Throwback roller skates is the latest trend in the Harbor Area

(Photo provided by Beach Cities Roller Derby, Credit: Jay Mungia)

Soccer, baseball and even racket ball are all familiar sports commonly played in Wilmington, but roller derby?

Shayna Meikle, coach and founder of Beach Cities Roller Derby, is on a mission to change that by introducing the unconventional sport to inner cities. Originally from Harbor City and alumni of Narbonne High School 27-year-old Meikle discovered roller derby during her college years at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), but she never imagined it would become her full-time gig.

After receiving her bachelors from UCSC in 2010 she returned to Los Angeles where she taught 7^th grade science, but on the side continued her derby hobby. Practice really did lead to perfection for Meikle, who goes by the derby nickname "Pigeon." After mastering the sport in a blink of an eye she was traveling the world to compete against the best derby athletes.

The sport is no longer her hobby it is her life, last year launching her own league, Beach Cities Roller Derby, which has four teams and about 100 skaters.

Now she’s hoping to introduce and recruit derby athletes from Wilmington.

1. When did you get your first pair of roller skates?

 My first pair of roller skates was just after I tried out for the Santa Cruz Roller Derby team in October 2007. I had used rental skates for the tryouts and fell in love instantly so I bought myself $300 skates as an early Christmas present...and 6 years later those top of the line skates are still working great!

2. Is roller derby your full-time job?

I was a 7th grade Science teacher in South East LA. I do not teach anymore.  I would still be teaching if my side gig (roller derby) didn’t have so many great opportunities for me and for my community. I loved my students and 11-14 year olds are fun and interesting, but I saw that my influence can be much greater than the four walls of the classroom. I saw that through roller derby I can influence the lives of so many adults as well as kids (we have a junior derby program as well). It seems that influencing adults is something that drives me, partly because I am an adult myself, but also because there are very little opportunities for adults to be inspired, be active, have fun, compared to our younger counterparts. 

3. What made you decide to take this new adventure of roller derby?

I don’t really feel like it was a decision, I feel like it was just the natural path for me. I knew that if anyone could run an effective, sustainable and influential league it was me. 

4. Roller derby seems pretty aggressive, can you talk about the technicalities of the sport for people who don't know what roller derby is?

Roller derby has two types of players, Blockers and Jammers. One Jammer on the track for each team and she is the only skater for her team who can score points. There are 4 blockers on the track who are trying to stop the other teams Jammer because every time Jammer passes a player from the opposing team she scores one point. Blockers can attempt to deter or stop the Jammers by using legal blocks. Legal blocks consist of booty bumps, hip checks and multiple player wall formations. There is no grabbing, hitting, pushing, it’s all with the booty!

There are two minute rounds called jams where each jam has a different line up from each team. After two 30 minute halves the team with the highest points wins!

(Photo provided by Beach Cities Roller Derby)

5. What makes roller derby so unique than other sport?

Well first, it is the only female dominated sport in the world. Yay!

You also play on roller skates and have skate names. Roller derby is a very mental game and strategies are a big thing, but the cool thing about roller derby is that it’s in the only sport in the world where you can play offense and defense at the same time.   

6. Where did the nickname "Pigeon" come from?

 I chose Pigeon for a few reasons. It’s a cute word (cute is more my style) and also Pigeons are very intelligent and underestimated. They used to be one of the main sources of communication before modern technology (Carrier Pigeons). Also Pigeons are actually Doves (Rock Doves to be precise) which means so much in itself. Pigeons are special and beautiful but people think they are nasty because they live in cities. People think pigeons live in cities because they are scavengers like rats and raccoons, but the honest truth is that pigeons are in cities because the houses and buildings humans erect mimic their natural habitat, almost perfectly.

On top of all that, you see pigeons all the time. It might be one of the few things that you see every single day of your life. I think that is pretty cool. 

7. This is definitely not a sport seen in inner cities like Wilmington, why do you want to recruit from the Harbor Area?

The Harbor Area is my home. I was raised in Harbor City, what more can I say!?

Like I mentioned earlier, roller derby influences the lives of adults. It brings the community together and forms another community all in its own. One of my main goals here with Beach Cities Roller Derby is to bring the South Bay together as a whole community rather than a large area with small communities scattered about that don’t really interact with each other.  The Harbor City/Wilmington/Carson area are largely underrepresented in our league as of now (besides myself and our Carson native skater, SweetPea Felony) so I decided to branch out first by finding a location in the area to hold one of our practices and then by reaching out to the community itself to get more Harbor Area folks involved. I am lucky to be living with two Wilmington natives to make this task much more accessible and hopefully successful.

8. What's you're ultimate goal in the roller derby world? 

You will hear often that "roller derby saved my life" or "I don’t know what dark place I would be in if I hadn’t found roller derby," and to be honest it is quite true. Not of me but many people have a huge need for something in their lives, to fill in the void or to give them something that is just for them.

 A place where they can be creative, where they can push themselves to be better, mentally and physically, and where they can have fun. Roller Derby does just that. We have a large community of all types of people, all ages, all genders, all ethnicity, and all economic backgrounds. It is very unique and I can’t help but want to share it with all of the South Bay and make it one big bad ass group of folks who continue to positively influence each others life for the better.

If you’re interested in learning more about Beach Cities Roller Derby and possibly join their league contact them at beachcitiesrollerderby@gmail.com

“Like” them on Facebook and follow on Twitter @BCRDsouthbay to receive the latest updates.

Nuclear Plant Possibly Restarting Despite Needing Repairs

San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons)

A nuclear plant about 50 miles away from Wilmington residents is gambling with the safety of millions of lives by proposing to restart despite it needing $317 million in repairs.

The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) is a nuclear power plant located on the Pacific coast of California near San Clemente.

The plant was shut down in January after discovering a small radioactive steam leak at one of its two reactors that indicated accelerated degradation of tubes in the plant's new steam generators, reported Reuters.

Last month the owner submitted an experimental plan to restart one of its reactors, Unit 2. The leak occurred in the Unit 3 reactor, which is closed indefinitely.

Edison has topped $317 million in repairs and their efforts to restart the reactor faces opposition from environmental groups and community members who say the plan could endanger eight million nearby residents.

Community members and environmentalist are demanding a public hearing and the Los Angeles City Council has until this Friday to act before the year is through to urge a resolution.

“Edison is pushing hard to get Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approval for what amounts to a reckless experiment with the lives and livelihoods of the 8.4 million people who live within 50 miles of San Onofre,” said Damon Moglen, energy and climate director for Friends of the Earth.

“This critical matter should not be considered in another informal meeting, in which the audience is silenced and removed from the real process despite their demands for independent public input and oversight,” he said in a press release. 

Environmentalist are demanding this matter be considered in NRC proceedings to examine the dangers this can pose to many families.

In the event of a massive accident or a natural disaster that harshly impacts the reactors at this plant a big population of Los Angeles would be put at risk. Parts of L.A. are within the 50 mile radius that NRC recommended be the evacuation zone after Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power during last year’s tsunami. 

When Japan was hit by the deadly tsunami farms up to 90 miles away from the Fukushima plant were tainted with dangerous levels of radioactivity.

A massive nuclear accident in Southern California can cause long-term radiation in contamination well beyond the 50-mile radius as proven in Japan.

Wilmington residents along with other L.A. community members are asked to contact their councilman or councilwoman and President Wesson with their support for the Koretz/Rosendahl resolution on San Onofre safety. To contact Councilman Joe Buscaino who represents L.A.'s 15th council district click here to voice your concerns.

Wilmington Unites To Get Homicide Updates

Over two-hundred Wilmington residents assemble at Holy Family Parish to discuss the spate of murders in the past month. Photo by Branimir Kvartuc.

Wilmington residents showed up in crowds to the Los Angeles Police Department homicide update meeting Wednesday night to get information on the recent spike in killings.

The meeting was held at Holy Family Parish just feet away from where the body of Cristian Zugey Alvarez was found January 2. It was the first of five homicides that have occurred in Wilmington since the new year.

In response to the violence LAPD said they would have lights on along L Street from 6 p.m. to midnight and asked all residents who live on L Street to turn their porch lights on as well. Officials are inviting the public to walk with them this Monday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. to demonstrate the unity amongst the community.

Councilman Joe Buscaino's office produced a video of LAPD Captain William Hayes providing information on next week's Lights on L Street campaign. The images and video were provided by Branimir Kvartuc, communications director from Councilman Joe Buscaino's office, and interpreting is Wilmington Field Deputy, Gabriela Medina.

"I want to ensure that now, with these five homicides in this new year, that we get additional police resources here for the long term, not just for two weeks," said Buscaino about Wilmington situation.

Councilman Joe Buscaino of CD15 addresses Wilmington residents at Holy Family Parish about the spate of murders in the past month. Photo by Branimir Kvartuc.

Liz Dominguez Phillips of Wilmington holds up a photo of her nephew, James Dominguez, 26, who was killed in May, 2011. Photo by Branimir Kvartuc.

Wilmington residents who have lost their loved ones to murders. Photo by Branimir Kvartuc.

LAPD Captain William Hayes talks to residents during the meeting. Photo by Branimir Kvartuc.

Narcocorridos: The Drug War in Song

My name is Omar Shamout, and I'm a graduate journalism student at USC. I became interested in narcocorridos after reading about the escalating drug war amongst the cartels in Mexico. I wanted to examine why music that contains such violent and tragic subject matter is so popular amongst the Mexican and Mexican-American community in Los Angeles. Through the help of Anabell Romero, I was able to profile a band from Wilmington that plays narcorridos, and they proved to be a fascinating entry point into the Mexican music scene in LA.

Narcocorridos: The Drug War in Song

From a back alley in Wilmington, Calif., illuminated by the twinkling lights of the nearby oil refinery, the sounds of the Mexican-drug war come alive on a windy Wednesday evening. Not through gun shots, police sirens or the wailing of widowed mothers – but through song.

“Loyalty to the bosses, or you’re an enemy,” croons 27-year-old lead-singer Jesse Castañeda in Spanish into a microphone in his home garage, rehearsing for an upcoming show. The song is called “Scarface Reborn,” and it tells the violent tale of a Mexican drug lord executing his foes.

The Music

Like most played by four-piece Wilmington band Komando de la Klika, the song is known as a narcocorrido. Corridos, which are popular Mexican-folk ballads, have been around since the creation of the US - Mexico border in the 19^th century, but the current form of narcocorridos took shape in the 1970s when lyrics evolved into sensationalistic descriptions of drug traffickers and drug violence.

“We sing a lot about killings and some of the violence that goes on in Mexico … about new drug lords or cartels,” says Castañeda, who is joined in the band by his brothers Henry, 30; Juan, 32; and friend Gerardo Moya, 29. All of them are first-generation Americans born and bred in Wilmington. The group, whose name Jesse translates as “soldiers for the people,” also plays other styles of northern-Mexican music such as rancheras and cumbias, which have nothing to do with drug violence.

The band’s set list is mostly made up of cover songs of well-known Mexican artists, but it is the violence-soaked songs of the drug war that they say pay their bills.

Though corridos are still popular south of the border, many Mexican officials are taking steps to stop this glorification of cartel culture.In May, the northwestern Mexican state of Sinaloa, which is home to the most powerful cartel in the country, banned public performances of narcocorridos. The nearby states of Chihuahua and Baja California have also banned radio and television stations from playing the songs. The crackdown has helped turn Los Angeles into the commercial hub of the genre.

Josh Kun, music critic and director of the Popular Music Project at USC’s Norman Lear Center, described the industry’s geographic shift north.

“Really where they have taken off, and where the real growth industry is in narcocorridos … is right here in Los Angeles,” said Kun. “The vast majority of the biggest names in narcocorrido … are, if not from Los Angeles and southern California – now based here,” Kun said.

Pasadena-born Gerardo Ortiz is a prominent example of local success in the genre. Ortiz took home six Billboard Mexican Music Awards in October, which are based on album sales and radio play. Ortiz still lives in the US, but he spent part of his youth in Sinaloa.

Even at the top of the charts, Ortiz, like other Mexican artists, is not immune to the violence in Mexico. In March, Ortiz escaped unharmed when armed gunmen attacked his vehicle after one of his concerts in Mazatlan, but his cousin and driver were killed, allegedly at the hands of drug lords unhappy with Ortiz’s songs glorifying their rivals. Several other popular narcocorrido singers have been gunned down in recent years such as Diego Rivas, who was murdered in Sinaloa on Nov. 14, and Sergio Vegas, who was killed there last year. As a result, southern California has become a safe haven for narcocorrido singers who may find themselves targets for violence down south.

In LA, narcocorridos can be heard daily on mainstream, Spanish-language radio stations such as KBUE-FM, which is one of the top-10 Spanish-language radio stations in the nation and averages more than 30,000 listeners every 15 minutes according to recent Arbitron ratings. Both Kun and Jesse Castañeda point out that the music has a broad fanbase in the Mexican and Mexican-American community that crosses boundaries of gender and age. Live shows can be heard throughout the city at venues such as El Rodeo night club in Pico Rivera, El Parral dance club in South Gate and Normandie Casino in Gardena.

The Escalation in Violence

Since Mexican President Felipe Calderon announced his crackdown on the cartels five-years ago, the drug war has only grown more violent. The Mexican government announced this year that it estimates 34,000 drug-related deaths occurred in the country between 2006-2010, though some advocacy groups, such as the peace movement led by poet Javier Sicilia, put the number around 40,000, which doesn’t include the thousands of Mexicans who have simply disappeared without a trace.

Narcocorridos have mirrored their homeland in recent years, with songs growing ever more graphic in response to the pandemic violence spreading its way across Mexico.

Kun describes the violent evolution of narcocorrido lyrics.

“In the 1970s, a narcocorrido singing about decapitation would have been unheard of – now it’s commonplace,” Kun said. “In the 70s, songs about humongous shipments, songs about battles between military police, federal police and local police would never have happened. Now, all of those things … you must have in your songs,” he continued.

Jesse agrees and says many artists try to one up each other to see who can sing the most violent song.

“Over the past couple years I think they’ve gotten worse, as have the times in Mexico,” he says.

The Gigs

On a Friday night in Gardena, Calif., Henry Castañeda pounds out a furious accordion solo as he moves across the stage with sweat pouring down his face. His brother Juan keeps the up-tempo rhythm going on the drums throughout their hour-long set. Jesse belts out the lyrics of “Scarface Reborn” in the lounge at the Normandie Casino, regaling the crowd with the tale of a vengeful drug lord and his 5.7-caliber pistol.

Groups of dolled-up women in their 20s and 30s, some with boyfriends and some without, gather around long tables sipping brightly-colored alcoholic drinks. Enticed by the music’s danceable beat, two women make their way to the dance floor, joined later by a couple eager to show off their moves.

Despite the graphic lyrics of most of their songs, Jesse says fans at their shows tend to skew young and female.

“There’s a lot of girls – a lot of the youth of today – youngsters 18 through 25, 27 [years-old],” he says.

One such fan is 23-year-old Santa Ana-resident Erandi Merino, who, like many others in attendance, showed up to the band’s latest show wearing a short black dress and heels.

Merino says that while she likes the music more for its sound than the gruesome stories, she’s not particularly bothered by the words.

“If the music is happy, and you’re drinking and you’re with friends … you’re just with it,” Merino says.

She also dismisses the notion that narcocorridos are a corruptive influence on children.

“It’s part of life. I grew up with it, so why can’t they? I didn’t grow up to be a violent person, so I don’t think they would either,” Merino says.

Jesse says that while his group doesn’t advocate violence, he and its members have an obligation as performers to play what’s popular amongst their audience.

“We’re not for all the violence. We’re peaceful people, but it’s mostly what the people want to hear,” he says. Henry chimes in. “We just have to go out there and make the money,” he says.

Merino says narcocorrido fans listen to the music for the same emotional reasons as fans of gangster rap.

“They feel powerful. They want to be like the people they talk about in the corridos,” she says.

However, Juan points out that they have played gigs where the more modern corridos are frowned upon.

“There’s been gigs we’ve gone to where people tell us ‘no corridos.’ They want more cumbias, more of the old-school corridos,” he says.

The Future

Kun said he believes that narcocorrido singers should stop paying lip service to the condemnation of violence and start actively critiquing it.

“Every narcocorrido singer I’ve ever interviewed … all say, immediately, that they are opposed to violence … yet none of them have written songs critiquing it,” Kun said.

Perhaps that process will start with Jesse, who says he has ambitions to write songs depicting tamer subject matter.

“I have given thought of making songs … drifting away from the cartel stories – that kind of tell stories about stuff we’ve been through … maybe not anti-violence – but just drifting another way,” Jesse says.

Until then, idealism will continue to give way to the stark realities of Mexican life, and the alley behind the Castañeda house, along with night clubs across Los Angeles, will reverberate with tales of war and death.