by Citlalli Chávez   On a recent warm LA Friday night, in the heart of Boyle Heights, loyal fans and supporters of Viento Callejero packed into the MBar to celebrate this up-and-coming band’s much-anticipated CD release party.    The celebration was a culmination of a recent crowdfunding effort organized through a Kickstarter campaign in which community contributors, organized primarily through social media platforms, raised over $8,000. The money allowed this trio to showcase their diverse musical backgrounds and talents with the release of an eponymous CD.    Composed of three permanent musicians, Gloria Estrada (formerly of La Santa Cecilia) on guitar, Federico Zuniga, Jr. (Grammy-nominated Sistema Bomb) on the bass, and Gabriel Villa (Chicano Batman) on the drums, the trio manages to cover classic Colombian Big Band Cumbias infused with electric psychedelic sounds that give the band it’s unique and novel sound. Viento Callejero, as the name implies, in...

​ Brooklyn & Boyle is very pleased to feature pioneer artist Roberto Chavez, a historic figure in the development of Chicano Art in our upcoming Latino Heritage Month edition. Chavez, the Chicano art instructor at East LA College will be the subject of a one-man retrospective at ELAC's prestigious Vincent Price Art Museum, a marvelous new addition to the campus where Chavez taught scores of younger artists who are now household names, among them Gilbert "Magu" Luján. We are literally only two weeks away from publishing what promises to be a riveting issue that will also include an article on muralismo in Highland Park and a history of the International Institute of Los Angeles, an organization that has provided services, assistance and advocacy to immigrants for one hundred years, among other stories that cover the vital communities that comprise the Greater East Side. As a friend, reader or simple supporter, you can help us celebration Latinio Heritage month wit...

​ Brooklyn & Boyle , nearing its fourth year of publication, is extremely pleased and proud to bring back a tradition we began in 2009, our annual Ruben Salazar memorial tribute issue. It is a tradition born in the marriage between creative cultural expression and the legacy of journalism bequeathed to us by an outspoken leader who, sadly, we lost during the upheavals of the Chicano Moratorium season, a season of hope and struggle that lasted, say some, from 1969 - 1971. For us, freedom of expression, the right to a free and independent press and the proud spotlight we focus monthly on the artistic accomplishments in our community have all gone hand-in-hand. We are proud of our recent July issue and have received numerous compliments, both on the caliber and quality of the writing as well as on the presentation and design. We could never even dream of looking so good if it weren't for the many brilliant visual artists whose work as graced our front page over the few y...

Playwright Patricia Zamorano, author of Locked Up . By Abel Salas As a playwright, Patricia Zamorano doesn’t come with college credentials or the stuffy attitude that many in the realm of theatre assume in order to feel that their jobs as waiters and bartenders are just way stations on their journey to fame and glory as “artistes.” Patricia Zamorano was raised in the projects and spent her early adolescence in and out of LA’s infamous juvenile detention centers. She did not go to art school. Nor was she trained in the Stanislavsky Method or in a Playwrighting  101 undergraduate course. She is a heavy machinery operator. She drives fork lifts and tractors and bulldozers as a regular part of her day job. “Growing up, I ended up in juvenile hall many times, always vowing to never get locked up again. But every time I did go back, I was like a sheep with a set routine, day in and day out.  There were no resources or public discussions on how to prevent from becoming inca...

Indie Pop band Kotol á n will host a record release party to launch their first boutique 45, a special limited edition vinyl record, with a performance on Saturday, July 26th at the unique Arts District Flea Market, 453 Colyton St. Los Angeles, CA 90013 in the heart of the LA’s Downtown Arts District, The record launch—an all ages, free event—will run from 8pm-11pm. S pecialty mixology cocktails will be provided by Tito’s Vodka and Agetha Tequila. A Pop Up fine art station will feature collectible works from Modern Multiples, the legendary Los Angeles fine art print studio. The Modern Multiples Pop Up will be highlighted by pieces from artist Richard Duardo, the Andy Warhol of the West Coast, as well as images from and Royal Photography’s Michael Hope. A live performance by Kotol á n begins at 9:30pm. A live performance by Kotol á n begins at 9:30pm. Kotol á n, an LA fusion ensemble with roots on the East Side and the Far East continues to deliver an eclectic sound rooted in ...

Review by Abel Salas Give It To Me Ana Castillo Feminist Press, 2014 Paperback, 256 pp. Palma Piedra, the stormy, conflicted, promiscuous heroine of Ana Castillo’s newest novel, is the kind of character you don’t want to admit you’ve fallen in love with. Give It to Me, the infinitely loaded title of the book is perhaps an over-simplication, because Palma is not simply oversexed. She merely enjoys being physical with others, and her appetites are expressed incessantly as a need for love and comfort for the most part but also as the very real ramifications of both an emotional and a physical hunger, a raw lust that can only be satiated with passion and lovemaking. The latter two are acted upon amply and in every manner of possible configurations, where traditional categories and orientations and preferences are gleefully thrown out the window. Bluntly, Give It to Me , is a guilty pleasure, easily a one-sitting read because Castillo’s language, her dialogue, her caustic, always sub...

​ Brooklyn & Boyle , LA's premiere Latino arts, culture & community monthly is once again pleased to share its unique perspective on the creative communities across the Greater East Side and beyond. In an effort to improve the publication and appear monthly at the beginning of each month from now on, an effort you, as readers and sponsors, have made possible as we move into our fourth year of publication, we will begin publishing at the beginning of each month. With our July issue, due in two weeks, we once again bring you more of the great stories, interesting features as well as book, film, theater, columns and opinions you have come to love and expect, only now, it gets even better with special cover story on a major museum in LA County that was willing to share an exclusive scoop with our editorial staff, a move that means good news for both Angelenos across the Southland and art aficionados the world over. That's really all we can say, because we can't give t...

By Armando Durón Boulevard Night , 1970, Gelatin silver print with hand-applied pigment I might as well begin with a full disclaimer: I have been a fan of Ricardo Valverde since I first met him in the late 1980s.  I have collected his works, and I was honored to speak at his funeral in 1998.  So this missive doesn’t come from some alleged objective space where pseudo art critics roam.  A retrospective of Ricardo’s work, which opened at the Vincent Price Gallery at East Los Angeles College on May 17th (and runs through July 26th), under the title Ricardo Valverde: Experimental Sights, 1971-1996 , is the first solo exhibition since 1994.  But this is his first retrospective and it is well-worth seeing.  Featuring a twenty-five year career, with over one hundred works, guest curator Cecilia Fajardo-Hill presents an artist on a mission to distinguish himself even as he might have struggled to seem to stay within the bounds of Chicano artspeak of the times. ...

Brooklyn & Boyle is proud to once again offer an original work of art on the cover. Our next issue, due out next week (May 21st), features a painting by Ricardo Garcia entitled Sunset. An acrylic on canvas, the piece was selected because it evokes the hard working moms who have raised us while holding it down both in and outside the home. If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't be here,and  we would definitely have an appreciation for beauty and art. Our next issue will also once again include a question-and-answer piece by El Art Pocho, who spoke to photographer Oscar Castillo, an artist who is considered one of the preeminent Chicano lensmen in the nation. Senior Contributing Editor Thomas Varela, offers an intimate look at funnyman Rudy Moreno, who packs them into the Pasadena Ice House every week. Founding editor Abel Salas reviews Give It To Me , a new novel by Ana Castillo, a writer of extraordinary prowess and world-wide acclaim. In addition, readers will once...