The Machete & Tia Chucha’s Café’
an interview with Luis J. Rodriguez
by Mel Marin

The author of the award-winning memoir Always Running - Gang Days in L.A., published poet, publisher, and always active man behind the page, Luis J. Rodriguez, is busy running daily operations on his latest dream come true, Tia Chucha’s Cafe Cultural in Sylmar. The wonderfully polite girl behind the counter walks over to notify the man that someone is here to interview him. After a few blinks of the eye, he appears before me with a smile warm like Buddha. He remembers me; I'm honored. He orders a coffee and pays for it - in his own cafe. We sit for a necessary dialogue.

MM: Your feelings on what’s going on today... La Raza, the movements, the energy...

LJR: I feel really hopeful because I see a lot of young people going back to discovering who they are, their roots, trying to spark a ‘movimiento’ - in a different way.... I hadn’t seen this in 30 years - when we he had the Chicano Movement... Now I see it where young people are really reaching out, and they’re knowledgeable...they’re not just doing it as an idealized thing.

MM: Your experiences as a writer...

LJR: There was a big explosion of the arts in the ’60s...muralistas, poets, visual artists, dancers…a lot of that explosion got squashed...[but] a lot of us now are doing it, and there is a whole body of literature that we have as Chicanos… Every movement has to have literature… You have to have a place where real, revealing, open, daring words can come out, and young people are looking for it; because…everybody is pulling a scam on ’em, everybody is trying to sell ’em something, or trying to get ’em to think about something else...teachers, they give you books, and they’re mostly lies. The newspapers, you know you can’t trust them these days. Politicians? Absolutely not... So where is that honest, revealing, truthful word? That comes from poetry, because [with] poetry you can’t lie...you just can’t...it’s in Hip-Hop, it’s in music, it’s in a lot of art forms…

MM: About Tia Chucha...the aunt, the cafe, the press...

LJR: My tia was a crazy relative...and I honored that crazy relative because they’re the ones that break the mold...most people talk bad about them because they’re really scared about their spirit...nobody wants to rock boats, everybody wants to keep things quiet, but the crazy relatives are open, they sing, they do poetry, they do crazy things...she inspired me in the many ways I should be crazy like that, you know? So when I came up with my poetry press I decided to name it after her, because it should have that spirit - so we started Tia Chucha Press in ’89. I started with my book, then I started publishing other poets... We have now 35 books and a CD, we have a distributor - Northwestern University Press, we have the Guild Complex, a large, literary arts organization in Chicago - and they administer Tia Chucha Press... So what happened though is I left Chicago after 15 years. I came out here 2 years ago...and then we thought about doing this place, a center where there could be books, art, performance, and workshops...I mean I’ll probably stop naming everything after Tia Chucha, but I thought that the spirit was still there, so it becomes Tia Chucha’s Cafe Cultural...

MM: On East L.A., the San Fernando Valley...

LJR : East L.A. is my source community. That’s where I got involved in the barrios, that’s where I got politically active, my kids were born there, I was first married there...so East L.A. has always been a special place in my heart... [But] in San Fernando…you see some of the same needs. You have a large community of Chicanos, Mexicanos, Central Americans...a very neglected community. There’s a lot of strip malls, video stores, taquerias, but no centers, no book stores, no movie houses...it’s culturally barren... We need to create cultural centers...places to dialogue, places to sit, have coffee, and just read a book...we should create our own media...our own newspaper...that’s where we’re at now, because we’re always relying on other people who don’t even represent us... I’m trying to make inroads in Hollywood...it’s what I have to do, but man, I'd really rather not mess with that... Let’s do it ourselves, get our own equipment...we have the stories, the dreams, the talent, and if we don’t have the skills...you just learn... We have the capacity...so why do we need Hollywood as an industry? We don’t need it. Right now we may think we need it because we don’t have anything going on, but hopefully we could create and....

MM: Get by NOrth of HOllywood...

LJR: There you go.

MM: The message...word to the street...the world...

LJR: Sometimes I talk to these kids, in prisons, juvenile facilities, or in schools, and I’m always thinking, “What can I tell ’em?” I’m not going to preach…I don’t wanna act like I’m a ‘know it all’ adult...I just got to be as honest and real as I could be, and I tell them, “Listen, when I was growing up, I was not a very good person. I hurt people. I hurt myself. I wanted to go to drugs more than anything...I wanted to shoot people because I had all this anger, and hate..but you know, I realized that I was turning away against my own personal destiny.

My destiny wasn’t to be a gang banger...I might’ve ended up that way, but that wasn’t my destiny...my destiny is what I am doing now, which is to become intellectually active, to connect with community, to become an artist...to be a poet...once you realize that path, it’s an amazing thing...it isn’t easy to get there, and most of the time it is so disappointing that people give up, but if you hang in there long enough you start realizing...that’s your purpose in life...like for you guys [interview crew], you guys are all doing that.

You’re creating a path, not just a personal path, but you’re filling the needs of your community...so that’s what I want to teach young people... I keep saying, “Learn to be aware and conscious so that you’re not just reacting.” You’re actually making a decision to grow up, a decision to be a warrior, a decision to be strong, a decision to be an artist...stay on track, continue doing what you’re supposed to be doing...and I hope my life is an example, because it isn’t easy, I know. I've made all the mistakes that anybody can make...but here I am...and I hope that maybe I can teach something to somebody...anybody can do this...can do better than what I’ve done...there should be millions of books, not just Always Running...there should be a lot of them...different ways of telling the story.

MM: You’re one of the trailblazers...

LJR : Yeah, I suppose I am.

MM: Up front with the machete.

LJR : That’s exactly right. That’s okay, that’s my role.
Tia Chucha’s Cafe Cultural 12737 Glenoaks Bl #22 - Sylmar (818) 362-7060 www.tiachucha.com.

Published Work by Luis J. Rodriguez
• Poems Across the Pavement - Tia Chucha Press / 1989
• The Concrete River - Curbstone / 1991
• Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A. - Curbstone / 1993
• America is Her Name - Curbstone / 1998
• Trochemoche - Curbstone / 1998
• It Doesn't Have to be This Way: A Barrio Story - Children's Book Press / 1999
• Hearts & Hands: Making Peace in a Violent Time - Seven Stories / 2001
• The Republic of East L.A.: Stories - Rayo / Harper Collins / 2002

Independently Healthy
From Top 40 pop/rock star to indie iconoclast, Sophie B. Hawkins hits all the notes.
by Jamie Lauren

“I made $1,200 at my yard sale,” Sophie says, with childlike glee. “It was amazing!”

Even more amazing considering she spent most of the day at the Rose Bowl, where she sang “The Star Spangled Banner” at an L.A. Galaxy soccer game. Sophie finds the anthem “poignant and potent. I might not always agree with what this country is doing, but I would fight for this country in wartime and I still feel very patriotic, so it’s always very emotional.”

Please pick up this issue of NoHoLA to read the rest!

Excerpt from John Scott Shepherd’s new book

A Novel Idea Novelist/Screenwriter/Director John Scott Shepherd is one of the hottest talents to hit Hollywood in decades!! Formerly a successful ad agency executive, he left his lucrative job to follow his writing dream only to soon find himself facing a mound of debt and close to bankruptcy. However, just in the nick of time, and with virtually no industry connections, he sold his first script, for a bundle of dough.

Almost overnight Shepherd became the poster boy of hope for the growing number of Hollywood wannabes living between the coastal media centers. With five more movies in active development in Hollywood studios, a three-movie directing deal, and a three-year contract with a TV studio to dream up one-hour dramas in his pare time, his immediate future is set.

Even though his life has been seemingly playing like a Capra film, there was something missing. The goal that lured him to the basement to write until 3 a.m. every night was to be a great writer, not just a successful screenwriter. As much as he loves movies and collaborating in that medium, he quickly recognized Hollywood as a system of compromise that could never entirely fulfill his need to tell stories.

Now with his first novel Henry’s List of Wrongs, Shepherd is free from compromise. The idea for Henry came in a fortuitous way. While attending a cocktail party, Shepherd listened to a recently divorced man talk about how he had an epiphany listening to his ex-wife and friends talk about all his evil deeds. It made him realize that he was really at fault and decided to right each wrong he had perpetrated.

The novel’s protagonist, Henry Chase, is every woman’s nightmare. Nicknamed “The Assassin,” he targets anything in order to get himself to the top - be it a business deal or a bedroom conquest. Not a glimmer of humanity left in the decayed recess of his soul… until one night, when his conscience comes back to haunt him. With the help of a mysterious young woman, Henry confesses to a list, a list of the lives he has ruined in the pursuit of his success. And now Henry is going to make it all right, for all of them, and maybe even for himself.
Between the movie deals, the book, and projects in the works, John Scott Shepherd is one writer here to stay.
- Vanessa Roveto

Excerpt from Henry’s List of Wrongs
To this day, “The best decorations are hung in our memories” still holds the title as The Most Flaccid, Sheepish, Apologetic Prom Theme in the History of American High Schools. But it was also a brain belch of accidental brilliance from pale, twitchy school counselor Randy Payton, who would never truly appreciate how succinctly he’d packaged, wrapped, and tagged four years of stupefying disappointment from the Olin Falls Class of 1988: “If you wanna remember anything good about this s***hole, well, you’re pretty much gonna have to make it up.”

Actually, nobody will ever really know for sure the exact words Randy first scribbled. The line was passed along and polished by reminiscent PTA member, parents and faculty-alumni of various Classes of ’50-something-who mistakenly assumed that deep down the Class of ’88 gave a frothing s*** about the ramshackle decorations and the low-rent prom in general. That they even wanted memories of the crumbling school or this pancake-flat, sun-scorched suburb too far from Wichita, which was too far from everything.

Olin Falls, Kansas, was a Bruce Springsteen town of Archie Bunker bungalows that lacked the romance of a factory shut down by “the man.” It was eight square miles of punishment for those who missed the Reagan bus and now had to commute 20 minutes farther from a rural town with no farms.

On any given evening, the thriving nightlife began and ended with a strip bar, a Laundromat, a video rental shop that reeked of cheap disinfectant, and a revolving array of businesses failed or destined to, like the ever-empty Flo-Jan Pancake Hut.

Not only did the Class of ’88 very much not give a s*** about any of this, their collective destiny was to become pop-culture famous for their unparalleled commitment to apathy. Just three years later, an authority no less esteemed than Time magazine would label them “Generation X.” The media may have has somewhere cooler than Seattle in mind, but nobody earned the mantle with more determination than Olin Falls.

Of course, another five years and about 5,000 magazine articles later, they and the rest of America would finally admit that “Generation X” was the most ill-defined cultural movement in history. Nobody could remember what it meant or what it stood for. The again, that’s what happens when you just don’t care.

Reprinted with permission; published by Rugged Land,
LLC Copyright © 2002 by John Scott Shepherd.

Rebe Mother & Daughter Designing Team photos & interview
by Leah Bachar

I knew I was in for a treat when I arrived in Woodland Hills for my interview with the mother/daughter designing team who are responsible for creating the Rebe line, some of the most original handbags, wallets, pocketbooks, and other very necessary accessories. I was looking for an address, but once I spotted the only purple house on the street, I had a feeling I was in the right place. I was greeted at the door by Debra Weiss, who created the Rebe ( rhymes with Debbie) line with the help of her oldest daughter, Hillary. One step inside and I had entered into an eclectic jungle, a room filled with color, personality, artwork, lights, Chinese lanterns, and - since they work out of their house - the full Rebe line.

The girls invited me to sit down for lunch with them, and while we munched on salad and pizza, I got to know about how the whole Rebe craze started. A fairly new line, it took a while for Rebe to develop. Debra originally majored in the sciences while she was in college, and later worked in a gallery. She applied for a manufacturing license, but at the same time still didn’t know exactly what it was she wanted to do.

Her daughter, in the meantime, was developing as an artist, going to school yet feeling that the artistic freedom she was looking for was somewhere else. Still trying to find her niche, Debra dabbled with t-shirts, ceramics, and jewelry. Their creative paths eventually met and the mother/daughter team began to build on their visions. Hillary began by designing their first logo and business cards, and they decided to set their sights on making handbags that would appeal to women of all ages.

The first bags that they produced, in their opinions, were disasters since they were hand sewn and a few essential details were neglected. Practice makes perfect of course and after a lot of research, playing around with different fabrics, and determination they finally narrowed down the Rebe look and style.

They introduced their line at the Gift Show at the LA Convention Center, and that was the beginning of the future of Rebe bags. Rebe bags began to appear in boutiques such as Verona and Tres Jolie, but the designing team knew that they had arrived when they found out that their bags had made it to the shelves of Fred Siegel’s. With the power that word of mouth can have, and the focus they had on making their bags a unique product, the handbags began to be noticed for their unusual elegance and style.

In the midst of all the new exposure, Debra found she rarely had the time to keep doing shows and running the new business. The website is still in the process of being finished, and soon Rebe bags will be available online and just a click away for those of us who are not into the whole window shopping issue. Even though things are heading in the right direction, these innov-ative ladies are the first ones to admit that it is hard work, and every step of the way is a learning process. To start from scratch without a background in business says a lot about somebody, and even though things might not always work out the way they planned Debra and Hillary seem to be setting a good example. Recently they hired a manufacturer to help them in the sewing process, while Debra stays close to home focusing on the designing and the fabrics.

The bags say a lot about their personalities, something original with a flair. When shopping for themselves they like to hit up stores like Anthropologie or local vintage shops. They consider their own style practical yet feminine. Expanding from bags the ladies have gotten interested in the clothing aspect as well. They include in their line cozy bloomers which are great for any occasion, soft silk skirts, Rebe t-shirts, and they have been coming up with ideas for jackets. The most important thing about them is that they love what they are doing, and even though it may get financially stressful, the goal has always been set and the passion lies in the seams.

Even with its growing success, Debra acknowledges the fact that she wants to keep the Rebe line as a way for them to make a living, and not turn it into a huge business which defeats the purpose of why they started in the first place. The original goal of the company was to be a way for her children to learn about how to run a business and how to take a dream and make it a reality.

Someday, though, Debra thinks about maybe changing directions a little bit and having her own coffee shop, where people can enjoy art, music, and maybe a Rebe bag or two. Hillary’s talents have gotten a chance to be displayed with the bags, and now she is working on other opportunities such as designing business cards. The first thing on their list though is for them to spend time doing what it is they love to do. “ Life is too short and it goes too fast” is the phrase Debra lives by. Since she is not hung up on making millions, Debra looks to the future and maybe the chance to do something she has always wanted to do, like travel to Asia in search of new and exotic fabrics and textiles, since a lot of her inspiration stems from Chinese influences and the 1950s time period.

Their newest conquest has been the boutiques on Melrose. Since a lot of stores need more inventory than others, there is the issue of finding certain Rebe products - some stores may sell things that others don’t. They are aiming for a full display sometime in the near future, so there will be something for everyone. If you don’t need a purse, then you can grab a skirt; if not a skirt, then maybe a pocketbook; if not a pocketbook, there is always a wallet. Bags may range from $118-$200, with new leather arrivals coming soon. Pocketbooks are around $36, wallets run about $48, the bloomers $68 (sometimes a little more), special baby line $160, and the delicious silk skirts run up to about $300. A small price to pay if you are looking for something with lasting quality that will always have someone coming up to you and asking, “Where did you get that?”

Even the neighbors can’t get enough. Using the advantage they have of living next door, these ladies have people stopping by to get a look at the line up close. A huge help when they began was the fact that a neighbor who happened to also be a choreographer dropped in one day, and falling in love with the funky bags, she immediately put her womanly instinct to use and started telling her clients about them.

Through word of mouth or via window displays, these bags have a good reputation with those of us who are looking for a little splash in our style or something to complement our day. The mix of fabrics show the diverse ideas that run through the minds of the Rebe team, the use of colors show the mood of the line. After working through so many things to try and find their true vision, Debra and Hillary have learned not to compromise themselves and stick with who they are and the things they like, while always keeping an open mind. Just like their art, Debra and Hillary have a free spirited nature that is contagious when you meet them. Once you slip one of their handbags onto your arm, you can feel it inside.