What a month for Quien Es Tu Vecindario!

We hope this message finds you well! If we connected recently through one of our fundraising events, we’re doubly grateful to have you subbed to this newsletter! This February has been huge for us, most of all because partnership with our larger community garnered at least $1,400 for our ongoing Vendor Buyout campaign.

We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the Dance and DJ collective Tu Casa LA, as well as filmmaker, photographer, performer, and writer Anya Jiménez, for these successful collaborations, who each found Quien Es Tu Vecindario within just the past year; rest assured, at our next big event, we’ll be honoring each of them with our very own special recognition for their leadership in the name of our communities.

The additional funds have allowed us to connect with even more vendors in our neighborhoods, expanding our network at this critical time for immigrants in Los Angeles. But we’re just getting started, as the team is looking to hit the streets again this March to provide more resources to those especially in need given the ongoing attacks against our people. If you’re interested in getting involved in either fundraising or canvassing with us, simply reach out and we’ll be happy to coordinate for it!

Speaking of the streets and our people, for this edition of the newsletter we’d like to shout out our OG local Echo Park frutero, Gilberto’s Fruits. We spotted his cart recently at the Silver Lake reservoir and were happy to check in. As it happens, he and his family’s GoFundMe is almost at its goal. In case you or someone else you know can help it along, please don’t hesitate to do just so!


¡Esperamos que este mensaje te encuentra bien! Si nos conectamos recientemente a través de uno de nuestros eventos de recaudación de fondos, ¡estamos doblemente agradecidos de que te hayas suscrito a este boletín! Este febrero ha sido un mes crucial para nosotros, sobre todo porque la colaboración con nuestra comunidad en general recaudó al menos $1,400 para nuestra campaña de Compra de Vendedores.

Estamos profundamente agradecidos con el colectivo de danza y DJ Tu Casa LA, así como con la cineasta, fotógrafa, artista y escritora Anya Jiménez, por estas exitosas colaboraciones, quienes fundaron “Quién Es Tu Vecindario” tan solo el año pasado. Ten la seguridad de que en nuestro próximo gran evento, honraremos a cada uno de ellos con un reconocimiento especial por su liderazgo apoyando nuestras comunidades.

Los fondos adicionales nos han permitido conectar con aún más vendedores en nuestros vecindarios, ampliando nuestra red en este momento crítico para los inmigrantes en Los Ángeles. Y esto es solo el comienzo, ya que el equipo busca salir a las calles nuevamente este marzo para brindar mas recursos a quienes más lo necesitan, dados los continuos ataques contra nuestra gente. Si está interesado en participar en la recaudación de fondos o en la campaña con nosotros, simplemente contáctanos y estaremos encantados de coordinarlo!

Hablando de las calles y de nuestra gente, en esta edición del boletín queremos destacar a nuestro “OG” frutero local de Echo Park, Gilberto’s Fruits. Vimos su carrito hace poco en el embalse de Silver Lake y nos alegró mucho verlo. Casualmente, su recaudación de fondos en GoFundMe y su familia está a punto de alcanzar su objetivo. Si tú o alguien que conoces puede ayudar, ¡no dudes en apoyar!

J.T.

an aerial shot of a city at night

This Saturday, We Melt ICE in Downtown L.A!

“This event is a direct response to the ongoing and most recent state-sanctioned public executions of community members Keith Porter, Renee Good, and Alex Pretii, and the ongoing state-sanctioned kidnappings of immigrants across the US by ICE.”

Casita De La Noche
RSVP HERE.

Just before the microphone drops, Who Is Your Neighborhood will be tabling at this event—including with a brand new banner—providing resources for attendees to strengthen their own neighborhood defense of our communities across Los Angeles. If you’re unable to make the event but would still like to show your support, you can always help raise funds for our Vendor Buyout campaign here.

J.T.

It’s Never Too Late: Mourn, Come Together, and Organize on Your Block

First we were two, then we were four. Then we found ourselves in between the companionship of more people than we could count; it felt like the beginning of something new again; why not?

The names of those for whom we mourn, come together and organize for include, but are not limited to:

Renee Nicole Good, 37, U.S.

Kevin Porter, 43, U.S.

Genry Ruiz Guillén, 29, Honduras

Serawit Gezahegn Dejene, 45, Ethiopia

Maksym Chernyak, 44, Ukraine

Juan Alexis Tineo-Martinez, 44, Dominican Republic

Brayan Garzón-Rayo, 27, Colombia

Nhon Ngoc Nguyen, 55, Vietnam (Implied via Refugee Act/context)

Marie Ange Blaise, 44, Haiti

Abelardo Avellaneda Delgado, 68, Mexico

Jesus Molina-Veya, 45, Mexico

Johnny Noviello, 49, Canada (Quebec)

Isidro Pérez, 75, Cuba

Tien Xuan Phan, 55, Not specified (Vietnamese surname)

Chaofeng Ge, 32, China

Lorenzo Antonio Batrez Vargas, 32, Mexico

Oscar Rascon Duarte, 58, Mexico

Santos Banegas Reyes, 42, Honduras

Ismael Ayala-Uribe, 39, Mexico

Norlan Guzman-Fuentes, 37, El Salvador

Miguel Ángel García Medina, 31, Mexico

Huabing Xie, Not specified, China

Leo Cruz-Silva, 34, Mexico

Hasan Ali Moh’D Saleh, 67, Jordan

Josué Castro Rivera, 25, Honduras

Gabriel Garcia Aviles, 54, Mexico

Kai Yin Wong, 63, China

Francisco Gaspar-Andrés, 48, Guatemala

Pete Sumalo Montejo, 72, Philippines

Shiraz Fatehali Sachwani, 48, Pakistan

Jean Wilson Brutus, 41, Haiti

Fouad Saeed Abdulkadir, 46, Eritrea

Delvin Francisco Rodriguez, 39, Nicaragua

Nenko Stanev Gantchev, 56, Bulgaria

J.T.

FROM L.A. TO KHAN YUNIS: ALL EYES ON GAZA

LET THE CITY KNOW:

You can also watch this episode via YouTube.

In this installment of J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast, guest David Cowen and I discuss his being diagnosed with bipolar disorder as early as when he was 21 years old, Kabbalah and Zionism, Israel’s genocide through forced starvation in Gaza, as well as rising homelessness in Los Angeles and California.

We also shout out a special fundraising campaign for Khaled, only five months old as his family flees south from Gaza to the border with Sudan due to Israel’s latest campaign against the Palestinian people, known as “Operation Gideon’s Chariots II.” To learn more about Ibrahim and Nagham’s campaign for Khaled, please do so here.

From David: “Dave Cowen turns the religious into humor, finds the ​s​piritual in the digital, and makes serious comics fun. His popular series of comedy Haggadahs for the Jewish holiday of Passover have been featured in The New York Times and include parodies of Trump, Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Mel Brooks, Kanye West, and The Office. His debut graphic novel, 11 years in the making, AN IMPERFECT UNION, is available on his Substack SerioComics, which also includes Q&As with the best makers of ​g​raphic literature today such as Pulitzer Prize winner Tessa Hulls, Eisner winner Shannon Wheeler, ​Melissa Chan and Badiucao, Sina Grace, Yasmeen Abedifard​, etc.​ Follow his stories and more on Instagram at (@_davecowen_).

Thank you also to Nicolas Jara (@nicthejara) for video, Jacob on Sound (@fuller.sound), and Esteban (@marsbuiltstudio) for sharing his space for this discussion.

J.T.

RAISING OVER $1,000 FOR STREET VENDORS IN A SINGLE DAY

LET THE CITY KNOW:

You can also watch this episode via YouTube.

On Sunday, August 3rd in East Hollywood, Mark Casas and his partner Angel Maria Zavala spearheaded a special pop-up with Ondo Coffee in support of Who Is Your Neighborhood, also known as Quien Es Tu Vecindario. The pop-up featured home-style chilaquiles as well as horchata, with proceeds from the event going directly to street vendors in our community.

In this installment of J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast we speak with Mark and Angel Maria as to just how we did it, including the way that growing up in Los Angeles and observing our family traditions inspired us into action.

For more on this story, sign up for Making a Neighborhood, the newsletter, here: https://makinganeighborhood.substack.com

To support our ongoing Vendor Buyout campaign, please do so here: https://onevecindario.org/buyout.

J.T.