“La Bamba,” “Zoot Suit” writer on the importance of building community

By Kristina Puga May 13, 2015 Stories

Do you remember reading the play, “Zoot Suit” in high school or watching the movie “La Bamba” (1987), based on the life of 1950’s rocker Ritchie Valens, starring Lou Diamond…

From L.A. Gangs at 11 To Poet Laureate at 60

By Kristina Puga October 29, 2014 Stories

Growing up in poverty in South Central and East Los Angeles, Luis J. Rodriguez says he found himself so emotionally empty that he joined a gang at age 11. He…