thing we always managed to get home safe and nothing ever happened to us even though waundering by ourselves at night. once i got my car, however, my friends and i were super hesistant to party there and leave my brand new car there...so since then i pretty much stopped going.
hah. i visit family over there every month. i love it, love it, love it! it's not so bad. the things you should never do over there though is stare. never stare at anyone for any reason. 'cause you never know who they might know. one time this lady had lip stick on her teeth and my cousin stared at her and she got SO mad. her entire family started telling us all kids of shit.
my friends and i got help up at gunpoint on the freeway in east LA...that's my only experience of being there.
you forgot the word longos, wetbacks, such... and the fuckin Asians.