In the last ten years, inequality across the city lines has never been more abundant. The number of unhoused people on the streets has skyrocketed, while political leadership on the issue has all but abandoned these citizens to the dust of L.A’s crust and freeways.
Just around the corner of makeshift “tent cities” founded by this inequality, minimum wage in Los Angeles continues to bleed workers out of their living; these workers are parents, siblings, community college students, and a myriad of other vulnerable people just trying to survive another day. Maybe another month.
At L.A.’s schools, swaths of students continue to be underserved while their teachers and counselors continue searching past the droves of work placed on their desks for a better way. Those teachers also continue to be widely underpaid.
L.A. as home appears to have never hung more in the balance. On some days it feels like I only see more of my community falling into the same old cliches.
And yet, here comes LOS CUENTOS.
Los Cuentos is love for my community. Just like my blog, Los Cuentos is an ode to my community recognizing the people of Los Angeles for who they are:
Resilient,
Loving,
Wonderous,
Heroes to this lover of all things Los Angeles.
It is between their shoulders that jimbo times was founded. And now it’s on their shoulders that we stand.
Los Cuentos hoodies are thus but a handful of precious threads to warm those awesome shoulders.
Our hoodies may not save the world for our community, but they will say thank you to their sacred beings.
Thank you is a start. As good of a start as we need right now. 40 Cuentos have become 9 Cuentos left to get out to the city.
Thank you Los Angeles,
J.T.
