(KPFK News - Los Angeles) Dozens of workers at one of the nation’s largest clothing manufacturing plants held a protest and rally in front of American Apparel’s downtown LA headquarters.

The employees of the famed and controversial clothing company say working conditions and staff morale are at an all-time low. The workers are currently being advised by the General Brotherhood of Workers, an immigrant labor advocate. The union says that former CEO Dov Charney was ousted in a takeover by Wall Street investors who couldn’t care less about American Apparel’s thousands of inner-city workers. 

Pacifica KPFK's Ernesto Arce files this report from Los Angeles. 


American Apparel Workers Denounce Major Changes to Company

(KPFK News - Los Angeles) A video capturing Santa Ana police raiding a medical marijuana dispensary last month has gone viral. 

Sky High Holistic was expecting the raid after not having been included in a list of 20 permitted pot shops in the city. They installed secret cameras in addition to their regular security cameras, which police disabled.

The behavior of police who were caught on video AND audio has left many outraged and led to a civil rights lawsuit.

Pacifica KPFK's Ernesto Arce has more from Southern California. 

Camera Catches Santa Ana Police Misconduct During Pot Shop Raid

(KPFK News - Los Angeles) Activists committed to ending deputy violence and misconduct inside Los Angeles jails gathered this week at the conclusion of a trial against three Sheriff deputies who were convicted of savagely beating a jail visitor.

The group included former inmates and their families who say every prosecution of criminal deputies is a victory. Survivors of jail house violence say there's still a long way to go to reform a system where brutal abuse is the norm and whistle-blowers risk their lives. 

Pacifica KPFK's Ernesto Arce has more from Los Angeles. 

Despite Convictions, Survivors Say Long Road to Stop LA Jail Abuse

(KPFK News - Los Angeles) A coalition of leftist and Kurdish groups rallied at the Turkish consulate in mid-city Los Angeles. 

Organizers of the demonstration are demanding that Turkey end its war against the Kurdish people and its plans to intervene in northern Syria. They're also calling on the United States to stop supporting Turkey's military. 

Among the activists were two American survivors of an ISIS suicide bombing last month that left 32 dead and over 100 injured. The target was a socialist youth gathering in Turkey where participants were planning to help rebuild a Kurdish town in Syria.

Pacifica KPFK's Ernesto Arce files this report from Los Angeles.  

Angeleno Activists Survive ISIS Suicide Bomb, Condemn Turkey

(KPFK News - Los Angeles) 
More than a hundred prisoner rights activists are taking part in a prisoner solidarity action outside of Men's Central Jail in downtown LA. The national prisoner's strike coincides with the 45th anniversary of the Attica Prison Rebellion. 

Organizers say possibly tens of thousands of prisoners, invisible to society, are refusing to work, protesting their pennies per hour salaries and overall inhumane living conditions. 

Solidarity actions are taking place in dozens of cities across the country. 

Pacifica KPFK's Ernesto Arce was at the mass incarceration workshop. He files this report. 

****
"There's 2 million people that are in prison and the majority of those people are nonviolent drug offenders."

Julia Wallace with Strike Against Police Terror says prisoners across the country are increasingly speaking out against mass incarceration.

Prisoners in at least 24 states and in over 40 prison facilities including California State Prison in Corcoran are joining what might be the largest prisoner strike in U.S. history.  

Wallace says numerous solidarity actions and workshops outside such facilities are being held in solidarity with the invisible prison population. 

"Now that we're in this period of extreme mass incarceration, it's even more important for us to be organizing in solidarity with the incarcerated workers," said Wallace.

Prisoners have taken to letter-writing, in-person outreach, and even outlawed forms of communication like social media and text messaging to spread the word.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation was unavailable for comment in regards to the work stoppage. 

According to federal figures, about 900,000 of the nation's 2.4 million inmates are enrolled in work programs. Most of the work is for the prison itself or the public sector such as firefighting but corporations also contract work out to prisons. 

Walmart, Victoria's Secret, AT&T are among the companies that seek the cheaper labor. Diana Little, who held a sign that read Stop Prison Slavery, says it's not about crime and punishment but profits. 

"They're working for 25 cents an hour and less to manufacture goods in collaboration with corporations," said Little. "They're indentured servants."


The Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee said the push for cheap labor with little to no legal liability is one factor in the sharp increase in the nation's prison population. 

Other activists say there's more to it. 

"The U.S. legal system is inherently racist."

Mimi Soltisik with the Socialist Party, Los Angeles chapter says incarcerating huge numbers of black and brown youth became a business venture for corporate America. 

He says overincarcerated neighborhoods have to fight back. 

"Building communities that are prepared to address the system. It's very difficult," said Soltisik. "It's easier said than done. But there really is no alternative. We're talking about humanity."

Karla Osorio with Solidarity House of the South, a community center based in South Central LA, said her organization was formed out of need to build relationships, empower, and educate those in a historically marginalized part of the city. 

"Black and brown, especially men, and women, transgendered women get criminalized and separated from their families," said Osorio. 

Prisoner rights groups say the day's actions are just a small part of national organizing efforts to come. 

In Los Angeles, I'm Ernesto Arce, Pacifica Radio, KPFK

####


Activists Call for an End To Prison Slavery at LA Men's Jail

(KPFK News - Southern California) More than two hundred people have been arrested in and around downtown Los Angeles over the past two nights during protests against the election of Donald Trump. 

Student and youth groups made up the majority of demonstrators whose actions began Election Night after Trump was declared President-elect. Many said taking to the streets to express their indignation at a Trump presidency was the first message they wanted to send. 

Pacifica KPFK's Ernesto Arce joined a group of about 7,000 protesters this week just before they rushed the Hollywood 101 Freeway. He files this report.

****

By the time an electricfied rally decided to leave the west steps of Los Angeles City Hall and march through downtown, they were at least five thousand strong. 

By the time rushhour traffic had reclaimed the freeway the following day, 30 people had been taken into custody for walking on to the Hollywood 101 freeway. An additional 185 people were kettled near LA Live the next day. 

The first action appeared to catch even LAPD offguard. Only a couple of patrol cars watched over the mass gathering that seemed to grow by the dozens every minute.  

The evening's protest coincided with rallies held across the country. These were organized at the last moment as a way for people to voice their rage against the election of Republican candidate Donald Trump.

After half an hour of speakers, three protesters climbed a light pole and waved the Mexican flag while hanging a pinata effigy of Trump as a pig. 

Yafa, a resident of Pomona who teaches at an Islamic school, stood out in a hijab and long dress. She expressed concern for her students and community. 

Many protesters held signs, some read "There is no unifying with Hate", "Respect All Women" and "Pussy Grabs Back, I dare you to try". The diverse yet youthful crowd chanted against Trump, in defense of black lives, immigrants, women, and Muslims, and even for the Standing Rock Reservation and former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. 

Daniel Fyles, a resident of Hollywood who wore a rainbow PRIDE button, shook his head after being asked for his reaction of Trump's victory. 

Although it wasn't planned, the gathering made its way through the streets of downtown LA. They passed by new luxury developments and high-end restaurants and bars. 

Andrew Johnson, an Orange County resident, peered through a metal fence. He donned a black suit and tie. He was working a shift at Vibiana, a special event venue on Main Street. He watched the protest and nodded his head in approval. 

Johnson said he had so much more to say but was pulled away by a supervisor. 

The march passed through the fashion district and Skid Row before stopping outside of the federal Metropolitan Detention Center where marchers demanded freedom for all prisoners. 

Several dozen cars got stuck in the jam. 

Many motorists looked on bemused. Elizabeth honked the horn of her Toyota Camry while pumping her fist in the air. She didn't look the least bit inconvenienced. 

Elizabeth was blocked for a good hour. But a few minutes later, protesters made their way down an onramp next to Union Station and blocked the 101 freeway in both directions for hours. 

CHP said all lanes in both directions were blocked until almost 4 in the morning when officers forcibly removed those who sat in the middle of the freeway. 

Bailey and Vanessa were locked arm in arm. The lesbian couple said they feared for the LGBT community in light of what they had heard were increasing attacks on same sex and alternative couples. 

Student groups and social justice organizations said they plan to mobilize against Trump's election nearly everyday into the forseeable future. 

Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California released a statement on Trump's victory saying it would legally challenge any violation of civil liberties. 

In Los Angeles, I'm Ernesto Arce, Pacifica Radio, KPFK

Los Angeles Erupts in Protests Over Trump Election

(KPFK News - Los Angeles) Thousands of people braved the rain to march through downtown Los Angeles in protest over President Donald Trump's inauguration.
 
About 3,000 to 5,000 people made the trek from LA Live and Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights to City Hall for a United Against Hate rally. 

Pacifica KPFK's Ernesto Arce files this report.

Despite Heavy Rain, LA Activists Inaugurate Resistance to Trump

(KPFK News - Los Angeles) One of the largest protest crowds since a 2006 immigrant rights march rallied at Los Angeles City Hall Grand Park over the weekend. Masses of people filled the streets around Pershing Square and marched to City Hall in solidarity with the Women's March on Washington to defend human rights in the face of a Donald Trump presidency.
 
Organizers said the crowd surpassed even their expectations of 150,000 and said there might have been more than half a million people in the streets.

Pacifica KPFK’s Ernesto Arce files this report from Los Angeles.  

****

The Women’s March Los Angeles drew a massive crowd to downtown LA, showing the country that major mobilizations for social justice occur quite regularly in the city of Angels. 

Organizers said it wasn’t a protest but a celebration of womanhood and the rights of people and planet to exist. But many on the march route - both women and men - ignored the directive and said President Donald Trump was their protest target. 

Crowds chanted for women’s reproductive rights with men and women alternating choruses of ‘Her body, her choice’ with ‘My Body, my choice.’

Individuals and groups backing a wide variety of priorities were on hand ranging from women's rights to environmental protections, access to healthcare, criminal justice reform, voting rights and immigrant and LGBTQ rights.

Cosplay was also popular with an entire contingent of women dressed as Rosie the Riveter. Others dressed as depression-era suffragettes, some donned kitty costume hat and heads and full-body vulva outfits. 

Princess Leia of Star Wars made an appearance, too. Her sign read: Resist. She was happy to see so many people join the rebellion. 

A group of Latina activists held signs in defense of Native American rights and against gentrification. One protester said “If you’re a white feminist gentrifying my hood, you’re not on my side.”

One group with the Gabriela Filipina women’s network said the crowd was impressive but she hesitated before elaborating. She was troubled by the narrow view of privileged feminism put forth by march organizers. She advocates for what she described as transnational feminism, which takes the struggles of working women around the world but especially in war-torn, poor communities into account. 

Salwa K is a young Muslim-American who said she was marching for unity and to remind people that Muslims are also part of the community. 

A Los Angeles Fire Department official said there was over half a million people between Pershing Square and City Hall that took part in the march and rally. 

Organizers cited an independent crowd expert that assessed the crowd at 750,000. Whether it was 150,000 or three quarters of a million, the crowd caught international attention. 

Actress Natalie Portman gave a speech at Pershing Square while holding her belly with her unborn baby due in a few months. 

"I'd like to thank our new president," said Portman. "You just started the revolution."

The mission statement for the march read, in part, "We stand together in solidarity for the protection of our rights, our safety, our health and our families - recognizing that our vibrant and diverse communities are the strength of our country."

Organizers are working with other progressive groups to plan the post-inauguration stage of protest to the Trump administration. 
Many will join a healthcare/medicare for all rally at Pershing Square on Sat, February 4th. 

In Los Angeles, I’m Ernesto Arce, Pacifica Radio, KPFK

####

Women's March Los Angeles Puts Trump On Alert: We Fight Back!

(KPFK News - Los Angeles) Protesters have returned to Los Angeles International Airport today to protest President Donald Trump’s executive order on barring immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority nations. 

Numerous immigrant attorneys and asylum officers lined the Tom Bradley international arrivals section to volunteer their services to those that might have been detained. 
Yesterday, thousands of people came out in defense of the Muslim community to call for an end to the ban with a message: all are welcome to Los Angeles, one of the most diverse cities in the world. 

Pacifica KPFK’s Ernesto Arce files this report from Los Angeles.

A diverse crowd of about 10,000 Angelenos gathered inside, outside and on top of the Tom Bradley International airport at LAX to protest President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration. 

Many are calling it an attack on Muslims and refugees from war torn areas of the Middle East that have been ravaged due to the U.S.-led War on Terror. 

Trump's Executive Order indefinitely bans all refugees from Syria entering the United States. The order blocked all refugee admissions for 120 days, and also stopped all refugee and non-refugee entries from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and Syria for 90 days.

CAIR, the council on American Islamic Relations, held a press conference in Anaheim earlier to denounce the order as a violation to freedom of religion. The group said it set yet another dangerous precedent against one group of Americans. 

LAX airport police were backed up by LAPD officers and federal agents, most wore riot gear as daylight turned to dusk. Protesters were relentless and had reached an impasse with police by 8pm once law enforcement was prepared to call an unlawful assembly. 

People from all walks of life came out to LAX after they heard what Trump’s order meant for the ability of legal residents to travel freely. 

Some activists wore ACLU shirts and others with messages embracing Muslims and against hate. Many held handmade signs calling for an end to division and bigotry. 

Others, like Attorney Shanee Smith Fisher, held a sign offering legal advice to those detained by immigration authorities. 
Although there was good news on the detention front, Smith Fisher said Department of Homeland Security agents were not heeding the previous night’s legal stay. 

Outside of the Tom Bradley terminal, a very small group of Trump supporters held a corner, sandwiched in between two large parking structures. They were outnumbered about 500 to 1. 

Robin Vistand, a resident of Claremont and staunch Trump supporter, said the protest was misguided and misinformed.

Despite tension between protesters and law enforcement, LAX police said there were only two arrests by early evening related to the rally. 
Members of the labor union, United Service Workers West, SEIU, were the first to show up on Saturday, turning their focus from ongoing labor negotiations to the travel ban. 
By mid-afternoon, most flights departing from the Bradley terminal were postponed. Terminal 4 was shut down completely. 
Traffic was snarled once protesters began marching on the loop road around the airport. 

Meanwhile, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra issued a statement pledging to find every avenue possible to defend residents and refugees barred from re-entry into the United States.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti added that the city will always be a place of refuge, where the most vulnerable people fleeing war, or religious or political oppression, can find a safe and welcoming home. 

In Los Angeles, I’m Ernesto Arce Pacifica Radio, KPFK

Protest Over President Trump's Muslim Ban Overwhelms LAX Police

(KPFK News - Los Angeles) A coalition of local immigrant rights groups says it’s on alert following a day of high volume calls about dozens of immigration detentions and raids across the southland.
CHIRLA says it has kicked into high gear to defend approximately one million undocumented Los Angeles residents who have grown anxious about the recent reports.
But federal ICE agents say they carried out no such raids, only typical enforcement actions targeting criminal or high priority individuals.
Still, the immigrant advocates say they’re mobilizing to do everything in their power to prevent immigrant detentions from being the new normal.
Pacifica KPFK’s Ernesto Arce files this report from Los Angeles.
****

Federal immigration authorities confirmed that they arrested about 160 foreign nationals in a series of Southland raids carried out this week. ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said it targeted criminal aliens and other high priority individuals residing in the country without permission. The agency disputed the description of such incidents as sweeps or workplace raids saying those were false, dangerous and irresponsible.

Regardless, activists and some elected officials criticized the actions and offered support to the affected residents.
Angelica Salas is the executive director of CHIRLA, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles.

Immigrant activists launched a rapid response network after what the organization called sweeping raids that led to the arrest of more than 100 undocumented residents in a single day.
These included Manuel Mosqueda, an immigrant with no violent crime history. His daughter, Marlene Mosqueda, says ICE agents were looking for another individual when they asked to see her father’s ID.

 
Then without warning, her father was detained, bused to downtown LA, and processed. The family says in all likelihood, he has already been deported.
Salas with CHIRLA said her office took dozens of calls Thursday and is sorting through 2,000 voicemails from the panicked family and friends of people detained by ICE agents.

But confirmation on the raids or detentions and questions about how exactly they were carried out, persisted almost 24 hours later.
CHIRLA said it confirmed the reports of mass workplace raids in at least two sites - one in Van Nuys and the other in Downey - based on witness calls and information from the ACLU of Southern California.

According to a statement released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the home raids were carried out in six Southern California counties beginning Monday and ending around noon Friday. The operations targeted so-called at-large criminal aliens, illegal re-entrants and immigration fugitives.
ICE officials said about 150 of the people arrested had criminal histories, while five others had final orders of removal or had been previously deported. They noted that many of those arrested had prior felony convictions for violent offenses including sex crimes, weapons charges and assault, and some will be referred to the U.S. Attorney's Office for possible prosecution for re-entering the country illegally.
 
The raids prompted an outcry that began Thursday afternoon from local immigrant-rights activists, who suggested the actions were a result of a stepped-up enforcement effort under President Donald Trump, who has vowed to crack down on undocumented immigrants.

Meanwhile, groups like CHIRLA hosted a day of legal clinics, Know Your Rights workshops, and media availability. They have a toll-free hotline - (888) 624-4752 - for affected immigrants to call for assistance and obtain access to attorneys.

In Los Angeles, I’m Ernesto Arce, Pacifica Radio, KPFK

Immigrant Groups on High Alert, ICE says raids: "Typical Enforcement"

(KPFK News - Southern California) A Coalition calling itself ICE out of Pomona gathered at Pomona City Hall this afternoon to celebrate the final day of a contract between the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and the inland empire city. 

Pacifica KPFK’s Ernesto Arce files this report.

Pomona Residents Celebrate ICE's Ouster from City: And Stay Out!

(KPFK News - Los Angeles) Thousands of Angelenos are just now leaving Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles after a march and daylong program to commemorate May Day.

Organizers said masses of people led by immigrant communities flooded the downtown area in a show of resistance, unity and defiance to what they say is a White House effort to ramp up deportations and erode personal freedoms.
One person was arrested after some marchers confronted a group of pro-Donald Trump counter-protesters. Authorities said the event was otherwise peaceful even garnering the endorsement of LAPD Chief Charlie Beck. 

Pacifica KPFK’s Ernesto Arce files this report from Los Angeles. 

****
Thousands of Angelenos reiterated their staunch opposition to President Donald Trump under a 50 foot banner hanging from Los Angeles City Hall South that read: Resist.

The sense of urgency in this year’s march was attributed to President Donald Trump’s attacks on social progress as well as the GOP takeover of Congress.
The theme: resistance, unity, and defiance. 

Arlene Inouye is Treasurer of UTLA, the United Teachers of Los Angeles. 
Her union, representing teachers at the second largest school district in the nation, has several challenges before it. It’s dealing with frightened immigrant families and students, what she calls unfair competition from ever-expanding charter schools, and dwindling resources. 

The May Day Coalition of Los Angeles, organizers of the main event, is comprised of various organizations that joined forces this year for main mass march from MacArthur Park to Los Angeles City Hall. 
There was one split, though.
A smaller march made its way through downtown LA in the morning led by activists that called for a general strike: no work, no school, no shopping. 
Despite that, Resist Los Angeles marks the first time in more than 10 years there has been such unity among organizers of May Day marches. 
Mike Prysner is a veteran SoCal activist who has seen his share of splits in the progressive movement. Still, he said Trump has served to unify the fragmented left much the same way George W. Bush did after 9/11. 

Although more than 100,000 people were expected, some estimates put the crowd at about 15,000 people. Maru Galvan, a San Fernando Valley organizer with CHIRLA, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, said there would’ve been many more people were it not for the current environment of fear. 
Galvan helps organize the group’s Know Your Rights workshops, which feature a video educating immigrants on what they need to know if they’re detained. She said the first version of the video was released ten years ago. 

Others in the crowd said Trump’s rhetoric to go after so-called Bad Hombres was also unfair. 
Jose Arellano and Slam are both former gang members now organizing with Homeboy Industries. 
They said too often they’re denied opportunities and an equal chance in society because of the way they look.

As the afternoon wore on, street vendors selling paletas and other kinds of ice cream, cold beverages, and shaved ice began running out of product. A weather app on my cell phone said it was 89 degrees with a sweltering sun.
William Gonzalez, a Vietnam War vet, marched alongside a group of teenagers, holding signs that read: We All Belong Here, We Will Defend Each Other. 
Gonzalez’s sign read: No Deportation for Veterans. 

Gonzalez was overcome with emotion and waved me off after citing the number of veterans who commit suicide every day. He said he was in contact with the office of Congress member Ruben Gallego of Phoenix, Arizona, who authored a bill to help deported vets come back home. 
It’s a fate that thousands of immigrants who marched through downtown LA would like to avoid
In Los Angeles, I’m Ernesto Arce, Pacifica Radio, KPFK

Los Angeles Pledges Resistance, Unity, & Defiance Against Trump

(KPFK News - Los Angeles) President Donald Trump is in Los Angeles for the first time since taking office. He was welcomed by an unprecedented security detail of federal and local law enforcement agencies as a swift downpour threatened to disrupt a mass protest tonight. 

Before arriving in San Diego this morning, President Trump feuded with Governor Jerry Brown saying California was run poorly and that the place is totally out of control. 

KPFK News’ Ernesto Arce was in Beverly Hills for the protest and files this report. 
***

President Donald Trump arrived in Southern California to a chorus of opposition chants asking him to leave. 
It was his first visit to Los Angeles as President. 
Trump remained defiant despite a recent poll that found less than a third of southland residents support his presidency. He said he had large swaths of support in SoCal although he was welcomed by protests that outnumbered supporters 20 to 1.  

Juan Vargas, a Democrat representative from the 51st district in San Diego County, arrived in Otay Mesa for an anti-Trump rally just before Trump’s motorcade. The president was to tour a site where border wall prototypes were set up. 
"Trump is not welcome here," Vargas announced. "If he acted like a President, maybe it'd be different but he divides us instead of bringing us together."

Trump ultimately pointed to a 30 foot tall prototype that allowed border patrol officials and other government agents to see through to the other side. The president touted his choice as paramount to border security. 

But Rev Dr. Lee Hill of the Christian Fellowship Congregation and Southerm Borders Community Coalition, said the wall was a sign of racism not an effort to keep people safe. 
"The wall is an expensive and useless project that we do not need, " said Hill. 
Dark clouds and looming rainfall didn’t take away from a mass protest, Trump Out of LA, organized by a large coalition of anti-war and anti-racism groups. 
Trump landed at LAX at about 3:30 p.m., then was flown by helicopter to Santa Monica Airport. He was then driven to a private home in the exclusive Beverly Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, where guests paid from $35,000 to a quarter of a million dollars to meet the president. 

Kiki Ochoa of Union Del Barrio, chastised the Trump administration for stoking division and hatred among Americans. He said a unified movement needed to take the lead to stop attacks on immigrants, Muslims, and other marginalized groups. 
"Trump is the one that belongs in jail not hard-working people trying to provide for their families," Ochoa said. 
Although the secret service has kept Trump’s agenda for the day very secretive, the president is expected to spend the night in downtown LA.

A huge security detail was set up outside of the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown Hotel near Wilshire Boulevard and Figueroa Street. Most streets adjacent to the hotel have been shut down. 

In Los Angeles, I’m Ernesto Arce Pacifica Radio KPFK

Trump's First Visit to LA as President Met by Opposition

(KPFK News - Los Angeles)And now for a new CULTURE segment on KPFK News…

Food isn’t usually considered a social justice issue aside from efforts at stamping out hunger and making healthier dietary choices available to all.
Southern California’s food landscape is very much a reflection of the people that reside here: diverse backgrounds, geographies, and even class divisions with meals for the very rich and poor.

A local tour guide is offering an excursion into Eagle Rock and Claremont, two dynamic Los Angeles County neighborhoods and their food and drink offerings. The latter promises a history lesson that begins with the Tongva and celebrates the diversity of one the fastest growing regions in the United States, the inland empire.

KPFK News files this report on the Fun Belly Food Tour.


Carlos Aguilar is better known as Bookworm Brown, a moniker he picked up in LA’s underground hip hop scene. Nowadays, he spends more time researching the San Gabriel Valley’s foothills and its culinary scene than spitting bars.
He began Fun Belly Food Tours recently as a way to celebrate food and to educate the masses about the rich, cultural heritage behind every bite. 
The excursion began at Claremont’s original train station with an overview of the San Gabriel Valley and greater inland empire region - its history, its changing demographics, its rapid development. 
 
After the tour goers partook of some Korean Mex fused kimchi quesadillas, the talk turned to the southland’s ubiquitous tacos.

Since the days Tongva explorers traversed the virgin southland for native herbs, plants, and citrus, the vast foothill and inland region has become home to cuisine from just about every corner of our round earth.

Sebastian, a Los Angeles photographer and first timer of the Fun Belly Food Tour asked about the foothill’s history – both ancient and contemporary. But soon the cyclical conversation ended right back at tacos. 

Aguilar allows his guests as many tangents as double dips into the extra large serving of papas bravas, tater tots smothered in chipotle hot sauce. The conversation on tacos goes on for several more minutes. 

The tour group includes several women from the south who didn’t grow up with Mexican food but have since wholeheartedly embraced it. 

Aguilar says sharing culture, bringing culture together, and experiencing different culture is part of what makes the tour such a rewarding experience. 

Millard Sheets, a Pomona and Claremont artist whose mosaics of native Tongva were commissioned by the former Pomona Home Savings, has a mural entitled Indians and Yucca. In it, several tribe explorers pass through the foothills of yesteryear in search of food & drink.

Aguilar says it tells a great story. 

Fun Belly Food Tours are usually done once a month at each location: one in Eagle Rock and the other in Claremont. 
Participants were excited about the offerings, the history lesson, and the camaraderie. All of it over delicious food. 

Aguilar says his mission is to share great tasting food while taking you through Southern California neighborhoods you might not have known were as storied or delicious. 

In Los Angeles, I’m Ernesto Arce, Pacifica Radio, KPFK

SoCal Food Tour Injects History & Culture into Tasty Excursion

KPFK Radio Host Ruben Luengas interviews Tatiana Clouthier, who is a spokesperson for Andres Manuel Lopez-Obredor’s campaign to be the next President of Mexico.  
Lopez-Obredor, a left-progressive, is currently well ahead in the polls with less than two months until election day on July 1. 
The interview is conducted in Spanish.

Contragolpe with Ruben Luengas guest Tatiana Cloutheir

KPFK (90.7 FM) is a listener-sponsored radio station based in North Hollywood, California, United States, which serves the Greater Los Angeles Area, and also streams 24 hours a day via the Internet.

KPFK runs an eclectic schedule, including world music, talk radio,politics, interviews and public affairs programming. KPFK airs some national Pacifica programming , including Democracy Now!  KPFK program producers are accorded the maximum amount of editorial freedom possible.

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