brown l.a. ignored
07.10.05 // 2:46 p.m.

Maybe I'm not LA enough, because I've only done a few things on this list compiled by National Geographic Traveler. I commented on blogging.la that with such a list you could forget that LA was about 45% Latino or that the city was founded by Mexicans. Right. There are some ethnic things on the list, but omitting la Placita Olvera or the Great Wall of Los Angeles is rather insulting.

The list:
1. Hollywood Entertainment Museum
2. Venice's Abbot Kinney Blvd. shops - does it count if I've been to Abbot Kinney Blvd?
3. Topanga Canyon's Inn of the Seventh Ray
4. Catalina Island
5. Downtown's Flower Market
6. One spa at Santa Monica's Shutters on the Beach
7. Pink's hot dogs
8. Fred Segal's
9. Free TV tapings
10. La Brea Tar Pits - check. It was kinda boring.
11. Chinatown's Chung King Road galleries
12. Hollywood Forever cemetery (and Cinespia screenings)
13. Museum of Jurassic Technology (in Culver City)
14. Larchmont Blvd. (especially Cafe Chapeau)
15. Shopping at Robertson and 3rd
16. Grand Central Market - I like this place. I have good memories there.
17. American Cinematheque's Egyptian Theatre
18. Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels - I went to a Mass for World Marriage Day there last year. My grandparents renewed their vows.
19. Live music at Santa Monica's McCabe's
20. Los Angeles River (Los Feliz to downtown) - I've driven over it several times (especially in the last couple of weeks)
21. Beverly Hills Hotel
22. Venice's canals
23. Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park - I've been to Griffith Park a few times, I'm not sure if I've been to Mount Hollywood.
24. Little Ethiopia restaurants - check. I went to dinner with A at a restaurant on Fairfax a few years ago.
25. The Grove - check, even though I have no idea why this is a worthy spot. It's just a mall.
26. Koreatown's Brass Monkey (for karaoke) - I went here once for a friend's 21st birthday.
27. Farmer's Markets in Hollywood and Santa Monica
28. Melrose's Urth Caffe
29. Adamson House
30. Philippe's french dip sandwiches

So, I've only done about a third of the things on the list. I'm thinking of places that one would have to visit for a Chicana/o or Latina/o Los Angeles experience. Right now, here's the list. Any other suggestions?

1. La Placita Olvera is a must. Yeah, I know it's hella touristy, but it is important.
2. Dodger Stadium/Chavez Ravine. It's great for a game, but I think you should also realize a whole community was displaced with promises of new low-income housing and then later swindled by the city who preferred a ballpark in the area.
3. Drive around East LA to check out murals.
4. Speaking of murals, check out the Great Wall of Los Angeles.
5. El Tepeyac for Manuel's Special giant burrito.
6. Flautas at Ciro's.
7. El Mercadito in East LA for shopping and a dinner accompanied by mariachis.
8. Los Callejones in the Garment District (Santee Alley)
9. La Guelaguetza for Oaxacan food
10. Calvary Cemetery in East LA (especially around Christmas-time)
11. King Taco for post-club/bar muchies

I was just checking out what they call the "heart of the city"

Los Angeles is a land of neighborhoods, diverse and independent-minded. Some of these enclaves actually function as separate entities. (West Hollywood, for one, seceded from L.A. proper in 1984.) Others just have an independent vibe. Offered here are a handful of exciting city-pocket itineraries certain to keep you entertained�and well fed.

Downtown
Santa Monica
Silverlake/Los Feliz
Pasadena
Hollywood

What the hell? What about all the parts of the city in the east and to the south? Grr.

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