Alianza, the Spanish word for alliance, has special meaning for Salvadoran soccer fans. It happens to be the name of the capital’s main team, Alianza FC, or Los Albos, who only a few weeks ago were once again crowned Salvadoran league champions. more ›

Little Bangladesh and Koreatown are on the way to becoming officially recognized L.A. city neighborhoods, but that's not all. Assemblymember Mike Davis has been working with community members to create the El Salvador Community Corridor along Vermont Avenue. If his legislation passes, signs along the 10 Freeway will let drivers know where to exit to find the culturally rich artery. more ›

Three points. It may seem like a trivial quantity, but it sure would go a long way as far as Chivas USA is concerned. After registering their first victory two weeks ago against New York at the Home Depot Center, the red-and-white then took a 3 - 0 beating in Houston a mere week later. The positives displayed against New York seemed to quickly vanish in the Houston match, leaving Head Coach Martin Vasquez searching for answers. more ›

A festive atmosphere that included cumbia music and pupusas awaited William Osael Romero at his official welcome to Chivas USA (and Los Angeles) yesterday afternoon at Los Chorros Banquet Hall in Inglewood. more ›

Reports out of El Salvador from earlier this year indicating that Salvadoran National Team member William Osael Romero was on the verge of being signed to an MLS contract have been confirmed Stateside. more ›

First half goals by Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore help the U.S. National Team get a victory last night over La Selecta from El Salvador. The Yanks fell behind at the 32nd minute when Jonathan Bornstein failed to clear a ball cleanly and instead sent it into the box. El Salvador gained possession in the U.S. penalty box and was able to capitalize on a header by Christian Castillo. The goal came after a mixed first 30 minutes of play that saw the U.S. threaten on a few occasions through Charlie Davies and Landon Donovan. more ›

Things are quiet down at the Home Depot Center this weekend. Both Chivas USA and the Galaxy have a rare, simultaneous week off from MLS action, but there is plenty of World Cup Qualifying action going on to keep soccer fans entertained. more ›

The Official Recession has enveloped us for fifteen official months. It’s still no reason we can’t enjoy life. This is LA -- we have a ton of inexpensive options! A Recession Obsession is somewhere fantastic, whether times are good or not, because it's that damn good. We last loved on some no-cook take-home Korean and wood-fired Peruvian chicken. Today, we... more ›

As of two minutes before 9 a.m., "passengers on a flight from El Salvador have been waiting on a Southern California regional airport's tarmac since about midnight after their plane was diverted from Los Angeles International Airport because of heavy fog," according to the Associated Press. The original crew is now over their maximum hours they can fly so a new crew is taking over. more ›

Yesterday's violent and fatal standoff between a man inside his home on Welby Way in Winnetka and the LAPD's SWAT team left five people dead, including 51-year-old SWAT Officer Randal Simmons and the gunman himself. more ›

In El Salvador there are two prisons that are purely devoted to two gangs that originated in Los Angeles. How did this transnational network come about? Deportation for one. When a gang member serves a sentence in California and then deported to their home country, the gang business moves with them. Bruce Riordan, director of anti-gang operations in the LA city attorney's office told the New York Times that, "these gangs are the new and emerging organized crime in America." more ›

Dear LAist, more ›

400,000 Official reports are saying 250,000 immigration rights marchers showed up at City Hall and 400,000 walked down Wilshire Boulevard in yesterday's Day Without An Immigrant. Mayor Villaraigosa made a post-Quizno's lunch appearance (good thing he didn't try to dine in Pasadena or at Panda Express at UCLA — closed due to staffing shortages). There's a sign that immigration has either become a real issue for Angelenos or it's jumped the shark: The LA Times has launched an immigration blog. more ›

Decapitated antiheroes, suicide bombers and 12-year-old soldiers round out
this weekend's indie and limited release picks.


• A
  History of Violence - Drama starring Viggo Mortensen,
  directed by David Cronenberg. In this screen adaptation of a graphic
  novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke, Cronenberg explores how an act
  of heroism unexpectedly changes a man's life. [trailer | local
  showtimes]


• Capote - Drama
  starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, directed by Bennett Miller. Truman
  Capote believed fact could be as fascinating as fiction. While researching
  his book In Cold Blood, the author becomes friends with one
  of the killers. [trailer | local
  showtimes]


• The Chumscrubber - Dark
  comedy starring Jamie Bell and Glenn Close, directed by Arie
  Posin. Dean (Jamie Bell) is a quiet teenager living in a beautiful (but emotionally
  vacant) suburb of California. The death of a troubled teen throws a suburban neighborhood
  into chaos, causing the adults to implode emotionally. Similar to the
  demonic-looking rabbit in Donnie Darko, the "Chumscrubber"
  is a post-apocalyptic icon that pops up when things take a turn for the
  worse. [trailer | local
  showtimes]

So is this "war" between LA's most powerful Latino gang and the vigilante border patrol group actually happening? Minutemen organizer James Gilchrist claimed that Mara Salvatrucha was planning to go toe-to-toe with his team of Mexico-America border watchers because their efforts were going to limit their smuggling trade. With as many reporters there as there are minute men, we haven't heard anything about gun play and gang warfare. more ›