SOUTH CENTRAL LA: THE OTHER BARRIO

One of the most common misconceptions about not just GENERACION SUICIDA, but really ALMOST ALL LATINO bands in Los Angeles, is that we are from East LA. Although I mean no disrespect to East LA and all the obvious Latino culture there, I do want to point out that Latinos are not only found in East LA, but are found everywhere in Los Angeles. South central LA is where GENERACION SUICIDA was born and where you will find a very strong Latino punk scene that includes many bands that are often erroneously attributed to East LA.

Although there are many similarities between East LA and South Central, we can't ignore that they are still 2 separate areas where residents identify themselves with their own unique ideas and perspectives on culture. To snowball every Latino band into one geographic location denies the chance at getting a unique individual perspective, a point of view that may differ from someone else regardless of race, barrio, or color. All you'll see is another "East LA 'Mexican' punk band".

While we're at it, I just found a very interesting interview with Tito Larriva from THE PLUGZ who are often considered an integral part of the 80's East LA punk scene. Here's what he had to say:

"I’ll be honest with you. Coming from Texas, and coming to L.A. and living here for so many years, I never felt in Texas that I didn’t fit. Then when I got [to Los Angeles], suddenly the Plugz, my punk band, are from East L.A. I must have told the L.A. Times and the L.A. Weekly 200 times, “I’m not from East L.A. I live in Hollywood. Hollywood. H-O-L-L-Y–.” They even started calling us 'Los Plugz.' I gave up"
 
Leonardo Nevarez of Musical Urbanism gives a pretty good explanation for this simplistic view on geography:
"'East L.A.-based punks,' [is a] reference [to] the city section synonmous with its Mexican barrio... This geographical tag was a way for gringos, punk or otherwise, to get a simplistic fix on [bands]".

 Anyways, this post was a bit different to my usual post about music, but I think it was something important that needed to be addressed. I included these pictures of my neighborhood because one of the most common question I get asked during interviews (from those that know what's up) is "what is it like to live in South Central"? I never really know how to answer that question, because to me everything seems normal. I have lived here for 24 years and don't really know what else to compare it to. So, here are some pictures of my neighborhood for you to see for yourself.