Mariana Dale
explores and explains the forces that shape how and what kids learn from kindergarten to high school.
Published October 26, 2023 5:00 AM
Illustrator and artist Rhode Montijo, in his Los Angeles studio.
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Ashley Balderrama
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LAist
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Topline:
“Skeletown: Sí. ¡No!” follows the adventures of calavera kids with just two words. Los Angeles children’s author Rhode Montijo tells their story in a series of scenes that swing from innocent (Sí) one page to mischievous (¡No!) the next.
Two decades in the making: When Monitijo first pitched the book, he said publishers couldn't see past his character’s lack of skin. So for years, Montijo brought Skeletown to life in prints, T-shirts, and other artworks.
Inspired at home and in Mexico: The book also has other subtle details rooted in Latin American and indigenous culture. Look for Wilfredo the worry doll on many of the pages.
Meet the author: Montijo will have a booth at the Anaheim Fall Festival on Oct. 28 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Center Street Promenade. The festival is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. The event is followed by an almost equally historic parade at 7 p.m.
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It’s Always Spooky Season For This Los Angeles Children’s Book Author
Inside Rhode Montijo’s Los Angeles studio, it’s always spooky season.
The black and orange adornments show off Montijo’s almost three-decade art career and collection of vintage Halloween decorations.
“This is a very geeky comment here,” Montijo said before explaining that in the same way the sun charges Superman’s powers, his inspiration flows from the holiday.
“There's lots of cobwebs here too, which I just decided to leave up, because some people pay for that,” Montijo said. “I thought it added to the atmosphere.”
Montijo’s latest picture book, Skeletown: Sí. ¡No!, is inspired by another fall tradition, Día de Los Muertos. The story explores the adventures — and misadventures — of two calavera kids in just two words.
Montijo modified the suggestion of a former editor to try and tell a complete story using just two words.
The Skeletown series is twenty years in the making. Sí. ¡No!, the first installment, published in August and Montijo is currently working on the third book.
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Ashley Balderrama/Ashley Balderrama
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“What if I could do it with two Spanish words?” Montijo wondered. “And what if I could do it with the help of visuals that anybody can hopefully understand it even if they don't speak Spanish?”
Montijo’s inspiration
Montijo remembers trick-or-treating with his brother in Stockton one year. He doesn’t remember how old he was, but he does remember his costume, a vampire, and his brother’s, Chewbacca.
They heard cackling from behind a curtain in a neighbor’s garage. The curtain opened to reveal a lanky, flailing scarecrow illuminated by a flashing strobe light.
First they were scared, but then they saw the teenagers responsible for the scarecrow’s haphazard limbs.
From then on, “I just always loved that feeling of what's behind the curtain,” Montijo said.
At one point Montijo created paper dolls of the Skeleton characters
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Ashley Balderrama
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LAist
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Montijo turned his desk chair, a Christmas gift from his wife, into a whimsical character.
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Ashley Balderrama
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LAist
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Montijo also sculpts in ceramic and Super Sculpey and created the skeleton in the center of the image.
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Ashley Balderrama
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LAist
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A old note to Montijo from a friend's daughter about an upcoming Halloween party among the decorations in the studio.
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Ashley Balderrama
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LAist
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A sketch in Montijo's studio.
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Ashley Balderrama
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LAist
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Around the same time every year, Montijo’s family put up a makeshift ofrenda in their home. There were family photos, water, soda, and a red licorice Super Rope — his late uncle’s favorite candy.
“It was remembering our loved ones,” Montijo said. “Putting out things that they enjoyed in their lives when they were alive and just celebrating them.”
Montijo’s dad is from Hermosillo and his mom is from Mexicali, where his parents met. Montijo grew up visiting family in the bordertown, but it was on a trip to central Mexico in his early 20s when he fell in love with the country’s ancient civilizations.
Back in the Bay area, where he lived at the time, Montijo exhausted the local library and used bookstores’ collections about Aztec and Mayan mythology.
Montijo poured his research into his first comic book, Pablo’s Inferno, about a little boy who stumbles into Mexico’s spirit world.
“When I did that book series, there weren't, at that time, there weren't any characters that looked like me as the main protagonist,” Montijo said.
The impact of a high school art teacher
Montijo always drew as a kid’ but “I didn't think there was anything special about it until my high school art teacher said that I had something,” he said. A few years ago LAist tagged along with Montijo to visit that art teacher for a series about reuniting artists with their teachers.
Montijo self-published his comic books and sold them from elaborate cardboard booths at WonderCon, Comic-Con, and other festivals for years. His wares also include prints, stickers, shirts, Black cat-shaped clocks, and other ephemera.
“Maybe there's better ways of using your time, but those are the things that make me happy,” Montijo said. “I really jam pack them in October time.”
There’s proof in the mountain of cardboard boxes of merchandise piled outside his studio to make room for our interview.
Creating Skeletown
Montijo started shopping the idea of a picture book set in a town of skeletons more than 20 years ago. He drew on two series that feature eclectic groups of kids on adventures that occasionally go awry — Charles Schulz’s “Peanuts” and the Mexican sitcom “El Chavo del Ocho.”
Montijo said publishers couldn't see past his characters’ lack of skin.
“The idea of skeletons or kids as skeletons kind of creeped them out,” Montijo said.
For years, Montijo brought Skeletown to life in prints, T-shirts, and one very limited edition plush. The single doll in existence sits on the couch in his studio.
Montijo sketches one of his characters from his newest children's book, Skeletown: SÍ. ¡NO! The skeletons from the story have appeared on prints, t-shirts, zines and in sculptures over the years.
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Ashley Balderrama
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Then in 2021, Little, Brown and Company offered to publish not just one, but four, Skeletown books.
The first in the series introduces the characters Skelly and Skully.
The story is a series of scenes that swing from innocent (Sí) one page to mischievous (¡No!) the next.
For example, giving your friend a balloon — Sí! Tying so many balloons to your friend that they start to float away — ¡No!
Eating a piece of cake — Sí! Eating the entire cake in one bite — ¡No! (Though Montijo said at least one child believes the latter scenario also belongs in the Sí category.)
The book’s climactic ¡NO! is when Skully launches his bike off a ramp over his friends. This scene is “potentially” inspired by Montijo’s own childhood — though he declined to say whether he was on the bike, beneath it, or a witness.
The heart of the story is in how the little skeletons recover and support one another in the resulting wreck.
Montijo points out an anxious carrot-shaped character peeking out from many of the pages.
“Skully is just this carefree, curious kid,” Montijo explained. “Wilfredo, unfortunately, is the worry doll who has to worry about all of this kid's adventures.”
The diminutive figures are said to absorb a child’s concerns while they sleep and originate in Mayan culture.
Montijo said Skeletown's architecture was inspired by Guanajuato and other parts of Mexico. In the background, there's both a church and a pyramid.
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Ashley Balderrama
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Wilfredo, the worry doll, is always concerned about Skully's antics. In this scene, the skeleton boy rides a bike with one hand.
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Ashley Balderrama/Ashley Balderrama
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Montijo imagined Skeletown as a Mexican city. A panorama of the town shows a burro munching grass, a paletero, tuba player, soccer-playing kids, and a family of ducks — all skeletons, of course.
A church and a pyramid sit atop hills in the background.
But in Skeletown, the pyramid rises above the church.
“I just thought, ‘Hey, what if it were different in Skeletown?’” Montijo said.
The idea that creativity is a portal into another reality — Montijo cited “Harold and the Purple Crayon” as an influence — is part of why he creates children’s books.
Today, there’s a sign hanging in his studio that reads Make! Believe!
The punctuation turns the noun of an imagined place, into an enthusiastic encouragement to create and have conviction in those creations.
Fun fact: The festival is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. The event is followed by an almost equally historic parade at 7 p.m.
Also! Montijo does visits to schools and libraries. He recently stopped by Marvin Avenue Elementary school with Readers & Writers Rock!, a local nonprofit that brings authors into low-income schools and distributes free books.
Jordan Rynning
has been following this case for months, including interviewing the man at the center of allegations.
Published October 31, 2026 7:00 AM
Michael Angel Alvarez, 41, spoke with LAist on Sept. 16, 2026, about the federal body armor case against him being dismissed.
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Jordan Rynning
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LAist
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Topline:
The L.A. County District Attorney’s office dropped its felony body armor charges against Michael Angel Alvarez earlier this week. Alvarez was sentenced to time served on a lesser charge — a probation violation. He served more than 100 days in jail earlier this year while awaiting trial.
Most serious claims haven’t materialized: Though federal prosecutors made headlines claiming in court documents and on social media that Alvarez was “leading a violent street gang, while claiming to be a gang interventionist for the City,” they have not filed charges related to those claims.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office dropped its felony body armor charges against Michael Angel Alvarez on Wednesday. Alvarez was sentenced to time served on a lesser charge — a probation violation. He had served more than 100 days in jail earlier this year while awaiting trial.
Why Alvarez’s arrest made headlines: Alvarez was working as a city-contracted peace ambassador in MacArthur Park when he was arrested by federal agents in May. Federal and county prosecutors each brought felony charges against him, claiming he was in possession of body armor as a violent felon.
Bill Essayli, who leads the U.S. Attorney’s office in L.A., pointed to the case on social media to criticize city officials for allowing taxpayer money to be “shelled out to a convicted gang murderer.”
About his criminal record: Judges in federal and state court have now dismissed prosecutors’ felony charges against Alvarez, after U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang found on Sept. 9 that Alvarez did not have a violent felony conviction. Alvarez was 15 when he committed a gang-related murder. He was tried and convicted as an adult in 2002. After a change in state law increased the age at which minors could be sentenced as adults to 16, Alvarez’s case was sent back to juvenile court, and he was released in 2024. At that point, he had served more than 20 years.
A federal judge ruled Tuesday, Oct. 7 that Republican Bill Essayli is not legally serving as the top U.S. prosecutor in Los Angeles.
The ruling is the latest roadblock to the Trump administration’s effort to extend handpicked acting U.S. attorneys beyond the 120-day limit set by federal law. The strategy was designed to bypass confirmation by the U.S. Senate — something that generally requires a degree of bipartisan support.
Essayli “is unlawfully serving as a ‘de facto’ United States Attorney,” U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright wrote.
The order won’t take effect until the court rules on the government’s motion for a stay pending appeal. Essayli said he doesn’t agree with the court’s order. He said the president and Attorney General “have every right to select supervisors within the Justice Department.”
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Mariana Dale
explores and explains the forces that shape how and what kids learn from kindergarten to high school.
Published October 31, 2026 5:00 AM
Myrna Velasco (left) performs as Dolores Huerta in “¡Sí Se Puede!” at Boyle Heights City Hall on April 2, 2026.
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Carlin Stiehl
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LAist
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Topline:
An all-ages play about the life of Dolores Huerta and other under-told stories of the farmworker labor movement is back on tour in Los Angeles.
The backstory: Center Theatre Group commissioned ¡Sí Se Puede! from Eliana Pipes in March 2025 and it debuted in L.A. this spring. “There's this perception that farm work was only done by men,” Pipes said. “There were women on the fields, there were women on the picket lines, and there were women in leadership in the United Farm Workers movement.”
An all-ages play about the life of Dolores Huerta and other under-told stories of the farmworker labor movement is back on tour in Los Angeles.
The show's extension had been announced prior to the news that Huerta died Wednesday, Oct. 28., at her Bakersfield home. She was 96 years old.
“There's this perception that farm work was only done by men,” said playwright Eliana Pipes. “There were women on the fields, there were women on the picket lines, and there were women in leadership in the United Farm Workers movement.”
Center Theatre Group commissioned ¡Sí Se Puede! from Pipes in March 2025 and it debuted in L.A. this spring.
CSULA seeks memories from underground music scenes
Adolfo Guzman-Lopez
is an arts and general assignment reporter on LAist's Explore LA team.
Published October 31, 2026 5:00 AM
CSULA is seeking memorabilia from LA's underground music scenes for its research archives.
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Courtesy Special Collections and Archives, University Library, California State University, Los Angeles.
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Topline
There’s a whole world of underground Southern California music history that’s hidden in storage boxes — photos, fliers, cassettes and other memorabilia. Research librarians at the California State University, Los Angeles are holding a community archive event on Nov. 5 to ensure the cultural memory of L.A.’s underground music scenes are preserved for future generations.
Why it matters: The memorabilia are the physical remnants of the supportive L.A. communities built around music and enjoyment. But many of these objects languish out of sight, and run the risk of being lost, along with the memories attached to them.
Why now: For four years, archive staff have held an annual day to receive ephemera from the public. They're doing it again on Thursday, Nov. 5.
Read on… to hear how goth, rockabilly and other underground clubs in L.A. inspired the head archivist.
Right around the year 2000, there was a club night in Hollywood called Clockwork Orange. Fans of The Smiths, Depeche Mode, Bauhaus and other bands came for the DJ’s mix of their favorite songs but also for a vibe that welcomed people regardless of race, ethnicity or sexual and gender identity.
“I was a pretty shy person, and so that was a place where I could sort of be myself and express myself,” said Azalea Camacho, a regular there in those days.
She had just graduated from Workman High School in the City of Industry and was also clubbing at rockabilly music nights in Rosemead and goth club nights in downtown L.A.
Camacho said there was lots of memorabilia from those times, such as photos taken in and outside the clubs, ticket stubs and promotional fliers. They're the physical remnants of those supportive communities built around music and enjoyment, but many of them languish in shoeboxes and storage units, at risk of being lost — along with the memories attached to them.
Cal State LA has hosted Sounds of the Underground Archive for the last four years. It's an opportunity for people to donate their underground music scene memorabilia.
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Courtesy Special Collections and Archives, University Library, California State University, Los Angeles
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“I think the danger is maybe those stories are not being told, or people don't know about the story,” she said.
Keeping stories alive
More than two decades later, Camacho is now in a position to make sure those stories are kept alive. She’s head of special collections and archives at the university library at California State University, Los Angeles.
Four years ago, she and library staff created an annual day for area residents to donate or digitize memorabilia for their Sounds of the Underground Archive. This year it's on Thursday, Nov. 5. They’ll accept physical donations, but they’ll also have a scanner to digitize printed material, so people can keep items that are precious to them.
SOUNDS OF THE UNDERGROUND ARCHIVE
Date: Thursday, Nov. 5 Time: 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. Location: Cal State LA Library Community Room, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles
Camacho is hoping this year will bring in a bumper amount of memorabilia. It's taken time to get the word out, she said.
“From the actual community archiving day [we’ve collected] maybe 100 or less than 100 items. … It's not a lot,” she said.
She said they're on the lookout for a wide range of mementos, including:
Fliers
Handbills
Zines
Newsletters
Posters
Set lists
Photographs (prints, negatives or digital files)
Cassette tapes, CDs, or vinyl records
Ticket stubs
Wristbands
Band merchandise (stickers, buttons, patches, T-shirts)
DIY press kits or liner notes and correspondence (letters, emails, messages related to music scenes)
Venue or collective ephemera (membership cards, schedules, announcements and more)
