Boyle Heights

East Bookstore Heights

Tamales de Puerco (Pork Tamales)

One Day Boyle Heights Artist Fabian Debora Tried to Take His Own Life on the I-5. That's When He Had an Epiphany

Fabian Debora stood on the railing of a busy I-5 Freeway, just beyond Hollenbeck Park, watching the cars zoom by. Blood spewed down his mouth and onto his water-soaked shirt -- consequences of the manic escape from his mother's home where she had discovered him doing meth. Haunted by his children' ... More >>

Guisados: 99 Essential Restaurants 2013

Queztal and Los Cojolites - The Breed Street Shul - 2/9/13

Queztal and Los Cojolites The Breed Street Shul 2/9/13 Better than: A Hollywood Grammy red carpet party Saturday night's celebration of some of the year's Grammy nominees in the Latin category brought the sounds of Son Jarocho music to Boyle Heights. Before doors opened at 8 am, the line for the f ... More >>

Los Poblanos Cemitas: More Fun With Tacos Arabes

If there's a better way to spend a warm evening sunset than cruising down East L.A.'s Whittier Boulevard, armed with an appetite and a pocketful of dollar bills, I haven't found it. The night might start with a few suadero tacos served on freshly made tortillas and end with crunchy churros fried to ... More >>

Guardian Angels? Egret's Wings? Reviewing the Best Designs for Downtown's Sixth Street Bridge

See also: *5 Artsy Things to Do in L.A. This Week *Fugly Buildings: Our Series on the Most Hideous Buildings in L.A. Finalists for the re-design of the Sixth Street Viaduct, a bridge spanning downtown and Boyle Heights, revealed their plans to the public recently. Depending on the mood at the Burea ... More >>

54: Taco Sampler at Guisados

Leading up to this year's Best of L.A. issue (due out Oct. 4), we'll be counting down, in no particular order, 100 of our favorite dishes. 54: Taco Sampler at Guisados. Decisions are hard. At Guisados, chef Ricardo Diaz makes things a bit easier. The Boyle Heights taquería -- best known for its b ... More >>

LAPD Cops Shoot Young Boyle Heights Man Holding Rifle in His Own Backyard

A Latino man in his 20s or 30s was killed this morning by LAPD officers while standing in his Boyle Heights backyard, reports City News Service. Officers responded to Houston Street around 5:50 a.m. on a report of shots fired -- and heard more shots coming from the man's backyard. When they went ar ... More >>

99: Cemita de Milanesa at Cemitas Poblanos Elviritas #1

Leading up to this year's Best of L.A. issue (due out Oct. 4), we'll be counting down, in no particular order, 100 of our favorite dishes. No. 99: Cemita de Milanesa at Cemitas Poblanos Elviritas #1. There are sandwiches, and then there are sandwiches. The towering Mexican creation known as the ce ... More >>

Tamales at Guisados

If you're going to Guisados, the Boyle Heights eatery that, along with Mariscos Jalisco, just won LA Taco's epic Taco Madness 2012, you undoubtedly are going for one, or two, or three of its famed stewed and braised tacos. But tear your eyes away from the long list of available taco fillings chalke ... More >>

PHOTOS: Armored Vehicle Dangles off 5 South Overpass, Spills Gas Onto Freeway Below

Wondering why you're stuck in a traffic jam from hell during what should be a breezy Good Friday rush hour? The hold-up has everything to do with a mysterious armored vehicle (Bruce Willis, are you in there??) dangling off the 5 South overpass in Boyle Heights, glaring down menacingly at the 10 Wes ... More >>

Boyle Heights High-Schoolers Plan 4-Mile Walkout to LAUSD Board Meeting Over School Bus Cuts

flickriverNo more school buses in Los Angeles?​A few hundred students from Bravo Medical Magnet High School in Boyle Heights will trudge over four miles through whizzing downtown streets today. Fittingly, the brave urban hike will end in a plea to local Board of Education members: Don't you d ... More >>

Guisados: 99 Essential Restaurants 2011

FAQs: CicLAvia For Beginners on October 9 in Los Angeles

The third CicLAvia public bike tour to hit L.A. happens Oct. 9 and will take over 10 miles of closed streets from East Hollywood to the Eastside. Organizers are inviting folks to stop and smell the architecture and culture along the way too, with focal points including "historic downtown," Boyle He ... More >>

The Five Most Underrated East L.A. Backyard Punk Bands Of All Time

Javier Cabral​See also: *East L.A. Backyard Punk Scene Rages On As Uninhibited and Intoxicated As Ever *The Five Best East L.A. Backyard Punk Bands *Reviewed: Stomp-Outz, The Lumberjacks, Who Gives A Fuck in a Backyard on West 79th St. Last week I wrote about movers and shakers on the curren ... More >>

The Five Best East L.A. Backyard Punk Bands

Jennie Warren​[Editors' note: In this week's print edition Javier Cabral has a downright amazing piece on the eastside backyard punk scene. See also Jennie Warren's excellent slideshow.] Growing up in the East L.A., it seemed like everyone tried to form a punk band. Even I did. The scene goes ... More >>

Guisados's Taco Sampler: Best Dish for the Indecisive

T. NguyenThe mini-taco sampler at Guisados​ If you are the type of person who looks at a menu and hems and haws and parses and analyzes and re-considers, please, for the sake of the friends who must witness this agonizing display of indecision and self-doubt, let Guisados save you the trouble. ... More >>

Jonathan Gold Reviews Antojitos Carmen

No-Buck Chuck

Michelle Lozano: Nude Teen's Body Found Near 5 Freeway in Boyle Heights

Google MapsState Street near the 5 freeway.​Updated after the jump with details about how she was found. A nude body discovered at the side of a freeway off-ramp in Boyle Heights belongs to a 17-year-old girl, authorities said late Tuesday. LAPD officials told TV news crews Tuesday the girl ... More >>

CicLAvia Los Angeles Bike Ride Planned For Sunday: 7.5 Miles of Streets to Be Closed

Gary LeonardCicLAvia in October.​The first one was such a success that a second CicLAvia is scheduled to take place this weekend, when 7.5 miles of city streets will be closed to cars so that tens of thousands of bicyclists can take part in this ride. This one heads through the heart of the c ... More >>

The Thursday Edition: A Roundup of Newspaper Food Stories

Flickr/dubh​ What's the country reading today food-wise? Here's a roundup of some of the food-related stories from other newspapers, many of which print their food sections mid-week. And remember, even if you don't actually buy papers these days (or not; this paper is free), it's where most of ... More >>

L.A.'s Light-Rail Fiasco

Reader Letters

Overturned School Bus Reported In Boyle Heights Outside First Street Elementary School

NBCLA via TwitpicOne person died in a Boyle Heights collision involving a school bus.​Updated after the jump with information about a third suspect. First posted at 3:29 p.m. One person was killed and 50 about 21 38 18 others sustained minor to moderate injuries in a three-vehicle collision ... More >>

Eastside Rave Spot Shut Down By Police; More Fallout From 'EDC'

Ravers.​A Boyle Heights location used regularly for raves and after-hours parties has been effectively shut down after neighbors complained to police and Eastside City Councilman Jose Huizar. Eastern Group Publications reports that the last party at the location at 650 S. Clarence St. was bro ... More >>

National Night Out In Boyle Heights: Crime Down, But Persists

Steve LaNational Night Out at Hollenbeck Police Station​ A crowd gathered at Hollenbeck Community Police station in Boyle Heights, across the Southland and all over the country Tuesday for National Night Out, a show of neighborhood solidarity against crime and fear. The event aimed to reinfo ... More >>

Leonardo Lopez, L.A. Homicide No. 121: Teenager Killed, Another Injured in Gang-Related Shooting in Boyle Heights

A 17-year-old boy was killed and his friend was injured in a gang-related shooting in Boyle Heights May 30. Police said a lone gunman approached Leonardo Lopez and his 21-year-old friend around 11:25 am in the 800 block of North Fickett Street.

Brandon Garrido, L.A. Homicide No. 102: 16-year-old Boy Gunned Down in Boyle Heights

A teenage boy was shot to death early today in Boyle Heights. View Larger Map Brandon Garrido, 16, was gunned down around 2:20 a.m. in the 3500 block of East First Street. Garrido died at the scene.

Murder was the Case: LA Homicide No. 267, Victim Identified in Drive-By Shooting in Boyle Heights

A man who was killed in what appears to be a drive-by shooting in Boyle Heights November 11 has been identified as 43-year-old Ademio Morales. Morales was fatally shot in the stomach near Union Pacific Avenue and La Puerta Street around 8:40 p.m. View Larger Map Anyone with information should cont ... More >>

Murder was the Case: LA Homicide No. 270, Victim Identified In Boyle Heights

A man who was fatally shot in Boyle Heights November 12 has been identified as 51-year-old Armando Castaneda. Police officers received a radio call about 11 p.m. Thursday and found the body of Castaneda with a gunshot wound to the back of his head. Investigators say that Castaneda and his roommate ... More >>

Evergreen Cemetery Memorial Honors Chinese

L.A. Eastside's El Random Hero has noticed that something new has been added to Evergreen Cemetery, and it's not more bodies. Well, in a way it has something to do with that. ERH was walking his dog when he spotted a new, city-installed plaque that gives a bit of the cemetery's rich history and ackn ... More >>

East of the 5: Spreading the Eastside Luv in Boyle Heights

Eastside Luv flaunts local musicians and old school spirit of Boyle Heights.

Murder Was the Case: L.A. Homicide No. 146, Man Shot in Friend's Home in Boyle Heights

Los Angeles Police Department detectives are looking into the murder of 29-year-old Robert Valencia Alcazar on July 6 in Boyle Heights. View Larger Map According to police, Alcazar and two friends were hanging out at a local bar and returned to a house in the 700 block of North Soto Street approxima ... More >>

Murder Was the Case: L.A. Homicide No. 144, Fourth of July Celebration Gone Awry

A 21-year-old Hispanic male was fatally shot at a late-night party in Boyle Heights on July 5.  View Larger MapThe Fourth of July party was underway in the 400 block of Estudillo Avenue, near Fourth and Lorena streets. The incident occurred at 1.30 a.m., when Pedro Xochipa was approached b ... More >>

Eastside Bakeries After Dark

Have your cake and eat it late

Murder Was the Case: L.A. Homicide Nos. 131 & 132 Identified

The two men, who were gunned down June 15 near the Los Angeles County Cemetery in Boyle Heights, have been identified.  View Larger Map According to police reports, Felipe Villarreal, 42 and 57-year-old Rafael Padilla were shot to death early Monday morning at 3:15 a.m., at the corner of Loren ... More >>

Murder Was the Case: L.A. Homicide Nos. 131 & 132: Two Men Gunned Down Near Graveyard

Two men were gunned down today near the Los Angeles County Cemetery in Boyle Heights.  View Larger Map The June 15 shooting happened early Monday morning at 3:15 a.m. at the corner of Lorena and East First streets. The Los Angeles Police Department is looking for the suspected gunman responsibl ... More >>

L.A. Planning Commission Approves New Sign Law

The Los Angeles Planning Commission voted today to adopt a new sign ordinance that would prohibit brightly-lit digital billboards and giant vinyl supergraphics citywide but allow them in 21 potential sign districts. The commission also voted to establish a city task force to annually review the im ... More >>

Is Tokyo the Future for Los Angeles?

A new "ban" would allow 20 areas citywide thick with billboards

East Is East (of Downtown)

Our readers write

Best Emergency Protein

Beef Jerky from A&Z’s Nut Wagon

The Ultimate Costs

Boyle Heights residents want police back after shooting spree

Talking the Walk

Diego Cardoso

Human Tracks

Forgotten bones dug up by Gold Line project in Boyle Heights

Renaissance in the Barrio

Will mixed-income housing revitalize Boyle Heights? Or just chase out the poor?

Los Lobos

Antonio "The Heartthrob" Villaraigosa vs. Nick "The Choirboy" Pacheco for the welterweight championship of the city

Pot Shots

Almost Aboard

Eastside L.A. ponders its transit future

Letters