Elson Trinidad
Website:
About Me:
Elson Trinidad is the Filipino kid who grew up listening to black music in an Armenian neighborhood where people spoke Spanish and ate Thai food. A native Angeleno with a penchant for creativity and community, his weapons of choice include a microphone, a piano, a laptop, and a shovel.
Writes the "Transpacific Routes" column on the waves and currents of So Cal's Asian/Pacific Islander communities, and the "Concrete and Chaparral" column on our local urban and native ecosystems.
Favorite KCET Show:
Huell, Globe Trekker, NHK Newsline's weather forecast when they play that soothing song.
Twitter:
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My KCET.org Activities
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Having grown up just a few miles away, the park has been part of my life since I was an infant. I thought I knew Griffith Park, yet there was much more left to discover.
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What is certain will be our demographics: Los Angeles County's population will be predominately Latino and Asian.
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A place that many deride as "The Hood" or "The Ghetto" can still yield the most pleasant surprises.
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The purpose of the video at UC Irvine was innocent enough -- that is, until one of the members performed in blackface.
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Libraries are learning institutions. Albeit indirectly, I learned about California native plants through my local library, and the learning continues today.
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The team only stopped wearing the names on the backs of their jerseys for two seasons (the minimum required time for a uniform change). I hope you're aware that Davey Lopes is back with the team, this time as their...
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Long Beach resident and community organizer Marin Yann has decided, after an entire decade of writing about it, to tell his story.
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Do yourself a favor, and go to the Owens River Valley to see where your water actually originates.
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Only in America could people whose heritage hails from within and around the world's largest continent be considered a single demographic group.
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It was 425 years ago on this day that the first Filipinos arrived in what is now the United States on a Spanish galleon near Morro Bay, CA -- some 33 years before Pilgrims from England arrived at Plymouth Rock.
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Ryan Suda, owner of Torrance-based Asian American t-shirt company Blacklava. | Photo: Elson Trinidad "I SPEAK ENGLISH." "GOOD ASIAN DRIVER." "I SUCK AT MATH." "I WILL NOT LOVE YOU LONG TIME." These are all satirical phrases boldly emblazoned on t-shirts...
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Singapore had the exact problem we had back in the 1950s-1960s; illegal food vending was rampant, ubiquitous, yet still in demand by the public. They solved the problem by establishing outdoor food courts known as "hawker centres" which contain sanitation...
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Tucked away in northern Hawthorne, a small but active Tongan community flourishes like nowhere else in the Southland.
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Ethnic communities are actually named so more due to nationality and linguistics than solely ethnicity per se -- it's only because for the most part, nationality and ethnicity are interchangeable terms when it comes to immigrant groups. Case in point:...
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On any given night, restaurant tables are filled, cash registers ring, and empty street parking spaces are nonexistent. But Thai Town still faces some big challenges.
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Cultural festivals are an integral part of the Southern California ethnic dynamic.
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It has long been the (Asian) American Dream to be well-represented and recognized in the mainstream, most particularly within the entertainment industry. Then, this summer, something happened.
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In 21st century America, Korean culture is emerging into the mainstream, yet it still remains a mystery to most Americans.
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Well-refrigerated, it's the perfect beverage on hot summer days like these. Until I saw it: A large Hollywood office building swaddled in oversized advertising wrap featuring pop singer Rihanna, hawking... coconut water.
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"I don't know why this happened. We don't believe in aggression. We don't believe in violence."
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Hi-Fi still doesn't quite have the visible cultural impact that its fellow Asian designated communities possess, but it's not a lost cause.
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What's also interesting about the Balikbayan Box is that other immigrant cultures have adopted their own version of it; at LAX, I see passengers bound for Guatemala or El Salvador check in large cardboard cubes -- packed in packing tape...
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Commented on Filipinos are the Minority in Historic Filipinotown and L.A.'s Japanese Population in Steady Decline
in Land of SunshineTrue, but this situation is hardly unique to Historic Filipinotown. Koreatown's population is only 33% Asian (and that statistic also includes Filipinos, Chinese, Bangladeshis and Mongolians *in addition to* Koreans). Thai Town's population is majority Latino and Armenian. So statistically... -
In theory, I think every Angeleno would support a larger city council that represents more districts in the city with a smaller individual populace. In practice, though, the assumed cost of additional field offices, staff, expenses and councilmember salaries (even...
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CicLAvia is many things to many people, but the biggest thing that makes me smile are the sight of parents walking or biking in the middle of the street alongside their smiling young children in small bikes with training wheels....
Recent Actions from Elson Trinidad
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The team only stopped wearing the names on the backs of their jerseys for two seasons (the minimum required time for a uniform change). I hope you're aware that Davey Lopes is back with the team, this time as their...
-
Singapore had the exact problem we had back in the 1950s-1960s; illegal food vending was rampant, ubiquitous, yet still in demand by the public. They solved the problem by establishing outdoor food courts known as "hawker centres" which contain sanitation...
-
Ethnic communities are actually named so more due to nationality and linguistics than solely ethnicity per se -- it's only because for the most part, nationality and ethnicity are interchangeable terms when it comes to immigrant groups. Case in point:...
-
What's also interesting about the Balikbayan Box is that other immigrant cultures have adopted their own version of it; at LAX, I see passengers bound for Guatemala or El Salvador check in large cardboard cubes -- packed in packing tape...
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Commented on Filipinos are the Minority in Historic Filipinotown and L.A.'s Japanese Population in Steady Decline
in Land of SunshineTrue, but this situation is hardly unique to Historic Filipinotown. Koreatown's population is only 33% Asian (and that statistic also includes Filipinos, Chinese, Bangladeshis and Mongolians *in addition to* Koreans). Thai Town's population is majority Latino and Armenian. So statistically... -
In theory, I think every Angeleno would support a larger city council that represents more districts in the city with a smaller individual populace. In practice, though, the assumed cost of additional field offices, staff, expenses and councilmember salaries (even...
-
CicLAvia is many things to many people, but the biggest thing that makes me smile are the sight of parents walking or biking in the middle of the street alongside their smiling young children in small bikes with training wheels....
Responses to Comments from Elson Trinidad
No recommendations yet.
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Having grown up just a few miles away, the park has been part of my life since I was an infant. I thought I knew Griffith Park, yet there was much more left to discover.
-
What is certain will be our demographics: Los Angeles County's population will be predominately Latino and Asian.
-
A place that many deride as "The Hood" or "The Ghetto" can still yield the most pleasant surprises.
-
The purpose of the video at UC Irvine was innocent enough -- that is, until one of the members performed in blackface.
-
Libraries are learning institutions. Albeit indirectly, I learned about California native plants through my local library, and the learning continues today.
-
Long Beach resident and community organizer Marin Yann has decided, after an entire decade of writing about it, to tell his story.
-
Do yourself a favor, and go to the Owens River Valley to see where your water actually originates.
-
Only in America could people whose heritage hails from within and around the world's largest continent be considered a single demographic group.
-
It was 425 years ago on this day that the first Filipinos arrived in what is now the United States on a Spanish galleon near Morro Bay, CA -- some 33 years before Pilgrims from England arrived at Plymouth Rock.
-
Ryan Suda, owner of Torrance-based Asian American t-shirt company Blacklava. | Photo: Elson Trinidad "I SPEAK ENGLISH." "GOOD ASIAN DRIVER." "I SUCK AT MATH." "I WILL NOT LOVE YOU LONG TIME." These are all satirical phrases boldly emblazoned on t-shirts...
