Let The City Know.
In the first update for J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast this 2024, our Cheat Sheet on L.A. City Council Races in March via Making a Neighborhood. Then, yours truly returns to El Salvador this January, this time as an Election Observer for presidential elections in my papa’s homeland.
To make a one-time donation to my fundraiser for the delegation to El Salvador, please do so through my GoFundMe. To support the production of J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast, check out my PATREON.
J.T.
The land where my papá was born was for the longest time a maligned place in the stories told through the land I called home. In fact, exactly six years ago in a discussion regarding the U.S.’s immigration quotas Trump referred to El Salvador, as well as Haiti and other African nations, as “shit-hole countries.”
That same year I visited El Salvador for the first time. I was 27 then, and nothing would stop me from breaking through to this world I’d heard enough about but which I hadn’t seen for myself yet; instead of “The Violent Animals of MS-13,” I saw the volcanic highlands that enclosed the first pupusas ever known to a people and their pueblos, to say nothing of an entirely new family tree. It was also in San Salvador where I tried pupusas de masa de arroz for the first time, which to this day are still my favorite kind to ask of pupuseras in Los Angeles.
I also learned that the hometown had prepared me over a lifetime to find my way “back.” According to the 2022 Census, just under 1.7 million Central-Americans call L.A. home,* but that’s surely an under-count since the community grows daily in L.A. County while also doing its part to make Southern California one of the richest havens of culture in all of North America.
This January, I return to El Salvador for just the second time ever as an Election Observer for presidential elections taking place there. I’ll be part of a small delegation to show enduring commitment to a free and just El Salvador.
I’m now fundraising to pay for the trip! My fundraising goal covers the costs of the airfare, as well as in-country costs including lodging and transportation, and about $100 for miscellaneous expenses (like a few delicious queso duros). In addition to my role as an Observer, I’ll also be documenting the efforts of my delegation leading up to presidential elections on February 4th, including interviews with my fellow delegates and the Salvadoran people to uplift only more of this pueblo for Los Angeles.
As usual, you’ll be able to find all of these cuentos via jimbotimes.com, J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast, and on Instagram: @jimbotimes. For any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Trust that I’m going to do my best to make you proud, Los Angeles, and thanks so much on behalf of Los Cuentos!
*An earlier version of this article mistakenly noted the Central-American population in L.A. as being at 836,000 people, when in fact the number is significantly higher.*
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This is a special rebroadcast episode for the first ever panel-discussion by K-Town Is Oaxacan Korean.
On Thursday, November 2, 2023, K-Town Is Oaxacan Korean, also known as K-Town Is OK, brought together long-time and former residents of Koreatown into conversation. The panel, free and open to the public, was held just over a year after the public release of a private discussion between L.A. City Council Members Nury Martinez, Gil Cedillo and Kevin De Leon, and Federation of Labor leader Ron Herrera, in which they dismissed Korean-American residents of the area and ridiculed Oaxacan or Mexican-American members of the community as “short, dark people” and “feos (ugly).” The panel discussion was held online and featured a line-up of guest speakers, culminating a year-long effort by my colleague Helen H. Kim and I documenting Oaxacan-American, Korean-American and other voices in Koreatown through our website and podcast, K-Town Is OK.
Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to Quien Es Tu Vecindario to support this panel and help create more such dialogue for our communities.
J.T.
Mariah Castañeda is the co-founder of Los Angeles Public Press, “an independent, non-profit newsroom advocating for a better Los Angeles.” In this chat, we discuss her upbringing through Adelanto, California and Huntington Park, as well as her hosting work for one of the bests podcasts in recent memory for L.A., The Sellout. Mariah also tells us about key goals for the L.A. Public Press as a fledgling news organization in L.A. County, and even shouts out the brand-new Smogland Radio podcast!
To make a one-time donation to my fundraiser for the 9th anniversary of JIMBO TIMES, please do so through jmbtms.com. To support the production of J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast, please see my new page at PATREON.
J.T.
Suzy Exposito is a born writer, whose Belizean-American mom taught her to read as early as 3 years old. She is also the founder of “The Mixtape Club” at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in her ole stomping grounds of Jacksonville, Florida. Since 2020, she has been a music reporter with the L.A. Times and is now also a culture columnist with their new De Los platform and initiative.
In our convo, we talk especially about the impact of movement-making in the 2010s on the music industry and pop culture today; we also share some thoughts on the evolution (or lack thereof) of certain artists over the last decade, including Drake, Tyler the Creator, and more. You can read Suzy’s interview with Bad Bunny—Rolling Stone’s first cover story authored by a Latina—here; and you can keep up with her via “X” at @hexpositiveh or via Instagram at @brujacore.
To make a one-time donation to my fundraiser for the 9th anniversary of JIMBO TIMES, please do so through jmbtms.com. To support the production of J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast, please see my new page at PATREON.
J.T.