Let The City Know.
In the interest of transparency, I’ve put together this Invoice or itemized receipt for just a single Los Cuentos beanie to go from production to purchaser. In actuality, there’s also more involved in the process, but the fact of the matter is that when you’re simply determined to keep your dreams going, you find a way.
Pueblito, I’ve found a way.
J.T
To round off the year, two dozen beanies are back to warm up Los Angeles through the fall and winter seasons. On placing your order, please specify which colors you’ll need.
UPDATE: As of January 15th, all remaining Los Cuentos beanies are being donated to victims of the Eaton Canyon fire. 🙏🏽
J.T.
On this installment of J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast we’re joined by Phoenix Tso, who chats with us about The Tenant Association, a new podcast on the Chinatown Hillside Villa Tenant Association, which formed in 2018 after residents there received a 300% Rent Increase without any prior notice from their landlord; in addition to the origins of the podcast and Tso’s investigative work, we consider the terms “affordable housing” and “eminent domain.” Tso notes that across the U.S., approximately 800,000 currently affordable units will lose their affordability within the next decade due to expiration dates for rent prices set in their housing covenants. Last but not least, Tso reveals the host of The Tenant Association to quite some cheer and even chuckling; it’s another can’t miss episode and you can also keep up with The Tenant Association here.
(1:07) Introducing The Tenant Association Podcast by the Los Angeles Public Press
(5:41) Outlining the story of the Hillside Villa Tenant Association
(13:30) “Affordable Housing” on a timer, not indefinitely affordable
(19:41) 800,000 “Affordable Housing” units in the U.S. are expiring within the next decade
(23:29) The use of “Eminent Domain” historically to rob communities of their right to housing
(30:25) How the Hillside Villa Tenant Association organized the fight against their landlord
(41:08) Final notes on the new podcast, as well as the HOST REVEAL!
To make a one-time donation to my nonprofit work for working-class communities in The City, do so here. To support the production of J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast for as little as $5 a month, check out my page at Patreon.
Until the next time, stay vigilant and stay tuned!
J.T.
The return of J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast features Eric Solis, an L.A. born architect and designer now living and consulting in Mexico City, where the rise of a new, international gentrification has pushed residents like himself to fight back and organize. Solis’s roots in Los Angeles also run deep, however, especially given his time with HNTB Corporation in collaboration with Michael Maltzan Architecture, or the firm behind the already world-famous 6th Street Bridge, which officially reopened in June 2022. Solis and I discuss his upbringing through Greater Los Angeles, as well as his unique position as a first-generation college graduate (USC, 2010) on a team of seasoned, mostly white architects who had little to no lived experience with Mexican-American communities like those of East Los Angeles. We also discuss the strengths and shortcomings of the 6th Street Bridge, as well as what Designing For The Realities has looked like for Solis most recently. Last but not least, we uplift “No Hablamos Ingles,” a fashion show consisting of some of Mexico’s fiercest fashion leaders taking place right in Los Angeles this September 21st, free and open to all of the Pueblito.
(0:52) Introductions
(6:15) Solis’s time on the 6th Street Bridge fresh out of USC, Class of 2010
(11:15) Looking around the room as the only Latino person at the firm
(20:32) Issues posed by the new 6th Street Bridge due in large part to design
(26:45) Solis’s thoughts on designing for reality rather than for idealism in L.A. + discovering fashion!
(33:08) “No Hablamos Inglés,” September 21st in downtown Los Angeles
(35:48) Fighting gentrification in Mexico City and everywhere else we can
To make a one-time donation to my nonprofit work for working-class communities in The City, do so here. To support the production of J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast for as little as $5 a month, check out my page at Patreon.
Until the next time, stay vigilant and stay tuned!
J.T.
A “J.T. X” interview is a spontaneous, unplanned interview, lightly edited, and first available to stream via youtube.com/@jimbotimes.
Malcolm X Willis is a designer and apparel manufacturer in Downtown Los Angeles. He first arrived to the west coast from Cleveland in 2019, and worked his way through DoorDash delivery services while living at a motel in MacArthur Park to finally open up his own shop, NEW LAND LA, earlier this year. He is the founder of REFORMUSA ™️, a skate and street-inspired brand established in 2008, as well as the son and grandson of seamstresses from Lowndes County in Selma, Alabama.
Please also remember that the Barcelona Barrios Excursion is now here! The best way to keep up with yours truly through it is with a membership at patreon.com/jimbotimes, which supports expenses for the journey. Tap in or subscribe for the first week or so, then before your first charge on May 1st, cancel it!
That is, if after our first week of Los Cuentos together…you think you can!!☺️🤞🏽
For Los Cuentos de Los Angeles,
J.T.
