At the top of her first summer time camp, 11-year-old Naíma Arteaga was nervous concerning the final group exercise she must do: singing in a rock band and acting on stage in entrance of a giant viewers.
The process appears ridiculous, however Arteaga wasn’t at simply any camp: She was at Chicxs Rockerxs South East Los Angeles (pronounced cheek-ecks roh-kerr-ecks), the place women, trans, and gender-fluid youth be taught to play devices. , create bands with one another, write authentic songs, and carry out reside for an viewers at a showcase, all within the area of every week.
“Coming into that camp I used to be truthfully a bit extra shy,” stated Arteaga, now 18 and a camp volunteer. “I used to be nervous about singing, I simply did not really feel snug, however on the finish of the week it actually helped enhance my confidence, and actually helped me come out of my shell.”
A pictures exhibit of Chicano punk bands fashioned by the CRSELA program on the South Gate Museum.
(Michael Blackshire/Los Angeles Times)
Former campers like Arteaga will have a good time rock camp Saturday with a gap reception on the South Gate Museum and Art Gallery, the place a particular exhibit about CRSELA will likely be on show by Dec. 3. The exhibit highlights a decade of CRSELA historical past, that includes editorial images of scholars through the years, DIY flyers, camp art work, and archival objects that characterize colourful moments in kids’s musical journeys .
“It’s necessary to verify we use this area to spotlight and honor our communities,” stated Jennifer Mejia, cultural arts coordinator on the South Gate Museum and Art Gallery. “What Chicxs Rockerxs SELA has been doing for 10 years ought to be celebrated and seen.”
CRSELA was the brainchild in 2013 of a non-hierarchical collective of musicians impressed by Portland’s pioneering Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls and the bigger Girls Rock Camp organizations within the United States. CRSELA formally turned a non-profit group in 2014.
Museum coordinator Jennifer Mejia poses for a portrait with Chicxs Rockerxs memorabilia within the background on the South Gate Museum.
(Michael Blackshire/Los Angeles Times)
Like the opposite camps, CRSELA’s mission was to empower women by musical self-expression, nevertheless, CRSELA sought to make the camp extra accessible to low-income households, particularly since different camps required excessive tuition. At CRSELA, donations from the general public cowl the prices of this system for every pupil.
“Chicxs Rockerxs are tuition-free and when you’ve got these taxes it discourages individuals, so (rock camp) was one thing they undoubtedly wished to carry to their communities,” stated Priscilla Hernandez, an organizer with CRSELA.
The camp additionally wished to make the expertise extra inclusive for traditionally disenfranchised neighborhoods all through South Los Angeles. That attracted Hernandez, who as a young person in 2013, obtained a scholarship to attend a Girls Rock Camp in one other metropolis. She had a constructive expertise, however says she was conscious of the plain proven fact that few campers shared her background.
“I undoubtedly did not see lots of people that regarded like me there,” Hernandez stated.
After reaching the age restrict at Girls Rock Camp, Hernandez puzzled what to do subsequent. She heard about CRSELA and felt aligned with its values, so she determined to hitch in 2017 as a volunteer, educating bass to college students. She finally turned an official organizer, a “Comx” (pronounced cohm-ecks) as their group calls them, a gender-neutral model of the Spanish phrase “Comadre,” which interprets to “godmother.”
Miles Recio, from left, Priscilla Hernandez, Angie Barrera and Vikki Gutman pose on the South Gate Museum.
(Michael Blackshire/Los Angeles Times)
“The message actually resonated with me after I was getting older out of the (Girls Rock) camp, (CRSELA) wished to include plenty of issues about Latinidad and items that had been in Spanish, and that was one thing that wasn’t a part of the opposite camps,” she stated Hernandez.
Programming for the South East LA camp goes past music training. Children participate in a variety of artwork workshops to specific their creativity, corresponding to zine making and display screen printing. During lunch they’re visited by drag queens and native teams who carry out for the kids to supply video games and leisure.
The college students who entry this system are divided into two teams: the Bidi Bidis and the Bom Bom. The nicknames on the 2 charts pay homage to the tune “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom” by Tejano legend Selena Quintanilla. The Bidi Bidi are made up of kids aged 8 to 11, whereas the Bom Bom are made up of kids aged 12 to 17. When Arteaga joined CRSELA as a pupil in 2017 (the identical yr Hernandez turned a volunteer), she was a part of the Bidi Bidi, and despite the fact that she was joined by youngsters youthful than her, Arteaga stated that did not diminish the expertise. The band allowed her to find her self-worth and energy.
“The second my band and I hit the stage, I felt like I used to be a special individual,” the CRSELA alumnus stated. “My mother and father even informed me they had been like, ‘Wow,’ as a result of that they had by no means seen me like this earlier than. I do not know what occurred, I used to be simply doing my factor up there.
Miles Recio poses for a portrait with Chicxs Rockerx memorabilia on the South Gate Museum.
(Michael Blackshire/Los Angeles Times)
This was a turning level for Arteaga, who felt compelled to enroll each summer time thereafter. He additionally tried his hand on the drums, which he ended up loving a lot that he by no means stopped enjoying them. In 2023, he reached his ultimate yr as an eligible camper. Determined to profit from it, she created what she says was her “finest” band – a punk band together with her cousin, one other Bom Bom – however her commencement from this system was bittersweet, and Arteaga admits she cried instantly after showcase. .
“I beloved the camp a lot, I did not need that feeling to finish, I’m pleased to nonetheless have the chance to come back again as a volunteer, however it was very heartbreaking for me,” she stated.
At the tenth annual camp final July, Arteaga accomplished his first yr as a volunteer band trainer with the Bidi Bidis, the identical group he began with seven years in the past. He hopes to recreate his RV expertise for others and proceed to propagate CRSELA’s work in Los Angeles
“It modified my life and had a huge impact on me. I really feel prefer it’s essential to maintain (CRSELA) round as a result of there’s loads occurring on this planet and also you by no means know what is going on on in somebody’s house or in your neighborhood, it is a technique to get away from all of it and a technique to escape actuality,” Arteaga stated. “This is the right place for individuals who wish to be taught extra about themselves, be taught extra about music, meet individuals. It’s an incredible place for anybody to remain.
