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You are invited to a special screening of Maria’s Story

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This January 16th marked 32 years since El Salvador’s 1992 peace treaty, also known as the Chapultepec Peace Accords, which were signed between the Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional (FMLN) and the U.S. backed right-wing government of El Salvador, ending a 12 year war in the Central American Nation which killed at least 75,000 Salvadorans, disappeared 8,000 others, and displaced at least a million more.

By the early 1980s the U.S. had its hands in conflicts across the globe, from the mountains of Afghanistan to the coasts of Nicaragua and the forests of El Salvador; former president Ronald Reagan made his commitment to this modus operandi clear as soon as he was elected in 1980, moving quickly to establish the “Contras,” or counter-revolutionary death squads against the socialist Sandinista government in Nicaragua. The U.S. dollar’s role on these “Cold War” fronts–as is the case now with its support for Israel against Palestine in the “war on terror”–was an open secret.

In 1985 at the White House, Reagan stood alongside then-Salvadoran president Duarte, whom had only been elected in June 1984, and called him “a close friend.” He then went on to claim that “elections, economic reforms and communist guerillas losing ground [in El Salvador] would [not] have been possible without the economic assistance and military training and equipment that [the U.S.] provided.” The U.S. government would send between $4.5 – 6 billion in economic and military aid to El Salvador over the 1980s, though not without loopholes and controversy, including the Iran-Contra affair.

President Reagan’s and President Jose Napoleon Duarte’s of El Salvador Remarks during his Working Visit in the Rose Garden on May 16, 1985. Courtesy of Ronald Reagan Library.

This is all the more reason why it’s stunning that the war in El Salvador outlasted even Reagan’s tenure. In 1987, 37 year old Maria Serrano lost one of her three daughters, Ceci Serrano, to an ambush by the Salvadoran army on her pueblo. While Maria didn’t mention Reagan by name as she discussed “the enemy,” or those responsible for the attack, she did note that losing her daughter in a particularly ruthless and dehumanizing fashion to an army Reagan had so much praise for was a major factor in her decision to become a guerilla fighter and organizer with the FMLN.

Save the date! For next Thursday, January 25th at 7:30 PM in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles.

In Maria’s Story, using solar-powered batteries, film-makers shadow Maria on-the-run” for two months through highlands and waterfalls as she and fellow farmer communities devise a major offensive against the Salvadoran army, an offensive so effective it ultimately spurs both the FMLN and the U.S. backed Salvadoran government to sign the Peace Accords; weaving together the different moments which led Maria into such a precarious position to begin with, the film captures the undeniable humility of a people simply struggling to live free from the grip of empire in the late 20th century.

I’m now honored to present a screening of Maria’s Story at none other than the Re/Arte (medianoche) bookstore in Boyle Heights. Proceeds from the event will go towards supporting my upcoming visit to El Salvador as an Election Observer, and attendees will also get to check out all of the amazing libros–many of which are no longer in print or just anywhere else–at Re/Arte.

Tell a friend, bring your own concha–available nearby on E. Cesar Chavez Ave–and enjoy! It’s going to be an unforgettable time.

J.T.

Excerpts from Zev [Yaroslavsky]’s Los Angeles

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Zev Yaroslavsky, the former L.A. City Councilmember (CD-5) and former L.A. County Board Representative (District 3), was first elected to office nearly 50 years ago at the age of just 26 years. He would serve as an elected official for nearly 40 years, retiring in 2014; in 2016, he became the director of the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, where he has remained since.

Yarloslavsky’s memoir is a story replete with his commentary on various ongoing political issues in L.A., including the city’s notorious lack of affordable housing, Proposition 13, rent control (RSO), the 1984 Olympics and L.A.P.D., and even L.A.’s slow-growth movement.

At a talk at Kohn Chapel recently, Yaroslavsky noted that, “There are people who weren’t even born…halfway through my career who are now writing revisionist histories about the things that I was involved in. And I’m not gonna get into an argument with them, but I want to make sure that my side of the story is in print, and people can take it or leave it.”

Below are 10 excerpts from his book for your consideration. You can also hear more from his side of the story in his recent appearance on former L.A. City Councilmember Mike Bonin’s What’s Next, Los Angeles Podcast.

On L.A.’s political climate at the time of his election (1975)


“To be sure, there were problems galore. The city was grappling with rising crime, property tax rates, and rents. Neighborhood groups were angrily pushing back against unwanted development and traffic congestion that was eroding their quality of life. Black people, Gays and other marginalized groups were bitterly protesting their treatment by the Los Angeles Police Department, and a long-simmering dispute over busing and school integration was boiling over.”

On Property Taxes in California before 1978


“At the conclusion of the town hall meeting, one elderly widow approached me, and the ensuing conversation has been etched into my memory ever since. She showed me copies of her 1976 and 1977 property tax bills. The ‘76 bill was for $1,500, an amount she could barely afford, but the ‘77 bill rose to $7,500, a five-fold increase. “I’m going to have to sell my house. I’m going to have to leave the home in which my late husband and I raised our family,” she said. “I don’t want to leave. Where will I go?” She didn’t want to leave her church, her doctors, and her social network. It was a crushing blow. This story was playing out in hundreds of thousands of households across our region.”

On the impact of Proposition 13


“Until 1978, property taxes were the principal source of funding for schools, counties and cities. After Proposition 13, however, there weren’t enough tax revenues to pay for all three. Amid lengthy wrangling in Sacramento, the state took over much of the funding for education, averting a breakdown of the California public school system. This was a seismic change. At the same time, the chastened legislature returned a portion of the $7 billion State surplus to local governments, to help them adjust to the new reality.”

On implementing Proposition 13 locally


“Remaking the budget was hard, the pressure was intense, and the stakes were high. But we made it work. The experience, you’ll excuse the expression, was taxing. It was seared into my psyche for the rest of my career. But there were glaring inequities built into the new law that bedevil California to this day. Longtime homeowners would enjoy a much lower property tax than a neighbor who purchased an identical home next door years or decades later. And thanks to a legal loophole, many new commercial property owners were not taxed based on the purchase price, avoiding a substantially higher tax. Over the years, calls to correct that inequity have proven politically too hot to handle. In November 2020, a State constitutional amendment that would have ended this exemption was narrowly defeated by California voters.”

On Prop. 13’s negative impact on communities of color and future families seeking to become homeowners


“Despite the approval of alternative fees and taxes, local government never fully recouped the financial losses caused by Proposition 13. Adopting budgets became an annual struggle to make ends meet, and vital social, capital, and operational investments were deferred or never made. The consequences fell more heavily on economically and racially marginalized communities, further exacerbating the structural inequities that plague our society.”

On opposition to Rent Control in L.A., including within his own district


“I told them that I understood their concerns. But more than 23,000 voters, many of them renters, elected me and I knew first-hand the financial hardships they faced because of never-ending rent increases. I had knocked on their doors and felt their pain. I was not going to sell them out.”

“Although I was an outspoken advocate for rent relief, the main credit goes to Councilman Joel Wachs for his leadership on this issue. He took on rent control as one of his core causes. His intellect, political acumen and perseverance made him the leading political force behind what ultimately emerged as the city’s landmark Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO). Pressure grew for a solution when it became clear that most landlords had no intention of passing on rent savings to tenants. Mayor Bradley, who had not previously spoken out on the matter, finally called for “dramatic action” to halt what he termed “outrageous” rent increases. As a result, the council passed a rollback and moratorium on rents in August 1978. The following year, after a furious battle, the City Council renewed the RSO. It did so each year until it approved a permanent law in 1982.”

“The new [Rent Control] law also exempted all apartment buildings built after June 1978, addressing the argument that rent control would discourage new construction. At the time, it seemed like an easy concession to make in order to get a permanent law on the books. Because of this exemption, however, the tens of thousands of new rental units built in Los Angeles over the next four decades were not subject to rent control. So, what were once “new” units, are today largely unaffordable to middle and low-income renters.”

On L.A. apartment buildings being converted into condominiums in the late 1970s and early 1980s


“I authored legislation putting conditions on conversions, allowing them only in planning areas where the rental vacancy rate was greater than 3 percent. In those days this was considered the equilibrium point between a rental housing shortage and a surplus. We also required owners to provide relocation assistance to renters who could not avert displacement. Still, the conversions continued. They contributed to a higher rent burden and increased poverty in segments of Los Angeles’ elderly population. Some of the most vulnerable tenants had to choose between rent and food, between rent and medicine. It was a dreadful predicament that continues to plague Los Angeles to this day.”

“Los Angeles faced a rent crisis not over the supply of housing, but over the supply of affordable housing, according to a 1981 report by the Rand Corporation. ‘What Los Angeles has, along with most of the rest of the United States, is a double-digit price inflation that increases the cost of producing housing services, and therefore increases rents,’ the report said.”

J.T.

Julieta Galan: Memories of our reality

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State street park, a comfort zone on the street to me.

I’d go there to play on the swings,

I’d feel the breeze passing through my untamed frizzy hair,

Through leaves of the trees and the rattling grass,

Balancing the warmth of the sun enough to be able to withstand the sun a little while longer.

There are times that the sun gives streaks of golden sunlight on the grass,

The grass that has just been showered with water.

And if you listen closely it’s almost as if mother nature is trying to communicate with you.

This is the park where the recreation center instructor taught me how to play the guitar,

Where I first stepped foot on a stage to perform “Yellow Submarine” by The Beatles in cold December.

The first terrifying moment of my childhood,

My heart was pounding and my hands were sweating,

I felt as if I was a contestant on American Idol,

It was only that the recreation center was encouraging me to practice the confidence I carry within me.

Seven years later when I visit this park it’s only a reminder of how I used to feel towards it.

Returning to it now, I see the saddening truth of it all.

There is a fence dividing the park and the street that gets smashed into the basketball court,

Threatening the lives of the youngsters playing in the court.

Young drunk girls peeing on the grass,

The gang that once used to run the park are all cracked out, not going anywhere with their lives,

Fools only looking for trouble asking the kids “what street they claim.”

In a house across the street the dealers sell drugs to anyone who needs a fix.

The police continuously make rounds around the park day and night staring down anyone who looks suspicious.

I can only reminisce about how I felt,

It’s a different life at State street park when you’re all grown up.

In the first half of the 20th century Boyle heights had a diversity of Japanese, Latinos, and Jewish people, but because of racist banks the Jewish were run out. They couldn’t borrow money or buy houses even after Bill Phillips helped in the process of bringing all these people together. The banks didn’t want to lend the Jewish people money or decide to reconstruct their homes, forcing them to move out. Economics and racism are pretty much still the same thing in Boyle Heights.

J.G.

Julieta Galan is a Boyle Heights native and resident of Los Angeles.

Jeremy Tong: A Remembrance for Demetrio Zuniga Farias, Mayor of Breed Street

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On December 2nd, 2019, a small, working class community in Boyle Heights experienced a sorrowful loss when Demetrio Zuniga Farias passed away at his home on Breed Street. He was 85 years old.

Born in 1934, Don Farias made Los Angeles his permanent home in the mid-1960s. In his long tenure in the city, Don Farias was an active member of his community who was constantly providing a lending hand. In 1987, he even earned recognition from the City of Los Angeles and Governor Jerry Brown for his commitment to the public good.

When Don Farias opened and managed his own mini-market in Boyle Heights, he showed much compassion for the community, at times helping families and single mothers in need with items such as milk, tortillas, and more at his expense.

Outside of Boyle Heights, Don Farias also traveled all over Europe, loved baseball, boxing, and Mariachi music. In fact, during the 1980s, he was actually associated with the Dodgers, working with the Spanish translation group for the prized blue franchise. Don Farias also had a network in the world of boxing and counted legends such as Julio Cesar Chavez and Don King among people he knew.

Don Farias was no ordinary man. He knew how to live life to the fullest at the same time that he counted his blessings. This led many members of the community to frequently gather at his home on Breed Street, making him constantly surrounded by people who had nothing but endearment for him. Breed Street was the heart of Don Faria’s pueblo, making him to locals the “Mayor of Breed Street.”

Although this great and honorable man is no longer with us physically, Don Farias’s legacy will always be the soul of Breed Street and a gem in our hearts.

J.T.

About the author: Jeremy Tong is a resident of Boyle Heights on the east side of Los Angeles and an avid supporter of grassroots movements in the community.