Category Archives: Business

MIGRANTS: A Oaxacan baker and the “The Radicalism of the American Revolution”

I’ve been reading The Radicalism of the American Revolution by historian Gordon Wood lately. The book talks about the ways in which colonists were breaking from dependence on each other and from Britain, from traditions of England, from old religions … Continue reading

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Filed under Business, Los Angeles, Migrants

MIGRANTS: Pizza Hut Tanda

I’ve just begun a story on the large number of Oaxacan business owners you find now in Los Angeles, particularly in Pico-Union, Hollywood and Koreatown. I remember in the late 1990s coming to LA and not seeing any of this. … Continue reading

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Filed under Business, Los Angeles, Mexico, Migrants

BUSINESS: El Payasito – `You get into what you have to get into to survive in this country’

In large parts of the LA economic ecosystem, immigrants alone participate. The other day I happened on El Payasito, one of the great stores in LA. It sells all that anyone needs for a Mexican birthday party. It’s owned by … Continue reading

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Filed under Business, Los Angeles, Mexico, Migrants, Southern California

STREETS: Adan, ice cream vendor

Took this photo the other day when I was in Glassell Park, in northeast L.A. I was asking Adan if he wasn’t afraid driving through Drew Street in Glassell Park, which had been a very frightening place, due to a … Continue reading

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Filed under Business, Gangs, Los Angeles, Mexico, Migrants

BUSINESS: Kelvin Anderson and World Famous VIP Records

I’ve been spending time lately with Kelvin Anderson, owner of World Famous VIP Records in Long Beach, a ferociously independent record store. Anderson’s store is a landmark, one of the places where rap began in Southern California, and a store … Continue reading

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Filed under Business, Los Angeles