La Vida Yaya

When you're busy adapting to a new situation it's hard to put your life into perspective much less into words. When I left San Antonio for college life in Los Angeles, I didn't think twice. I was excited to move and explore life as an independent adult. It was a wonderful experience. Yes, it was also difficult but problems aren't the end of the world when you have ways of blowing off steam with tons of other young adults going through the same thing. Now, I'm enjoying my last year of the thirsty thirties back in San Antonio. It has been one year since my arrival or rather my journey back. I believe time is cyclical and overlaps. Nothing is ever so clean as going from A to B to C. For me at least, it's been point A to C to Z and back to D. The thought of moving back happened rather quickly but situations in my life were already aligning in a way that when the opportunity to move was presented, it was the best thing for me. Then everything made sense. The journ...

On the road to Texas. Photo by Yaya. My goodness, has it been that long since my last blog? I've since chopped off my dreads, got a humungous tattoo and moved to Texas! I admit that I suffered from a case of pillow-on-head writer's block. I was going through so much turmoil in my life that I couldn't find the time, energy, or inspiration to sit and write. When you are in the mix of the chaos, all you can do is survive. Can I get an AMEN?! So, sadly, I've said goodbye to my beloved LA. My bad lover, LA. My heart and soul, LA. I miss you. I love you. I hate you. Goodbye.  . . . but I hope to be back! Nineteen years. Nineteen years I spent there. My entire adult life was spent in that metropolis. It taught me, it inspired me, moved me beyond belief. The world at my fingertips. Dark backgrounds with glittering lights. Streaks of lights across waves of freeways. I always picture LA in the dark, at night, when something special happens to the city. People unwind and mo...

Denise and Margaret Sometimes it pays to have connections, be an insider, rub elbows with the elite especially here in LA/Hollywood. It's all about who you know and naturally, I know a lot of people who are very well connected. Well all that networking finally paid off this week! My dear friend Laura from Beverly Hill . . . I mean, San Antonio is promoting a new product. We met back in college at USC, and by that I mean high school in Texas. Ok so we were on the flag team and lost touch after high school but we DID find each other again in LA! That part is true. Turns out we are both in PR and were promoting an event that her client was participating in. Small world huh? Lucky for me, we kept in touch and many, many, years later, she sends me a box full of free sandwiches courtesy of Raybern Foods ! SCORE! Aside from being a fatty, I'm also a foodie so consider this my first official food blog. The loot When she first pitched me the idea of sandwiches I wasn't v...

Las fundadoras, Laura Rebolloso and Martha Gonzalez. When the lead singer of my favorite band comes a-calling for a special request to write about her new project, there is no way a super-fan can say no! As much as we are hounded to death to financially support everyone else's jogathon, spring break trip to Nepal, or buy magazines from guitar-playing Xanax junkies, once in a while comes a project that you wish you could fully fund on the spot. Alas, being $9,980 short, I'm doing my part and blasting this far and wide. Aside from being a Chicana singer/songwriter extraordinaire for the band Quetzal , Martha Gonzalez is also one educated chica. In 2007, Martha was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to head to Veracruz and write songs from a feminine perspective along with collaborator Laura Rebolloso, founder of Son de Madera , a son jarocho group in Veracruz. There Martha and other local women musicians gathered around kitchen tables and living rooms, multitasking songwri...

LA Sunset by Abel Gutierrez I had a blogger epiphany today. I realized I could purchase my own domain name for only $10 a year so I said, sure, what the heck. But I'm a Libra! Wholly indecisive. How will I pick a name? This blog has already had two names, now a third? Well, I figured it's not that popular yet, but judging from the hit count and comments I get on Facebook, Twitter, and here, I thought, wow, it could happen. Plus, the domain name was available. Score! So here goes, my own domain name . . . Allow me to introduce you to LA Vida Yaya ! I wanted to keep "LA" in the title to reference Los Angeles. It's also in Spanish and has my nickname. It's a play on La Vida Loca which I can relate to at times. I'm just happy it came to me so quickly and I didn't spend days agonizing over it, changing my mind in good Libra fashion. So that's it! No changing it! I got it for a year. My old links still work. They just redirect here. Wow, this blogging ...

I had a great opening line for this post but now I can't remember. Ah, aging. Ain't it great? One day you're fun, and young, and free and the next you've gained 50lbs of baby weight and insert-other-reasons-here. Then, instead of drinking the night away with all your carefree friends, you're stuck at home writing a blog about it. As with anyone, the past few years have been a roller-coaster ride of ups and downs. I wound up with back problems that took about three years to figure out. During that time, I was scared to move for fear of re-injuring myself, at least that is what the doctors had me believe. This past December I got the news I wanted, needed, to hear. As most curvy girls can relate, this isn't my first attempt to lose weight. Countless Weight Watchers sessions, reading up on trendy diets, fasting, raw diet, 3-day diet, yoga, you name it, has led to temporary results. So what makes this time different? It is about pain management. The more weight...

I'm usually the first one to knock down the gorgeous people of the earth that live a fantastic life, travel the world, and only socialize with other beautiful people while everyone else is still wiping up the drool from their shirts. It's just so superficial to ONLY admire them for their good genes and jeans. Even now, I hesitate to feature this adonis of a man because it's just too easy to see him for his superficial good looks (I have to look away he's so darn beautiful). But no, I have to write about him because aside from the obvious, I looked beyond the surface and found a unique soulful person on the inside. This weeks Latino Fashion-Listo is  . . . Quetzal Guerrero I suggest you click on his youtube channel and enjoy his American folk- soul- jazz- funk- samba- bossa nova- reggae- afrobeat- inspired music as you read this feature. Go to youtube.com/quetzalguerrero click back here and enjoy! Arizona native Quetzal Guerrero picked up the violi...

I believe everyone has a story to tell. Some people are shy and reserved while others wear their past on their sleeves. My friend, George De Los Santos, aka Spider, aka Spiderflesh , not only wears his life on his tattoo sleeve, he shares his story with those that may benefit from learning about his past. He grew up in various cities south of LA from Bell Gardens to Compton and finally Huntington Park. " I’ve always known we were poor. That has been something I accepted and was humbled by. My mother has always been a worker. Not so much in a 'job' but more so in side-jobs that pay," said George as I asked about his childhood. " My 'real' dad was not around much and when he was it just lead to disappointment so I’ve not sought him out anymore. I have learned to appreciate my mother over the years as I became a parent but there were many years that I resented some of her actions as I was growing up. I later realized that she’s human and did t...

Here is a list of my favorite posts about life & culture. Enjoy! NALAC Arts Advocacy Institute-Washington, DC Wednesday, May 22, 2013 NALAC Leadership Institute Wednesday, August 29, 2012 Luna, The Stars and The Moon Tuesday, May 29, 2012 Letter to Lydia Saturday, May 12, 2012 My Weight Loss Journey Friday, May 3, 2012 Spider Sense Wednesday, April 4, 2012   Zero to 5 Saturday, February 25, 2012 Home Remedies Sunday, October 9, 2011 Day of the Dead 2011   Thursday, September 29, 2011 Lost Angeles   Monday, September 12, 2011 What You Do For Love Monday, September 27, 2010 Summertime Fun 2010 Friday, July 2, 2010 Chatting It Up With Grandpa   Thursday, June 3, 2010 Alma Tuesday, May 18, 2010 Gays, Gays, Gays   Thursday, May 13, 2010 Sara Garcia   Wednesday, February 24, 2010 Black History Month Year-Round   Friday, February 5, 2010 Cultural Events at the Mexican ...

Welcome to my list of art, theatre, and film blog posts. Enjoy! Striking artwork by George Yepes. Heriberto Luna Tuesday, May 29, 2012 John Leguizamo Sunday, October 2, 2011 Free Museum Day Chart   Thursday, May 20, 2010 LA Arts Month   Tuesday, January 5, 2010 La Virgen de Guadalupe, Dios Inantzin   Monday, November 30, 2009 George Yepes   Saturday, October 17, 2009 Central Ave and Beyond - Mayme Clayton Library   Monday, September 21, 2009 HBO's Which Way Home Friday, September 18, 2009 Chimaya Art Gallery Saturday, September 12, 2009

Our Nature by Joe Galarza of AUG The Aztlan Underground boys are back with a new single and some advice for those of you feeling a bit suppressed. Their new single called Our Nature is about the beauty of spring, rebirth, reproduction, and our very own natural calling to procreate. It is being released on March 20, 2012, the Spring Equinox. “Society often dictates that sexuality and procreation are to be narrowly addressed in the confines of certain people’s belief systems, but we feel that does not and should not apply to everyone,” said lead vocalist Yaotl. “Those of us that walk in the natural, Indigenous spirit world understand that the act of reproduction should be celebrated, honored, and enjoyed.” The retro/gothic sound of the new single takes the band in a fresh and intriguing musical direction while keeping true to the original Aztlan Underground sound. The dark tones in the single seek to juxtapose the darkness and negativity associated with the natural occurrence of s...