No Enclave — Exploring Nepali Los Angeles

INTRODUCTION TO NEPALI LOS ANGELES As of 2010, there were only 6,231 Nepali-Americans living in California. However, after Bhutanese, Nepalis make up the second fastest growing population of South Asian immigrants in the US, spurred in large part by the Nepalese Civil War. Although most have so far settled in New York, Washington, DC, Texas, Boston, Somerville, … Continue reading No Enclave — Exploring Nepali Los Angeles

Pan-Asian Metropolis — Asian Chain Restaurants in Los Angeles

For the self-congratulatory members of the cult of culinary authenticity, starvation is preferable to eating at a chain restaurant. Fast food in particular, with its industrial model of production, is the profane opposite of "artisanal." The apparent mission of the chain --  to appeal to as many people as possible -- is anathema to the foodieโ€™s pornographic fetishization … Continue reading Pan-Asian Metropolis — Asian Chain Restaurants in Los Angeles

No Enclave — Exploring Pakistani Los Angeles

Los Angeles is home to a large population of Pakistani-Americans, second in size only to the New York-New Jersey area, but the population is fairly diffuse and there is no Little Pakistan, official or unofficial. For this episode of No Enclave, I explore Pakistani-Los Angeles and Southern California. Pakistan is a nation in South Asia. … Continue reading No Enclave — Exploring Pakistani Los Angeles

No Enclave — Exploring Indonesian Los Angeles

Diversity has long been part of the fabric of Los Angeles and Southern California. Humans first arrived here at least 13,000 years ago and more than twenty Native American nations made their home here before the Spanish Conquest. The Spanish pueblo of Los Angeles was itself founded by people of Native, African, European, and mixed ancestries and … Continue reading No Enclave — Exploring Indonesian Los Angeles

No Enclave — Exploring Hawaiian Los Angeles

Diversity has long been part of the fabric of Los Angeles and Southern California. Humans first arrived here at least 13,000 years ago and more than twenty Native American nations made their home here before the Spanish Conquest. The Spanish pueblo of Los Angeles was itself founded by people of Native, African, European, and mixed ancestries and … Continue reading No Enclave — Exploring Hawaiian Los Angeles

No Enclave โ€” Exploring Burmese Los Angeles

In 2010, 100,200 Burmese were counted by the US census and 15% of them lived in California. What "Burmese" means is slightly more complicated than it seems. Although โ€œBurmeseโ€ refers to any citizen of Burma/Myanmar, regardless of ethnicity, the concept is closed entwined with that country's dominant Bamar ethnic group (from whom both โ€œBurmaโ€ and โ€œMyanmarโ€ are both derived). … Continue reading No Enclave โ€” Exploring Burmese Los Angeles

Pan-Asian Metropolis — An Introduction to the Asian Pacific Islander Communities of the Southland

Diversity has long been part of the fabric of Los Angeles and Southern California. Humans first arrived hereย at least 13,000 years ago and more thanย twenty Native American nations made their home here before the Spanish Conquest. The Spanish pueblo of Los Angeles was itself founded by people of Native, African, European, and mixed ancestries and … Continue reading Pan-Asian Metropolis — An Introduction to the Asian Pacific Islander Communities of the Southland

No Enclave โ€” Exploring Taiwanese Los Angeles

Diversity has long been part of the fabric of Los Angeles and Southern California. Humans first arrived here at least 13,000 years ago and more than twenty Native American nations made their home here before the Spanish Conquest. The Spanish pueblo of Los Angeles was itself founded by people of Native, African, European, and mixed ancestries and … Continue reading No Enclave โ€” Exploring Taiwanese Los Angeles

California Fool’s Gold — Visiting Little Saigon

VISITING LITTLE SAIGON -- HAPPY ASIAN-PACIFIC AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH Southern California is home to several ethnic enclaves and since the region's largest and fastest-growing racial minority are Asian, perhaps it's not surprising that most of the recognized neighborhoods are specific to various Asian populations. In Los Angeles County there's Cambodia Town, Chinatown, Filipinotown, Koreatown, Little … Continue reading California Fool’s Gold — Visiting Little Saigon

The Filipino New School Freestyle Revival

Freestyle is a type of dance-pop music that evolved from Hi-NRG, Electro, and Hip-Hop in the early 1980sโ€” primarily in New York City and specifically the South Bronx. Due to the ethnic and musicological background of some of its producers, performers and many of its fans, Freestyle was originally often referred to as Latin Hip-Hop. … Continue reading The Filipino New School Freestyle Revival