The Los Angeles Lineup
Founded in 1781 by 44 Mexican settlers, two thirds of them mixed African, indigenous, and European. Mexican territory until 1848. Then America took the deed but never took the culture. From Whittier Boulevard to the 818, LA has always been Mexican American.
Los Angeles was founded September 4, 1781 by 44 settlers called Los Pobladores. Two thirds of them were of mixed African, indigenous, and European ancestry. Mexican settlers, recruited from Sinaloa and Sonora. The original name was El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles.
The land was Mexican territory from 1821 until the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The last Mexican governor of Alta California, Pío Pico, made LA the regional capital. Then the border crossed us. The city changed hands. The culture did not.
East LA's Whittier Boulevard was the original lowrider cruise mecca, peaking in the 1970s. Mexican American car clubs like In Crowd, Dirty Boys, Orpheus, New Life, Sons of Soul, and East Crowd cruised weekend nights. The Chicano Movement of the 1970s gave lowriders political weight. Low and slow was direct opposition to the mainstream hot rod culture.
Lowriding was illegal under California Vehicle Code from 1958 to 2023. Sixty five years of criminalized Chicano expression. Repealed in 2023. The boulevard never stopped. The pride never stopped.
The LA Original Tee carries an ornate LA monogram with hidden saints worked into the letters. Rich brown Pro Club heavyweight cotton. From Venice to Boyle Heights to Echo Park to the 818. From the pobladores to the present.
$28 from S to XL. $32 for 2XL through 5XL.
Premium Pro Club heavyweight tees built for the people who never left where they came from. Pacoima. San Fernando. Canoga Park. Van Nuys. North Hollywood. LA.
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