The Griffith Park Excursion

A random Saturday a couple weeks ago turned into one of the more fun and interesting days I've had in Los Angeles in a while. My roommate and I were sitting at home bored and frustrated because we felt that we didn't have anything to do. If I told any friends from back home this, I'm sure they would reply, "but Los Angeles is so big and there's so much to do, how could you be bored?!" Well, unfortunately Westchester is nowhere near exciting, and Los Angeles' traffic is often prohibitive to accessing other parts of the city. Well, this Saturday when we decided that we were not going to let traffic limit our enjoyment of the city in which we live. We were going to drive past Downtown to Griffith Park and go take a hike.

We swooped up another friend of ours and began our journey. It was not soon after we got on the 110 Freeway that we hit our first bout of traffic, but a quick lane change over to the carpool lane solved that problem and we were cruising steadily. Upon our arrival, we realized none of us had ever been to the area of Griffith Park we were currently in. We decided instead of driving over to the Hollywood sign area we would stay where we were and try to find some trails. We ended up finding some, and by our stroke of luck it turned out to be more than just some trails through the natural LA landscape. We had stumbled upon remnants of the old Los Angeles Zoo, which has been closed down since the 1960's according to the signs. We got to stand where animals once were caged, and see how the old buildings and structures have decayed over the years and become targets for people to practice tagging. After continuing our quest up the trails we came to a peak with a tall metal tower residing at the top. The peak was tall, and had a view of Downtown on one side and a view of the valley on the other. Seeing the city from a view like this makes you look at it differently; it helps you piece together the different neighborhoods based upon landmarks you can see and more than anything else makes you realize how close many things in the city are to each other and that it shouldn't take as long as it often does to travel between them. After this Saturday, I promised to myself that I would try to go on more of these spontaneous excursions to new places in the city whenever I was feeling bored or feeling that I had nothing to do. The best way to enjoy a city is to get to know it the best that you can, and that is what I hope to accomplish.


--Derek Dellovo
photo: me

Genius Loci: My Los Angeles

Ramen @ Hakata - Gardena

 The Yost Theatre - Santa Ana

Dim Mak Studios - Hollywood 

Griffith Park - Los Angeles 

Little Ethiopia - Los Angeles

Isaac Olvera: I Just Wana Dance

A DECADE ago, you would have found Isaac Olvera trying to mimic the dance
moves he saw in music videos in the living room of his home in the Los Angeles suburb of Monterey Park. Crosses and pictures of family
members  hung on the walls would watch as he moved up and down, left to right, and all over the
floor. After he was done with school, he would tirelessly come home and mimic
what he saw the professionals doing on television. Someday in the future, it will
be other children coming home from school and trying to imitate Isaac, and move
the way he does across the screen.

Ten years later, Isaac is studying dance at Loyola Marymount Unviersity in
Los Angeles. He hasn’t stopped practicing nearly every day, and still is always
smiling about something. He’s the leader of the school’s Hip Hop dance group,
Radix, and has choreographed a number of pieces for performances both for the
University and other audiences.

“It’s just what I love to do,” says Olvera. “Everyone has a passion, whether they
know it or not. I was just lucky enough to discover mine at an early age,” he says
with a grin. “Luckily for me, being from Los Angeles has given me opportunities that I think a lot of people in different areas don’t have.” Indeed, many of the other dancers in his programs came to the city from places like Texas, Wisconsin, and Florida among other states. The fact is dance, along with many other art forms, are more accessible in a city of Los Angeles’ size. Isaac was lucky in this regard, and used it to his advantage.

“I remember one of the first times I went to Venice with some friends in high school. I saw some guy on the Boardwalk ‘popping’ and I watched him for a few minutes. I asked him if he could show me how he was doing it, and I ended up getting a lesson from him right there. I can’t imagine something like that happening in the Midwest.” It is likely experiences of this nature crafted his perception of the city in a favorable manner. Experiences like this, indeed, are indicative of a Los Angeles experience. This would not be his only experience of the kind, however.


This aspiring young talent has taken many different elements from his life and
surroundings and incorporated them into his dance. The result is attention-
grabbing, creative, inspired dance that fuses many of its different forms including
Hip Hop, ballet and modern dance. After watching Isaac dance, it is clear
that he is from the city of Los Angeles. Much like the city in which he grew up
is composed of many different cultures, languages and areas, his dance is
composed of many different elements and styles, borrowing from movements in
everyday life.


“I draw inspiration from everything,” he states. “I try to set myself apart from other
dancers by trying to see the movement in everyday things, not just people, and
incorporate that into my pieces. Seeing the leaves of the palm trees undulate, or waves rippling into the beach, things where people normally wouldn't associate with human movement I try to imitate.” 


The most surprising thing about Isaac is that he did not have any formal training
in dance until he started college at Loyola Marymount. It was not until he became
friends with a few other dancers at the university that he decided to take things to
the next level.



"[Another time] after I had just joined the dance program at LMU, I didn't know too many people in the program and was feeling kind of discouraged after seeing how much better the other dancers in the program were. Well, after class one time, a few of the other dancers met up with me outside the classroom and invited me over to help me out with some technique work. We ended up dancing outside in the sun for a couple of hours. With people like this supporting me, it was no wonder I felt like I could succeed."


“Next level” is a tame way of expressing the hours of work and dedication Olvera
has put into his dancing. “Most of the other dancers in the program have been
taking lessons since they were like ten years old” he says. “I was only dancing in
my living room at that age, everyone else had a real leg up over me.”




That experience handicap didn’t discourage him though. In fact, it is the thing that
pushed him so hard to succeed. He would often dance for “eight, nine hours a
day,” until his body “felt like it was going to give out on me any minute.” Then the
next day he would do it over again.


His hard work did not go unnoticed, especially by his instructors. At the end of his
junior year of college, he was selected to attend the American Dance Festival at
Duke University in North Carolina.


“After I got accepted into [the American Dance Festival] I felt like I could make it
as a dancer. Some of the top upcoming dancers, not even from the U.S. but the
world go to ADF and I was going to be going too. It was surreal.”

Attending this program was the best thing he could have done. He
choreographed a piece that was viewed by hundreds of audience members, and
build connections that will propel him into the world of dance after he graduates. At the end of the program, he was told by a number of instructors to contact them
after he graduates for potential dance opportunities.

“There were other dancers that were better technically than me, but I guess I did something right that impressed them. Maybe it’s the L.A. flair coming out. I always try to incorporate some 'swagger' into my dancing. I was definitely a bit louder and sillier than a lot of the other people there too, and a lot of them got a kick out of me speaking Spanish."

After graduating, he hopes to stay in Los Angeles and continue to use the city to his benefit.
“I thought about moving just for a change of pace, but to be honest I can’t picture myself living anywhere else. I’ve grown up here, made my connections here, I don’t want to uproot myself like that. Plus the dance community is thriving right now and I think it would be like shooting myself in the foot to leave.”



Isaac is a person that was meant to live in Los Angeles. He was lucky enough to be born and raised in a city of vibrant culture and rich experience, and tried to take advantage of that to the fullest extent.



Ten years from now, Isaac, “hope[s] to still be dancing. Hopefully still here in Los Angeles.”


--Derek Dellovo
image via lmu.edu

Reaction to "Falling Down"

MOST OF  the time when I think of Los Angeles I think of the positives - good weather, diverse people, lots of things to do etc. After watching the movie Falling Down, it made me more aware of some of the drawbacks of the city; ones I knew existed but often did not think about because I was too busy thinking about the things I liked. .

The first thing this film brought to light for me was frustrations with traffic. I have lived in Los Angeles for close to three years now and there was a point where I felt like I was getting used to dealing with the ridiculous amounts of traffic within the city. The film begins with William Foster stuck in a seemingly endless line of cars not moving at all. We don't know what is going on with his character yet besides a desperate desire to get out of the traffic jam, so he gets up out of his car just leaving it in the traffic and walks away. About a week after we watched the film, I was in a similar rut of traffic and almost considered doing what William Foster had done in the movie. Even though when rationally thought about as it being "just traffic," the reality is that it is a large source of stress for a lot of people and not particularly easy to overlook.

Another thing Falling Down made me think about was the reality of gang violence in the city. Although West LA and Westchester are pretty safe areas, there are a lot of places in the city plagued by gang violence, and this was even more of a problem in the early 1990's when the film was made. William Foster gets in an altercation with gang members for being in their area, crossing into their territory. I feel grateful I do not live in such an area, and seeing a reminder of this made me feel for those who do have to live in such areas.

A final thing the film Falling Down does portray are racist tendencies of many in the city. The main Latinos shown in the film are those in the gang, and at the beginning of the film Foster destroys a Korean storeowner's market because he has a heavy accent. Later, he runs into the Army surplus store of a white supremacist who appears to hate just about everyone. Although it is not something that I have experienced really living here, it is something I know goes on for a lot of people.

This film was a good reality check, and although I still love Los Angeles as a city it made me realize that everything is not perfect here. If anything, it made me appreciate what I do like about the city even more.

-- Derek Dellovo
photo via wikipedia

Ricky's Fish Tacos

I DISCOVERED Ricky's Fish Tacos last week, and it was one of the most delicious meals I've had in a while in addition to being something completely unique to Los Angeles. Ricky's Fish Tacos is located at 1400 N Virgil Ave in Silver Lake, but driving by one might not even know it exists. It is tucked away in the corner of what appears to be either a driveway or small parking lot, and has no walls, both physically and metaphorically. When I went, Ricky's was a two man operation under a tent with a few tables and chairs nearby. There are two types of tacos available, fish and shrimp, both topped with cabbage. After you pick up your order, you go to the middle of the table and dress them however you want with mayo-sauce, salsa and pico de gallo. All of the ingredients are extremely fresh tasting, and the fish and shrimp are fried there right in front of you.

The humble nature of Ricky's Fish Tacos as well as the high caliber taste of the food that makes the experience so worthwhile. It is the kind of place where everyone is welcome. When I was there I saw both white-collar business types and blue-collar workers enjoying the same meal, sitting in talking in the same space. Even some celebrities such as comedian Aziz Ansari are regularly customers here. My friend and I ended up sitting at a table with some strangers and chatting throughout the course of our lunch about  the food, how great the experience was and the City of Los Angeles itself.

Even though we only came here on a whim, it turned out to be a very fulfilling experience that I cannot wait to have again. Even though Ricky's is a tiny place, it means more to the city than just another tiny taco stand. It is a place where people of all backgrounds can unite under one unifier - delicious food.

-- Derek Dellovo
photo credit - LAist

Iconic L.A.: Santee Alley

SANTEE ALLEY is, to me, what Los Angeles is all about. A hidden treasure right in the heart of downtown near Los Angeles St & Olympic, Santee Alley has something to offer almost every Angeleno. As soon as I step onto the block, my nose catches wind of the magnificent scent of bacon wrapped hot dogs. These vendors occupy where the Alley crosses a street, each offering a slightly different variation of toppings for these treats. Some come with freshly grilled onions, others with green peppers, others with both. The hot dog is cooked so it has a few sear marks before being wrapped in bacon and cooked more until the bacon is a golden brown. This, combined with a fresh fruit drink which the vendors also often sell is a meal that is iconiclly Los Angeles to me, something I would have a hard time finding anywhere else and just wouldn’t feel the same if I did. Bacon wrapped hot dogs are not the only food available though, others sell freshly sliced mangos with chile and lime, Popsicles, and a hole-in-the wall restaurant at the end of the Alley has some seriously good and authentic Mexican food. Fish tacos cooked with onions, cabbage and salsa are my favorites here. Although it is delicious, Santee Alley is not known for its food. Rather, it is known for being a place where one can go and get cheap but quality clothing, accessories, shoes, toys, electronics and more. Extremely small to boutique sized stores line either side of the open-air Alley, while their workers try to lure potential customers in by proclaiming some of the deals they have; “2 for $10 sunglasses” or “3 for $20 t-shirts” are some of the most popular options. Whether I wanted shoes, jeans, a shirt or a coat, I could find it for a fraction of the price of what it would normally be at a mall or department store. It is where I will always check first when I need new clothes, and usually not need to check anywhere else.

Another thing that draws me to Santee Alley its how unpretentious it is. It is dirty, people are often selling bootleg DVDs, and many of the stores do not have a visible name. People just know if they want to get a lot of clothing for a little bit of money, they come to Santee Alley. It attracts all races and socioeconomic types of people, dozens of different languages are overheard as you walk around, and there is a certain life to the Alley that I have not seen anywhere else. I am shoulder to shoulder with thousands of like minded shoppers of all backgrounds, all intermingling and haggling with vendors to try to get the best deals. This, combined with the warm climate that usually accompanies this experience is something that is iconic to the city. There are many certain places about LA that I love, but Santee Alley is one of the ones that always comes to mind first. I have traveled to a fair number of cities throughout America, Canada and Europe, but I have never been anywhere that compares to or captivates me like this tucked away Alley in Downtown Los Angeles.

-- Derek Dellovo
photo credit: TK