'Eye from the Edge: A Memoir of West Oakland, CA'

Eye from the Edge: A Memoir of West Oakland, CA

A Book Signing & Reading

at

La Borinqueña Mex-icatessen

582 - 7th Street at Jefferson  

Old Oakland   

Saturday, June 23

2-4pm

West Oakland native & debut author Ruben Llamas is returning to his former Latino barrio also know as "the old neighborhood" in Oakland, CA.

Come in for no host lunch prior to this event, mingle with friends & family to share memories and stories.

Copies of the newly published book will be available for purchase. Book signing from 2-4pm. A short reading from the book as well as a Q & A from 2:30-3pm.

This is the first full length memoir written from a Latino perspective about West Oakland from the 1930-70s. Please join Tina Tamale Ramos and her family at their shop, La Borinquena Mex-icatessen, one of the few remaining landmarks from this historic era for an afternoon of memories.

 
RSVP on Facebook:
http://j.mp/MemoirofWestO2012

New Weekly Pop-up Location & Limited Edition T-Shirt Presales

Every Friday from 12-9pm on 9th Street btwn Washington & Clay in Old Oakland

Fridays at Swan's

Weekly INDOOR pop-up every Friday at Swan's Market in Old Oakland! Look for our NEW Tina Tamale non-traditional menu featuring Taylor's Sausage. We'll post what deliciousness we have in store that am! Don't worry, we will have tamales every First Friday!
 

Chorizo Sausage Sandwich: luscious grilled Taylor's chorizo sausage, sliced tomato, arugula with cotija cheese & cilantro aioli

Look for Tina Tamale, Periscope Cellars, pieTISSERIE , Cosecha & lots of local yummy food from all the storefronts & vendors at this historic building!

1940's Throw-back Tina Tamale Truck Design by Forrealism Version 1

Limited Edition TinaTamale by Forrealism T-Shirts Pre-Sale on IndieGoGo

The actual design by Forrealism for our new transporter is close to being finalized and then we will have a t-shirt design ready.  This will be a limited edition t-shirt, once this batch is printed there will be no more! ¡No Mas! We want to give a final chance to make a purchase. All sizes will be available and we will ship your t-shirt to you if you are not currently near us.

We're keeping this as local as possible.  Oakland Tamale Vendor.  Oakland Artists. These t-shirts will be screen printed by hand in West Oakland by Team Print Shop.  Local, indie & community are not just buzzwords to us; it’s a way of life!  Get'em while they're CALIENTE! http://j.mp/IndieGoGoArte

About Forrealism

A portal to contemporary indigenous American art.  Forrealism is a collective of artists, activists, and educators who view art as education and a key to a peaceful and prosperous future.  The artists represented make paintings, murals, films, animations, and installations as they seek to beautify the world through these creations.  Joaquin Alejandro Newman & Eduardo Pineda are designing & producing the scenes on the Tina Tamale transporter & t-shirt.

La Borinquena in Old Oakland, and a Tina Tamale podcast :: Grassroutes Travel

 Hola Amig@es,

I was interviewed by the lovely & talented Serena Barlett of Grassroutes Travel and the pod cast just went up! I've know Serena for years now and while her travel sometimes take here away from Oakland, this is the place she loves and calls home.

Serena is truly a local, indie nerd like myself and we're always bumping into each other around town. She is one of the Oakland Grown peeps that is helping portray Oakland by shining a bright spotlight on the people, places and things Oaklanders are doing. She is awesome like that!

She is gearing up to do a series of Oakland food tours and makes a stop here at Tamale World homebase, La Borinquena Mex-icatessen.

Photo by Serena Barlett of Grassroutes Travel, an Oakland grown member

Here's a snippet:
Tina Tamale, as she’s known, is synonymous with La Borinquena, one of the oldest continuously-operating businesses in Oakland, founded by her grandmother Rosa, almost 70 years ago. It’s a “mexicatessen” – a casual cafeteria-style restaurant that, in addition to the daily menu, sells many Mexican staples like handmade tortillas, at least six types of dried peppers, luscious goat’s milk chocolate spread, fresh chicharrones, lard-fried tortilla chips, dried hibiscus, and tamarind pods. If you get there in the morning you’ll see an influx of port workers coming in for their “dinner” after working a long shift while extended family – either blood relatives or employees who have worked here for dozens of years, no discrepancy – cart out that day’s tortillas, so recently made that condensation forms inside the plastic bags...

See the full post and hear the podcast here

Bike to Work Day Afterparty in Old Oakland 5/12 & 5th Annual Oakland Indie Awards 5/13

Bike to Work Day Afterparty in Old Oakland


The East Bay's biggest bicycling event is coming up May 12, 2011 and the East Bay Bicycle Coalition is busy with plans to top last year's record-setting event. 

Join the festivities at the end of the work day at the afterparty on 8th & Washington in Old Oakland:

·The Muddy Roses (live Americana music)

· Bike Carousel rides with Cyclecide (www.cyclecide.com)

· Tasty eats and treats with tamales and nachos from Tina Tamale of La Borinqueña 

· Trumer Pils Beer

· Big Tadoo Puppet Crew

· Parklets Demonstration

RSVP on Facebook here Join us for food, fun, awards, prizes & games! More info: http://www.ebbc.org

Bike to Work Day Afterparty
Thursday May 12, 2011
8th & Washington in Old Oakland
5:30pm-8:30pm 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5th Annual Oakland Indie Awards

 

Festivities include Global Comfort Foods: Beloved foods from Oakland's delicious melting pot - what your Korean, Mexican, Japanese, Italian, Thai, American and other moms would make! Tina Tamale will be in the house serving up delicious tamales sprinkled with Mexican Love! We are flattered to be nominated this year in two categories: Oakland Soul & Pillar. Wish us luck! For more info and to purchase tickets: http://indieawards.eventbrite.com/

Oakland Indie Awards
Friday May 13, 2011Kaiser Center
300 Lakeside Drive
6:00pm-10:00pm6:00pm - Awards Ceremony in the Lakeside Theater
6:30pm-10:00pm - Party in the Garden Room

 

Old Oakland Neighbors' 4th Annual National Night Out Potluck Party :: Tuesday, August 3 from 6:30 - 8:30pm

This coming Tuesday is National Night Out, America's Night Out against crime. It's not too late to register a National Night Out this Tues 8/3 in your neighborhood. Go to the City of Oakland National Night Out website for more info here.

Join us in Old Oakland, see the Facebook event listing here.


See my interview on CBS 5 Early Edition News about NNO here

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The best crime prevention tool ever invented is a good neighbor...
So come meet and reconnect with your neighbors!

Old Oakland Neighbors (OON)
is pleased to host a National Night Out
...Block Party and Potluck at
Lafayette Square Park

Meet Your Neighbors * Share Food
Join in the Festivities

Play Horseshoes * Learn more about the self guided walking tour "Walking the Invisible City" with 10K Steps Oakland

What to Bring:
* Yourself, your family, and your neighbors *
*A food dish to share*
* Lawn chairs, if you have them *
* Your own plate and fork (environmental option only) *

Questions or to Volunteer to help with the event:
oonsocialevents@gmail.com

http://www.oldoaklandneighbors.org/
Founded in 2006, Old Oakland Neighbors is a volunteer-based community group comprised of folks who live and/or work in Old Oakland. We invite area residents, businesses, and Old Oakland neighbors to join our grassroots community group.

http://www2.oaklandnet.com/nno
National Night Out is the nation's night out against crime. Sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch, residents are encouraged to join with their neighbors to have a neighborhood block party to build neighborhood spirit and unity - which is the first defense against crime.

Jefferson Square Park: The Heart of a Community Reborn

I am a Lover of all things Oakland. The people, places, history and especially community. As an ambassador of the park stewardship program 10,000 Steps, I will be participating in the Oakland Museum community altar exhibit at the Fruitvale Dia de los Muertos Festival “Celebrating the Spirit of Community” this Sunday, November 1, 2009. There will be one large altar and 20+ community altars. For more information about the festival go here. Please stop by De La Fuente Plaza and International Blvd (location of altars)! This is the text for the altar I am coordinating.


Old Oakland Community Footsteps
10,000 Steps / Tina 'Tamale' Ramos
is dedicated to commemorate the people and places that have formed our community over the decades and generations.

This altar is a map of the Old Oakland community with landmarks including Jefferson and Lafayette Square Park, La Borinqueña and images we pass on a daily basis. Every step taken is following the steps of those who came before us. This altar is a visual journal of our collective experiences.

Jefferson Square Park:
The Heart of a Community Reborn

Once upon a time, many, many years ago this park was just brimming with children and adults from the neighborhood…

Gustavo Loza remembers the park during the 1960s being the place to hang out.” The recreation center used to be open 10am – 10pm and all you had to do was leave a valuable for a ball - a sweater, an ID, your wallet, anything of value - and they gave you a ball to play with, to play basketball or volleyball or tennis against the wall or a bat and glove. The rec center gave the park life. “It was not unusual for at least four different types of pick-up games to go on at any given time in this park. Old Saint Mary's School directly across the street used this park as an extended playground. The recreation center also provided home economics classes such as cooking and sewing to anyone.

Bernadino Briones grew up in this neighborhood. “En el verano nos juntabamos (la mayoria eramos latinos) y haciamos un equipo de softball y jugabamos contra otros equipos locales. De vez en cuando tambien jugamos futbol y basketball. Tengo muy buenos recuerdos de el Jefferson Park. ” “ During the summer we would gather. Most of us were Latino and would form a softball team and we would play against the other local teams. Occasionally, we would also play soccer or basketball. I have very fond memories of Jefferson Park.”

Historically, Jefferson Square Park is technically part of West Oakland. However, everything changed with freeway construction and other projects beginning in the 1960s. It is now part of a community referred to as Historic Old Oakland with borders that run from 6th to 14th Street and Broadway to Castro Street. Old Oakland was the original Downtown (1860s), the location of the first City Hall, and a thriving residential and commercial district for decades. The Jefferson Square Park Recreation Center, built in 1958, was the heart of this community until the late 1960s.

Boone: “I started coming here in 1948 to play basketball and met people here, when they had people living around here! When they wanted to build the freeway and the police station, they knocked them people out.” In 2009, Boone is still here and has been looked up to as a role model by many in the neighborhood, whether it was cooking up fish sandwiches in the recreation center kitchen back in the day, teaching basketball tricks or replacing the basketball nets (sometimes out of his own pocket).

Roy "Zazu" Byrd: “Boone, he’s one hell of a ball player. Being a little kid, I idolized him. If you could beat him, you could go anywhere. He made basketball seem fun and that’s the way the game should be played. He taught me a lot and that’s how I made it to the Harlem Globetrotters. I consider Boone to be a legend of this park; some of the things he did on the basketball court were amazing to me. He started coming to this park in his 20s; now he’s in his 80s, and he still comes every day to play ball. Boone was like the protector, the controller. He kept us all in line so there was no fighting, no shooting, no drugs, none of that stuff in the park.”

Natividad "Nati" Ramos, was born in this neighborhood in her family's home on 4th and Castro in 1931. She talks about the old neighborhood, primarily inhabited by Latinos then, as though it was a long lost friend. Nati has a map in her head in which she remembers where every family's home was located before it was torn down and the freeway overpasses were built in their place. When asked about the park, she remembers, “the young boys playing since it was not proper for young ladies back then to run around. I never played there!”

Christina “Tina Tamale” Ramos: “Nati is my mother and growing up hearing her stories about the neighborhood and from those who played in this park made me long for a similar sense of community. In the late Sixties, the Evil City Planners began the demolition of fifty residential blocks in this neighborhood in order to build the Cypress freeway, Bart tracks and Acorn housing development. Our community was destroyed over the course of not so many years. During the Seventies, I remember playing there as a little girl, having picnics on the grassy field and going to art class that included snacks at the center. But then the children left or rather those of us still around, grew up. The park became obsolete, the young ones were gone. The area became a haven for "adults" including the homeless, drug dealers/users and other assorted characters in the Eighties and Nineties.

It broke my heart.

I bought a home here in 2000 and have worked at La Borinqueña even longer. My siblings and I spent time in this park as children and I’m excited to see the neighborhood enjoy this green open space again. A new century especially the last few years have brought great changes, a community is once again forming. The City of Oakland and many of the new transplants are remembering/discovering that there is a park taking up a whole city block right on the edge of Old Oakland.”

Rosemary Escobar remembers visiting the rec center with the Latin American Library Bookmobile back in 1968. She found out that many Mexican ladies were taking English classes at a nearby church. Rosemary would translate simple children’s books from English to Spanish for adults to borrow. The ladies would ask her, “No me cobras?” “Aren’t you going to charge me?” and she would respond, “No, los prestamos” “No, we loan them.” They were amazed that they could take the books home and then return them to any library.

Photographs of the park from this era were very hard to come by. Community members from those days mentioned repeatedly that cameras and film were expensive and generally reserved for special occasions. Fortunately, a few snapshots of people enjoying the park surfaced. We appreciate those who shared their stories and photographs with us. Some of these quotes came from participants of the Oakland Museum: The Latino History Project including Rosemary Escobar and Jose Arrendondo. Many of the young men and boys who spent a considerable part of their daily lives in this park during the 1940s and 1950s are no longer with us to share their memories, but they will not be forgotten.

Eminent domain by the City of Oakland caused the destruction of the residential community (50 blocks) in West Oakland in the late 1960s and early 1970s. None of the concrete overpasses surrounding this park existed until 1972. This, in turn, was the beginning of the decline of many of the commercial areas of interest and of the Jefferson Park Recreation Center since much of the residential community was lost. The rec center programs dwindled and the center officially closed in mid- 1970s. The building is fenced off, abandoned since it’s seismically unsafe.

There was the restoration of some of the old Victorian buildings saved in the late 1970s that remained empty for years. The 1980s and 1990s proved to be a difficult economic time for this area. The late 1990s saw a resurgence of residents in the form of nearby condominium developments. In 2006, a grassroots community group, Old Oakland Neighbors, was founded to unite residents, merchants, and other stakeholders who are committed to connecting, celebrating, and caring for Old Oakland. 10,000 Steps is a unique collaboration between marksearch (Sue Mark and Bruce Douglas), an independent artistic cultural research team, and the Friends of Oakland Parks and Recreation. In this ongoing stewardship project, the artists are working with neighbors and community groups that surround four historic parks in downtown Oakland – Jefferson, Lafayette, Lincoln and Madison Square Parks – to beautify and draw attention to green urban public space.

Now in 2009, we have redevelopment on the horizon. A dog park will be replacing the rec center for Spring 2010 as a testament that the heart of a community can be reborn and appreciated by those living, working, and visiting in the neighborhood. This will be a park teeming with energy and vibrant with people of all ages enjoying the outdoors in the middle of an urban area.

One day soon, Jefferson Square Park, will get its Happily Ever After.

PCB 20th Anniversary

Old Oakland History and parties...two of my favorite things.

Oakland Events is coordinating a Birthday Beer Bash Block Partay! Say that really fast 10 times!

Pacific Coast Brewing Company is Celebrating 20 Years in my Beloved Old Oakland. There will be live bands, a special edition beer, appetizer specials and of course Birthday Cake!

Here's the live band lineup:
6-7pm I am Empire
7:30-8:30 The Vinyl trees
9-10pm Kevin Cadogan(former founding member of Third Eye Blind)

I'll be hanging with a fine bunch of Yelpers aka the EB DYL Crew.
Everyone is invited.
Admission is free to the block party.
They're charging for food & drink, duh.

9th & Washington
6pm to 10pm
Be there or be square!

Change Comes Quickly

I had concerns about the next small business I wrote my latest OakBook online magazine profile for but I'm glad I took the time to investigate! I have mixed feeling about franchises but I am discovering that the independently owned and operate units are really like indie small businesses more than I realized. Lots of times it depends on the personality and character of the owner to make any businesses successful. To read about the newest business in my neighborhood go here Change Comes Quickly.

I've also made a list of the small business profiles I've been writing for OakBook right below my profile on the right column of this page. I'd love some feedback and even suggestions for other cool businesses to write about. Let me know what you think by leaving a comment for me.

The People & Places in my Neighborhood

I feel like writing about Old Oakland for a bit. This is something I'm asked often, "Where is Old Oakland?" Well, it's technically part of West Oakland and sometimes called Downtown Oakland. It's borders run from 6th to 11th Street and Broadway to Martin Luther King Way (Grove).*History Nerd Alert* Old Oakland was formally the original Downtown (1860s) and the location of the first City Hall (we're on our third) and was a thriving commercial district for decades. Eminent domain by the City or really, the destruction of the residential community (50 blocks) in West Oakland in the late 1960s and early 1970s caused the decline of many of the commercial areas of interest. Slowly, Swan's Department store, many other businesses and then Housewives Market came to an end in Old Oakland. There was the restoration of the old Victorians around 8th and Washington in the late 1970s that remained empty for years and the 1980s and 1990s proved to be a difficult time for the area. As much as I love my beloved Old Oakland, as a teenager I wasn't allowed to walk around these parts, it was a haven for criminals and drug addicts alike and when the dark and frightening image of Downtown/West Oakland first reared it's ugly head.

My mother, Nati Ramos, was literally born in this neighborhood. The midwife helped my grandmother give birth at the family home on 4th and Castro in 1931. Mami talks about the old neighborhood as though it's a long lost friend and our business was located down the street on 7th and Castro. She has a map in her head where she remembers where every family's home was located before it was torn down and the freeway overpasses where built in their place. She talks longingly of how she grew up during the Depression yet no one realized their family was poor since everyone worked hard and took care of each other simply because that was the right thing to do. My family chose to keep our business, La Borinqueña, in this area at our present location on 7th and Jefferson but remembers telling people to simply park outside and run in to buy their tamales, tortillas and pan dulce and NOT wander the neighborhood since it really was scary. The Loma Prieta earthquake and then the storm El Niño truly kept us on our toes as small business owners and wondering what kind of disaster, natural or created, was going to hit us next.

By this time, I had returned to working full time at our business and I was really questioning what I had gotten myself into. I decided I wanted to be part of this neighborhood and see if the potential of a real community existed. I longed to know what my mami remembered and if a different version could happen again. Before the condo buildings making up the "New" Old Oakland were built and pushed property taxes upward, I moved in at the end of 2000. My entire family including my own mother though I had lost my mind and questioned why I would want to live here. "CRAZY", they would all say to my face and I didn't care. The change was near, the renaissance promised decades ago by City planners and I wanted to see it for myself. Even the police in their patrol cars wondered what I was doing roaming these parts, alone most of the time, and followed me until they realized this neighborhood was both work and home. They would watch me skip up the steps, put the key in my house door and wave once I headed inside. I knew the change was here when I mentioned where home was and the question changed from, "Why do you live there?" to "How cool, that's where you live?"

But see, in order to know where I'm going, I need to remember where I've been. Even more important, recognize those who have traveled in time along with me. I know most of my life has existed in a very small radius but it's seeing the people, the places and sharing all of this with my neighbors and friends that has instilled pride in me for Oakland that is priceless and will always be mine. From time to time, I will write about what I remember and hopefully what it is now. Sometimes I'll do this here on my blog and other times in a different forum. Yesterday, my second small business profile for the OakBook online magazine came out. The small mom and pop shops, the underdogs, the folks doing what they do best and most of the time with little fanfare and barely a blip on a radar is who I identify with and what I plan on writing about. To read my article about Ray and his crew at Taylor's Sausage in my neighborhood (below) please click A Lost Art in Old Oakland

My Cock-a-Doodle Article in the OakBook online

Alex from OakBook stops by my shop every now and again to talk Oakland and drop off OakBooks for my customers. I mentioned that it would be cool to write for his publication sometime and he breaks down the deets for me. I sometimes find myself awake at really odd times and writing stuff has been a way for me to express myself in a different forum. If you know me in real life, well, it's no secret that I talk too much!

So, here Ladies and Gentleman, for your reading pleasure, my first official online article for a magazine! I heart Blanca's french toast but those empanadas de camarones are muy delicioso too.


The Rooster at Midnight

Who knows where this might go?

Oakland Local First Marketplace during TNL

Have you heard about the bi-monthy FREE live concert series in Old Oakland? We are already leading up to Session 5 in the series that takes place every 1st & 3rd Thursday at 9th & Washington Street. There is a stage and beverage tent and on the other side of the street is what is near and dear to me as a supporter of indie business.

Happening at the same time as Thursday Night Live is the Oakland Local First Marketplace co-sponsored by Oakland Events & Old Oakland Neighbors(OON). I am currently the co-chair & social coordinator for OON and the vendor coordinator for this unique Marketplace. The Marketplace will give locally owned businesses and local artists a venue to sell their wares to an eager audience, while at the same time promoting and educating Oaklanders about the importance of shopping locally. The Marketplace is a collaboration of Old Oakland businesses and restaurants, Oakland Artisans and local non-profits all working together to create a healthy
local living economy.

Do you know of a local indie biz or artisan that would like to participate? The vendor application is located here:
http://oaklandevents.net/docs/vendor_aps/va_thurs_old_oak.pdf

Are you a Lover of Oakland and eager to check out this new scene in the heart of Old Oakland? Stop by and say !Hola!, you'll find me staffing the Tamale Girl food booth at every date remaining including next August 7 from 5:30 - 9pm. Check out the other cool vendors and show some serious support for Oakland.

BTW, my Tamale Girl booth will also be at next weekends LakeFest '08 on Lakeshore Ave August 2 & 3 along with 79 other vendors, live music and a kiddie carnival.

Hope to see you soon!

TT