A Voice in the NELA Wilderness – BoulevardSentinel.com

I was famished and needed lunch. I was on Daly Street in Lincoln Heights and ducked into a nearby Mexican restaurant I’d never noticed before – Melas Cocina Mexicana. Small benches were out on the sidewalk. A lone guitarist played for the passersby.

Once inside, I met the friendly and gregarious owner, Daniel Diaz, and his brother, Samuel, who also works at the restaurant. I felt as if I’d come back to my family home.

And the food is really good, too.

Luahona, the Nyerges’ beloved dog, in 2006 | Photo by Christopher Nyerges

For the Love of Dogs

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“Our dog Luahona was getting old and had cancer and other conditions. The vet told us that we could improve her diet and give her special nutrients, which we did, but the vet also advised that it might be “kindest” to euthanize Luahona. Of course, we were not going to do that.’ Let Christopher Nyerges tell you more about that. Read on.

Dominique Derouen owner of “Soft Humans Vintage” in Highland Park, wearing the T-shirt of an English neo-psychedelia band from the ’80s and holding an original Ellie Levy ceramic bowl. | Photo by Christopher Nyerges

If you’re looking to buy-nothing-new, look to Soft Humans Vintage, Dominique Derouen’s shop and flea market in Highland Park

02/01/202202/12/2022 Christopher Nyerges17601 Comment

By Christopher Nyerges

Since opening “Soft Humans” in Highland Park three years ago, Dominique Derouen has gained a near cult following for the shop’s vintage clothing and kitchen wares, vinyl records and music memorabilia, as well as its twice monthly flea market. It might work for you! Check out why here.

When he’s not in the dojo, black belt Angelo Cervera trains and teaches outside. - Photo by Christopher Nyerges

At the Eagle Rock Dojo with Angelo Cervera

03/21/202003/25/2020 47181 Comment

Learn the basics of Martial Arts in Eagle Rock’s Arnott Kenpo. Chris Nyerges will tell you about one of the area’s best instructors.

Photo by la.curbed.com

Bycyclists and Hurricanes – Bringing out the best and worst in mankind

02/12/2020 4046

What do bicycling in Los Angeles and hurricanes have in common? Chris Nyerges will give you food for thought on both. Read on.

Cooking the Native Way

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The Milagro Allegro Community Garden in Highland Park is indeed a happy place. Will it stay happy after Oscar Duarto moves on? Here’s the story. . . . .

Oscar Duardo in front of amaranth plants in the Milagro Allegro Community Garden in Highland Park. Photo by Christopher Nyerges

The Miracle Garden of Oscar Duardo

12/01/2019 5116

The Milagro Allegro Community Garden in Highland Park is indeed a happy place. Will it stay happy after Oscar Duarto moves on? Here’s the story. . . . .

Place of wonder: The Pyramid of the Sun, Mexico

What I Saw in Inner Space

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“What was I destined to do?” I thought at the top of the pyramid. Who hasn’t asked this question?

The Wilderness Workshop of Janice Cooney

09/28/2019 5156

Hiking and backpacking require gear – boots, sleeping bags, tents, tarps, packs of all sizes – which all eventually require repair. Wilderness Workshop, in Eagle Rock can fix it all.

A Music Samurai Plays in Highland Park

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Goh Kurosawa, a singer-musician-artist born in Maebashi, Japan and now residing in Highland Park, is known for one-man shows he performs with his guitar, nicknamed “Honey Beast.” He’ll be back playing at the Highland Park Farmers Market. For more at Goh, read on.

John Zender at one of his murals in Highland Park. | Photo by Christopher Nyerges

Muralist John Zender Seeks “Triunity” in His Current Work

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Highland Park muralist John Zender studied fine arts at Otis Art Institute and produced many works over decades. Here he is with one of his murals. Check out one of his fine oil paintings here too.

Nuts and Berries of California

06/29/2019 43761 Comment

A Voice in the NELA Wilderness by Christopher Nyerges NELA’s landscape has an amazing mix of native and non-native vegetation. Both types have had important roles in our rich horticultural and agricultural history. For example, native nuts and berries – black walnuts, pine nuts, blackberries, wild strawberries, to name a few – have long histories […]

Photo | Google Image

The Longest Straw: A Film by Samantha Bode

06/01/201906/01/2019 56672 Comments

When filmmaker Samantha Bode learned that a 338-mile aqueduct brings water into Los Angeles, she decided impulsively to see it for herself by walking its entire length – from the Cascades in Sylmar at the southern terminus of the aqueduct to Mono Lake, 338 miles to the north. The result is a documentary film, The Longest Straw – a close-up look at the environmental impacts of what it takes to keep L.A. alive.

Photo | Google Image

Low Cost Ways to Prepare for the Big One

04/28/201904/28/2019 4319

There have been no major earthquakes in Los Angeles in quite a while. But the danger is ever present. The way to cope is to be prepared.At WTI, a local nonprofit that teaches survival skills, earthquake preparedness has been in the curriculum for nearly 40 years.

The drainage pipe installed on Yosemite Drive prevented flooding, but also caused the creek that once ran there to disappear. USC Digital archive

Water in NELA – Where Water Once Flowed

04/01/201904/07/2019 58793 Comments

Much of our recent rainfall has flowed out to the ocean, uncaptured and unused. But it was not always this way. Up until the 1930s, water flowed throughout the area we now know as Northeast Los Angeles.

Recycling the Rain

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by Christopher Nyerges During the recent rains, my neighbor, Carol Kampe, collected enough water to irrigate her fruit trees and other plants clear through August. She estimates the savings on her water bill to be about $300 a month. “But I don’t do this for economic reasons,” says Kampe. “I do it because we live […]

The Allure of Wild Mushrooms

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A Voice in the NELA Wildernessby Christopher Nyerges With the recent rains, I have gone in search of mushrooms in wild and not-so-wild spots in NELA and the Arroyo Seco.My study of mycology began in the ’70’s. I wanted to try every wild mushroom I could find until I learned the meaning of the phrase […]

Zero Waste: An Idea Whose Time is Now

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A Voice in the NELA Wilderness by Christopher Nyerges It is sad but true that only a small fraction of discarded materials is recycled, while the rest goes to landfills or incinerators or winds up as immense floating plastic islands in the ocean. Leslie VanKeuren Campbell, a regular at the Old L.A. Farmers Market in […]

A Voice in the NELA Wilderness: Flamenco-Fusion Out of Highland Park

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I’ve observed what happens when David Holguin, 27, starts to play his guitar. People stop and listen – and then they stay, waiting for another song. “That’s the kind of music we need more of,” said one man who recently stopped to listen to Holguin at the Old L.A. Farmers Market in Highland Park. Holguin, […]

A Voice in the NELA Wilderness: One Man’s Quest to Revive the Dying Art of Basketmaking

11/03/201811/03/2018 41641 Comment

Some 20 years ago, I saw a photograph of Justin Farmer in the Southwest Museum in Highland Park. In the photo, Farmer is holding a traditional long bow. I have never forgotten it. Farmer is not primarily known for his bow-making, though that is one of his many skills. Farmer is best known for his […]

A Voice in the NELA Wilderness: Revered Elder of Highland Park Spreads Music and Well-being

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A recent Monday night found me at Colombo’s restaurant on Colorado Blvd. in Eagle Rock, listening to Tom Trujillo playing jazz on the guitar with a few other musicians. Trujillo also sang and played the drums before the set was over. Trujillo, whom I have known for more than 40 years, is a born, all-around […]

A Voice in the NELA Wilderness: Soil from Coffee Grounds, Water from the Air Conditioner

07/29/2018 33872 Comments

I recently noticed a new flower bed behind Antigua Bread, the coffeehouse/bakery at 5703 N. Figueroa St. Where there once had been weeds and trash was a beautiful wood-framed garden bed, approximately 6-by-6 feet, with colorful flowers, some vegetables – and a five-gallon plastic bucket strapped to a tall wooden pole and connected by a […]

A Voice in the NELA Wilderness: The Delicious Nettle

04/29/2018 34921 Comment

This spring, I have collected a lot of chickweed, mallow, hedge mustard and nettle. Most of it I dry. I use the powdered chickweed in an insect repellent, the mallow for a mild cough remedy and hedge mustard to make a spicy powder to add to dishes. But nettle is the plant I can never […]

A Voice in the NELA Wilderness: The Art and Craft of Sharpening a Knife

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I met Julio Toruno recently at the Old L.A. (Highland Park) Farmers Market, where he works on Tuesdays from the back of his truck, sharpening knives on a whetstone. Just by watching him, I could tell he epitomizes “old school” craftsmanship. I approached him as he was sharpening a large kitchen knife and I could […]

A Voice in the NELA Wilderness:Grow Your Own Oyster Mushrooms

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Matt Heidrich of Highland Park loves oyster mushrooms – so much, in fact, that he has mastered the intricate art and science of home cultivation. I visited him recently and learned a lot. Oyster mushrooms grow on the sides of old and dying trees; in the Arroyo Seco, they commonly grow on willows and cottonwoods. […]

A Voice in the NELA Wilderness: Thinking About Public Space

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Many years ago, a developer wanted to build a tall apartment at the base of the Eagle Rock that would have blocked the view of that local landmark. The town said “no,” and instead, the land was purchased by the City of Los Angeles and turned into a park. It was a dramatic example of […]

A Voice in the NELA Wilderness: How Does Your Drought-Resistant Garden Grow?

03/13/201803/31/2018 35031 Comment

State water officials recently toyed with the idea of reinstating drought-era water rules and making them permanent. In the end, they didn’t act. But rules or no rules, it behooves all of us to find and practice a lifestyle of water conservation. Northeast Los Angeles is part of a coastal desert plain, with enough local […]

A Voice in the NELA Wilderness: Camping on Zero Dollars a Day

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Camping in the hills of NELA was a big deal when I was a boy and looking back, I realize it was a no-budget activity. Today, I don’t mind spending money on an item if I know it’s the best and if my life may depend on it. But I still like to go as […]

Category: A Voice in the NELA Wilderness

Melas Cocina Mexicana: The food is great, but it’s about more than that