VARRIO ALPINE RIFA

VARRIO ALPINE RIFA V.A.R. Est. 1890s West Side Los Angeles Although the City of Angels skyline may appear to be built atop a flat area, in fact, many low to mid-size hills (lomas) were razed to build the modern metropolis. One of the most iconic hillside areas of Los Angeles is none other than the Elysian Hills - (Las Animas, as was once oldenly known by the locals) - overlooking downtown from the north east as you come in from the river side; where Dodgers stadium sits atop crowning the city. This Stadium was opened for Play Ball in 1962, but before that took place, city planners and powers-to-be had to evict people from the 3 "east side" barrios of Chavez Ravine known as Palos Verdes (La Alpine), La Bishop, and La Loma (Solano Canyon), and these folks were promised housing in the form of the supposed "Elysian Park Heights" Housing Projects that never materialized, and after their homes had been bulldozed to make way for parking spaces and stadium roadways, they had to disperse through out; nevertheless their genealogy remains in the bloodlines of our Los Angeles ethnic ancestry and also in our neighborhoods historical folklore. In terms of Chicano Varrios Legendary Lore, Elysian Hills has produced some of the most oldest and renown, such as Echo Park, la Loma and Alpine. In this particular case, my emphasis is none other than VARRIO ALPINE RIFA which began life way back in time, way back in the late 1880's, way back when the street wasn't even called Alpine, it was named Calle de La Eternidad (Eternity Street) because it led up the hills to the cemetery; hence the name of elysian for paradise, as in rest in peace. Back in the 1880/90's all the streets of central L.A. had diff names, like Calle Principal became Main Street, Fortin became Broadway, Calle Primavera was Spring Street, Calle Roma became Hill, Calle Esperanza became Hope, and Figueroa was called Calle de Los Chapulines for the grasshopper filled hills, so on and so forth. Alpine was said to have started out with the name of Billy's Hill gang in the neighborhood which in those times was known as Palos Verdes, quien sabe? Alpine Street was early on documented in Los Angeles newspapers and police records as a mixed ethnic boys gang, which included Italians, Irish and Mexicans. Alpine beefed it with other gangs from around like from Sonoratown, Dogtown, and Frenchtown. By the Roaring 1920's, the Alpine neighborhood boys had began to transform into the new street gang style, and it was straight up older veteranos of the old crowd in their age of twenties from around the vicinity of Alpine and Cleveland Streets who officially took the gang into the pachuco (folk devil) zoot suit era of the 1930's. The White-Anglo society used the term folk devils because it was said that the only angels in L.A. were fallen angels - puro diablos pachucos. In the mid-1930's, somebody, in a terrorist act, is said to have burned down the old Chinatown which was located just east of La Plazita Olvera on Alameda, where later they built Union Station over it, and afterwards the Asian folks were relocated to nearby Little Italy and Sonoratown where over time they began to displace and outgrow the other ethnic groups in the area, including los vatos locos de La Alpine. In 1939, Alpine is documented as having taking full part in what were termed as the Happy Valley Gang Wars, recorded together with all the other olden barrio gangs from around. Alpine used to get it on heavy with vatos from Dog Town, from La Macy, from La Temple, from La Clanton y La Clover. In the summer of 1943, los vatos from La Alpine set it off with what has historically been erroneously termed as the zoot suit riots (read about it). The Alpine gang at this time had already different sets within, some referred to them as the Lower and Upper Alpines, and each had their own sub-sets. The Lower Alpines were centered around Alpine and Beaudry Avenue, and the Upper Alpines were centered at Alpine and Bartlett Street. By the end of the 40's decade the cruising at Whittier Blvd in East LA was already happening, and Alpine was there, together with raza from all over, from La Mateo, La Hunter, Los Flats and so many more. La Alpine continued making headlines and made the big ranks in Mexican Mafia (Sureno) politics, going through the motions and doing heavy things through the 1950's and 60's. But by the end of the 1970's, their numbers had began to be affected by the large influx of Asians to the neighborhood. Law enforcement also put a bulls eye on their backs, since they were still very notorious, and also one of the last original gangs in L.A., but k.i.a's, incarceration's, dope, gentrification, and so many other factors took a toll on the varrio, and by the mid-1980's, it had ceased to be a force to be reckoned with on the streets. By the 1990's, they were few still living in the neighborhood, their last documented fallen one is recorded as an unidentified veterano with VARRIO ALPINE tattooed on his stomach, found murdered in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, 2012. Their old varrio is today referred to as China Town and it's now controlled by an Asian gang called Oriental Lazy Boys. It is tough to see or hear about an old barrio going by the wayside, especially one with so much history like ALPINE STREET. Con Todo Respeto