Topline:
Fans came out earlier this week to see the Mexican crossover musical sensation and show off their fantastic 'fits.
Why it matters: The music of Peso Pluma marks a massive shift in crossover appeal for listeners of regional Mexican music in the United States.
Why now: The singer sold out two nights at YouTube Theater on Wednesday and Thursday.
What about the 'fits? This being L.A., fans did not disappoint. Read the full story to check out the photos.
Peso Pluma, the musical artist from Jalisco, Mexico, has made significant waves in the genre of music known as Corridos Tumbados. The genre is an updated sound of traditional Mexican corridos and rancheras that sprinkles in references to contemporary youth culture.
The singer's rise in popularity in the U.S. has been meteoric, connecting with a new generation of crossover listeners. His new album, Génesis, debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200.
The music of Peso Pluma cuts across genres, generations, and cultures, and Los Angeles makes for the perfect backdrop for this unique style of music. We spoke to a few die-hard fans to tell us more about why they came out to support at his two-night sold-out stop at YouTube Theater in Inglewood on Wednesday and Thursday.
Originally from East L.A., now Lives in Long Beach
What brings you here today?
Peso Pluma!
Do you listen to a lot of music in Spanish?
Yes, I listen to a lot of Reggaeton.
Did you grow up listening to Mexican Regional Music? Where?
Yes, for generations. It was always around me. On car rides, everywhere in East L.A.
What does it mean for you to see this genre become mainstream, especially here in the U.S.?
I’m liking it. Artists like Peso Pluma are putting it on the map. I have tías and tíos, older generations, asking me about it.
Santa Clarita. Parents from El Salvador and Guatemala.
What brings you here today?
It’s my birthday. I bought it for myself.
Do you listen to a lot of music in Spanish?
I haven’t before. It’s been since last year. I wasn’t really on it but, you know, Peso Pluma brought me to the corridos and all that.
What were you listening to before? What else do you listen to?
Bad Bunny and rap, that’s it. J. Balvin.
What do you think of the fact that he’s blowing up?
It’s good to see. Mexico is close to California; we got all the Mexicans over here, so, you know, I like to see him represent the Latino community. Us too.
Ontario, California
What brings you here today?
I came to see Peso Pluma. I like him.
Do you listen to a lot of music in Spanish? Did your family listen to music in Spanish?
Yes. I always say that in my home there was la Virgen de Guadalupe and El Corrido de Camelia la Tejana. We are hardworking people and we are able to live vicariously through this music and its stories of other people’s lives.
Did you grow up listening to Mexican Regional Music? Where?
Yes, in Guadalajara, Mexico. I grew up listening to corridos. I think this is like the contemporary version of Los Tigres del Norte and Ramon Ayala. I’m happy because I like this music and now my son likes it, too. It’s brought us closer.
What does it mean for you to see this genre become mainstream, especially here in the U.S.?
I love it! It’s refreshing to give these young people importance. I have young people in my life, and I like to see them singing and enjoying the music. It’s great.
Karely hails from Veracruz, Mexico; Edwin from Lima, Peru
What brings you here today?
Karely: Peso Pluma! Yes!
Edwin: Doble P.
What other kind of music do you listen to?
Edwin: I really listen to everything: salsa, corrido, banda.
Does your family in Peru listen to this music?
Edwin: No, they don’t listen to this there.
Does this music get played in Veracruz?
Karely: Yes, Reggaeton is more popular, but they do play this.
What does it mean for you to see this genre become mainstream, especially here in the U.S?
Karely: I think we are in different times now. The times have changed, and the music has, too. This has come to revolutionize everyone because no one ever thought that these corridos tumbados were going to be this big.
L.A.
What brings you here today?
Peso Pluma. I have been listening to him since this year.
What do you think of the fact that he’s blowing up and artists like him are blowing up so big in this country?
I think it means a lot, especially for the Mexican community. Especially for this kind of music to be blowing up by competing with Reggaetoneros and rap songs. It means a lot to the community.
Have you always listened to this kind of music?
Yeah, I have.
Your family too?
Yeah, we’re from Sinaloa so we’re big fans.
Compton (Nayra was "born and raised")
What brings you here today?
Raul: Big fans of Peso Pluma since he started. What has it been? A year ago? Something like that.
Nayra: And he’s from Jalisco.
Do you listen to a lot of Regional Music?
Raul: Yeah, all the time, all the time!
What else do you listen to?
Raul and Nayra: Rap, Hip Hop.
Did your family listen to music in Spanish?
Nayra: Yeah. Only rancheras.
What do you think of him and other artists like him being this big in the country?
In the industry, globally, he makes us proud. He makes the Hispanic family proud.
Anaheim
What brings you here today?
Out here with my brother to see Peso Pluma.
Have you always listened to this kind of music? Regional, rancheras?
I’m originally from Mexico City. I’ve been listening to reggaeton for a long time but this, of course, is a new trend. It’s catchy. I’m Mexican. He represents our country. Why not!
Do you listen to a lot of music in Spanish?
I’ve been listening to Spanish music ever since I was growing up. Him, pretty much as soon as (I’m not gonna lie) the first track that hit on the radio.
What do you think of the fact that he’s blowing up like this?
If it’s his time to shine, he’s going to shine. And he’s doing an amazing job. That’s what he’s doing, he’s putting in work. I’m from Anaheim and I know he records in Anaheim, really close to where my parents live.
Mid-City, Los Angeles
What brings you here today?
Peso Pluma, big fan. Belicones!
How long have you listened to him?
Barely, maybe six months.
Did you listen to this kind of music before?
Yes. Chalino Sanchez. I grew up with this.
Your family, the kids, they’re listening to it, too?
I have a 9 year old and I try to put the clean version on, but yeah, you can’t control it. It’s everywhere. You go to restaurants and it’s there. Everywhere you go the music is there, so I can’t cover my daughter’s ears.
Grew up in Wilmington. Lives in San Pedro
What brings you here today?
Peso Pluma, I got into him this year, my brother got me into him. He’s a really big fan of this style of music. Gotta support the culture.
Have you always listened to regional, rancheras?
Our family, yeah. Corridos, Antonio Aguilar.
What else do you listen to?
I listen to everything. Actually my primary stuff I listen to is heavy metal. I like reggae, reggaeton, I’m just expanding my music. My brother really got me into him [Peso Pluma]. I said, "Ok, let’s go see him."
What do you think of the fact that it’s blowing up so fast?
I think it’s good. It shows the rest of the world that Mexicanos got talent to be on the platforms that other artists are as well. That they can carry that flag and sell out major stadiums two nights in a row. That tells you something, and I hope it opens up the way for other Mexican, other Latino artists as well, and see that “Hey man, we can do it, too."
South Bay area, Lawndale, born and raised our whole lives.
What brings you here today?
Tony: Peso Pluma. Big fans for a long time. Our family, our kids, everyone.
Do you always listen to this kind of music?
Tony: Yeah, we like all the young guys that have been coming up. Natanael Cano, JOP and them, all the young guys, Junior H.
What about back in the day? Did your folks listen to corridos?
Yeah, Chalino Sánchez and all those classics. At every party for sure.
What do you think of the fact that Peso Pluma is so popular here in the U.S.?
Angelica: I think it’s a good movement for Mexicans period, or Hispanics, that he’s blown up here in the U.S.
Tony: Yeah, it’s awesome to finally get somebody that’s being recognized worldwide, you know what I mean. Not just the Mexican region but here in the U.S., in Europe, in Argentina, everywhere. Colombia, everybody wants to work with him. It’s good for the Mexican people.
"I’m from Mexico, from Aguascalientes, but I grew up over here in East L.A."
What brings you here today?
I brought my son to see the Peso Pluma concert. He really likes it.
Do you listen to a lot of music in Spanish? Musica regional?
Yes, always.
What do you think of Peso Pluma and artists like him getting so big in the U.S.?
Honestly, I think he’s doing really good right now. It’s something new, you know. I think there was a need in Mexican music for someone to actually put our name out there. That’s why I brought my Mexican flag, cause this guy is kind of representing out there. He’s basically No. 1 right now. What can I say, he’s been doing great right now.
Juan has been in L.A. for three years and Glendi for two years. They live in Pico-Union.
What brings you here today?
The Peso Pluma concert. We have been fans since he started.
Did you listen to corridos or rancheras before?
Both: Yes.
And your families, do they listen to this kind of music?
Both: Yes.
Glendi: Especially my dad.
Does he like Peso Pluma?
Glendi: Yes, he’s sad that he didn’t come.
Long Beach
What brings you here today?
I’m out here to see Peso Pluma, the biggest artist out here right now.
Have you been listening to him for some time?
Yeah, for a while. Before he became famous, I’ve been listening to him.
Have you always listened to this kind of music?
Oh yeah, yeah. Like corridos, corridos tumbados. I love it, you know.
Do you listen to anything else?
I listen to reggaeton and all that, too.
What about your family? Do they listen to Mexican music?
Yeah. My family is a big fan of corridos. The old corridos, too.
What do you think of the fact that he is so popular in the U.S.?
I think it’s because of his unique voice. He’s so unique. That voice is like never heard, never before.
Topline:
Two L.A. Unified school unions voted to approve their new contracts Friday night.
Why now: Members of United Teachers Los Angeles, and AALA/TEAMSTER that represents principals and administrations, will get new 2-year contracts.
What's next: LAUSD board will not need to sign off.
One more union: The union representing staffers like janitors and bus drivers is starting their ratification vote Saturday through May.
Two L.A. Unified school unions voted to approve their new contracts Friday night.
Members of United Teachers Los Angeles, which represent 37,00 teachers and other personnel, will get a nearly 14%, plus paid parental leave for the first time ever.
According to the union, 92% of eligible members voted yes.
The final 2-year deal includes:
Separately, members of AALA/TEAMSTER also ratified their new 2-year contract Friday night, which includes a 12% wage increase. The union represents 3,000 L.A. Unified principals and administrators.
The final deal includes:
Next step is a vote by the LAUSD board.
Meanwhile, members of SEIU Local 99 will start voting today through early May. That union represents bus drivers, cafeteria workers, classroom aides and other school support staff.
The tentative deal promises to bring their 30,000 members a 24% pay increase and expanded healthcare access.
Topline:
The Inglewood City Council will vote Tuesday on a $6.3 million purchase from police tech company Axon to kit out the city’s police department with body cameras as well as drones, Tasers and 98 stationary Automated License Plate Recognition devices, known commonly as ALPRs.
The backstory: Activists have been calling for Inglewood police to wear body cameras since Bryan Bostic’s unexplained death in police custody March 10. Video of the incident captured by a bystander shows police pinning Bostic to the ground. Investigations by the offices of the L.A. County District Attorney into the police use of force and L.A. County Medical Examiner into Bostic’s cause of death are ongoing.
How to make your voice heard: The Inglewood City Council meets at 2 p.m. Tuesday in Inglewood City Hall, 1 W. Manchester Blvd. Members of the public will have an opportunity to comment on the proposed purchase ahead of the city council’s vote.
Read on... for more on the proposal.
This story first appeared on The LA Local.
Inglewood police officers could soon be outfitted with body-worn cameras.
The Inglewood City Council will vote Tuesday on a $6.3 million purchase from police tech company Axon to kit out the city’s police department with body cameras as well as drones, Tasers and 98 stationary Automated License Plate Recognition devices, known commonly as ALPRs.
Activists have been calling for Inglewood police to wear body cameras since Bryan Bostic’s unexplained death in police custody March 10. Video of the incident captured by a bystander shows police pinning Bostic to the ground. Investigations by the offices of the L.A. County District Attorney into the police use of force and L.A. County Medical Examiner into Bostic’s cause of death are ongoing.
The city says it has been researching the tech additions, including the body cameras, since last August, and the police department began chasing grants for body-worn cameras and drones in January.
The L.A. Police Department began widely using body cameras in 2015, followed by the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department in 2020.
Activist Najee Ali, who has helped coordinate recent demonstrations calling for Inglewood officers to wear body cameras, said the devices would be a game-changer.
“We are optimistic this is going to happen,” Ali said. “Certainly this is long overdue.”
Ali said activists had been planning to put forward a city ballot initiative to mandate police body cameras. He remains concerned about how the city will set police body camera policy.
City staff wrote in meeting documents that the new tech would enhance the department’s capacity ahead of a string of mega-events — including this summer’s FIFA World Cup, the 2027 Super Bowl and the 2028 Olympics.
The city has not yet finalized contract terms with Axon. Councilmembers could vote Tuesday to authorize city staff to wrap up negotiations and execute a final agreement.
The city estimated Inglewood could pay an average of $1.3 million annually over the life of a five-year agreement with Axon, which would provide software platforms along with the new equipment.
The package would include body cameras as well as new Tasers, meeting documents indicate. The Inglewood Police Department has 186 sworn officers, according to the city website.
Twenty-five vehicles would be outfitted with Fleet 3 video cameras that can automatically read and look up vehicle license plates. The ALPR tech will also be rolled out via 98 stationary cameras affixed to light posts and mounted in other locations.
Stationary ALPRs scan license plates and log a vehicle’s location at a given time. Police tout their ability to rapidly locate stolen vehicles or fleeing suspects. Critics say they lack oversight and that their data can be too broadly shared, including with federal immigration agents.
The devices Inglewood is purchasing also have livestream video capability, according to Axon’s website.
The city will also get a total of seven camera drones, including the Skydio 10 and its indoor-focused cousin, the Skydio R10.
The Inglewood City Council meets at 2 p.m. Tuesday in Inglewood City Hall, 1 W. Manchester Blvd. Members of the public will have an opportunity to comment on the proposed purchase ahead of the city council’s vote.
Limited seating is available in council chambers. Members of the public have been directed to watch proceedings and deliver public comment from an overflow room during some recent meetings.
If people can’t make the meeting, they may submit written comments to the city clerk at athompson@cityofinglewood.org, or to the deputy city clerk at dwesley@cityofinglewood.org.
Comments must be submitted by 8 a.m. Tuesday in order to be distributed to councilmembers ahead of the meeting.
Full meeting documents are available at cityofinglewood.org.
Topline:
A local store, The Plant Chica in Leimert Park plans to give away 2,000 plants to help introduce people to the rewards of living with a plant. The event will take place on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Why it matters: Sandra Mejia, co-founder of Plant Chica, says many of her customers have never had a plant in their home.
Where to go: Adopt a plant giveaway at The Plant Chica, 4311 Degnan Blvd, Leimert Park, CA 90008. Giveaway hours: Saturday, 11a.m. - 4p.m.
The backstory: Sandra Mejia started Plant Chica in 2016 near the South LA neighborhood where she grew up. She wants to spread the positive aspects of plant ownership and care.
Go deeper: LA County is getting greener.
Staff with The Plant Chica were busy the day before the event receiving, labeling and preparing indoor plants at the open-air shop in Leimert Park. The company’s co-founder, Sandra Mejia, said everyone should have a plant in their home.
“Plants aren't necessarily something that people are going out of their way to buy,” she said.
And many people who’ve come to her adopt-a-plant events have never had plants in their homes and, therefore, have not experienced what it’s like to take care of a plant and see it grow.
“If we're giving them out for free, then people come and they take them, and then now they're plant people,” which means, she said, that some become advocates for more plants indoors and outdoors as well as public green space.
Mejia’s first plant giveaway started in her home, she said, in 2018. It was an effort to clear out the less popular plants. It didn’t go so well, but after she moved it to her shop, which has been in several locations around South L.A., near where she was raised by Salvadoran parents, the plant giveaway has grown.
Her family first instilled a love of plants, and she keeps them involved.
“My dad is at home right now, printing the information sheet for the plant so people know how to take care of the plants, and he's cutting them for me,” Mejia said.
Some of the plants are donated by local greenhouses and the rest are paid for, about $2,500 she said, out of her business’ marketing budget.
The giveaway includes philodendrons, like pink princess, which are good starter plants because they’re low maintenance, tradescantia plants, which have green and purple leaves, as well as prayer plants, whose scientific name is maranta leuconeura. These get their nickname from the opening of their leaves during the day and closing at night, like hands in prayer.
“Everybody deserves a plant that's cleaning the oxygen around them. Everybody should have some sort of thumb in the green somewhere,” said Philip Bucknor, who started out as DJ at events for The Plant Chica and began working for the shop last year with the unofficial title of “vibe curator.”
That includes helping people through a feeling he hears a lot — “I don’t want to kill the plant.”
“My thing is helping people understand the right plant for them and not overthinking these tasks of taking care of a plant,” he said.
That means, he said, don’t overdo watering, be chill and feel your plant’s vibe.
He’s set to do that with people who come to the plant giveaway Saturday.
Topline:
The Saree Run, a viral event that began with eight women in India running in saris, is making its U.S. debut in Huntington Beach on Sunday.
Why now: It’s coming to the U.S. after L.A.-based organizer Aanal Patel jumped at bringing its message of culturally-inclusive fitness to South Asian communities here.
The backstory: The event started in 2016 in Bangalore as a way to lower barriers for women to exercise, growing into a multi-city movement with thousands of participants.
What's next: Patel hopes to keep the event going in Southern California and says she's already getting interest from people in other cities like Austin and Chicago.
Details: Saree Run
Where: Central Park East, Huntington Beach
When: 5K Fun Run / Walk: 7 a.m. - 11 a.m. Programming and a vendor village operate until 4 p.m.
Cost: $50 ticket to run. All other programming is free.
As the story goes, it started with eight women in India.
A small group of runners in bright flowing saris darted through the streets of Bangalore to show that fitness doesn’t have to be about running gear and race culture but can look like anything you want it to.
Ten years and thousands of participants later, the Saree Run is crossing the ocean.
The U.S. edition of the Saree Run debuts Sunday in Huntington Beach Central Park East, where 5K runners and walkers are encouraged to drape themselves in saris in a celebration of health and culture.
The U.S. edition is the brainchild of L.A.-based Indian American event organizer Aanal Patel. She discovered the Saree Run through an Instagram video, one of many online, sent by a friend urging her to bring it to the U.S.
“I thought it was really, really cool,” Patel, 35, said. “But I was like, I don't know if people in the States would be interested in this because mainly here we wear saris for special occasions like weddings and receptions."
By contrast, saris are part of everyday dress for many women in India. But the idea stuck with Patel, who’d run plenty of races herself. She’s also spent years organizing events for the South Asian diaspora like Bollywood trivia games and singles mixers.
The Saree Run, she reasoned, could be another place for the diaspora to connect and spotlight urgent issues. Like how South Asians face higher rates of heart disease, diabetes and other chronic conditions. And how many women, she said, don't prioritize their health.
“We are consistently putting other people in front of our own health – our husbands, our children, our community, our households,” Patel said.
Another driving force for Patel — and a point of departure from the event’s origins in India — is the lack of South Asian visibility in fitness and wellness branding in the U.S.
“India is the birthplace of yoga. We're also the birthplace of Ayurveda, and you still don't see us represented in those spaces,” Patel said. “I wanted to bring representation into that space.”
Saree Run
Where: Central Park East, Huntington Beach
When: 5K Fun Run / Walk: 7 a.m. - 11 a.m. Programming and a vendor village operate until 4 p.m.
Cost: $50 ticket to run. All other programming is free.
Before Patel moved forward with putting on a Saree Run, she sought the blessing of the event’s founder Pramod Deshpande.
A Bangalore-based tech consultant specializing in A.I., Deshpande is also a former competitive runner and long-time running coach focused on getting Indians to move more.
The 63-year-old “Coach Pramod,” as his runners call him, came up with the Saree Run after noticing how in India women rise to top roles in government and boardrooms but are noticeably missing from the fitness world.
When he and his trainees ran through neighborhoods, women would stare at them “like we are somebody from another world.”
“Then we realized that these ladies are really interested in doing this, but are held back because of other social pressures and family responsibilities,” Deshpande said.
Safety concerns about running alone as a woman is also a big issue. The Saree Run offers strength in numbers as well as a sense of ease. Running in saris – about six yards of fabric which can be draped to fit every body type – takes the pressure off the women to feel that they have to look like models in fitness ads, Deshpande said.
Saree Run participants who kept at it typically shed their saris for lighter running gear like Deshpande’s own mother-in-law. She started running at 78 and now at 82 recently completed a half-marathon in pants and a T-shirt.
Stories like hers have helped fuel the Saree Run’s growth. Since 2016, the Saree Run has held nine editions across six cities with tens of thousands joining so far.
At the most recent event in Pune, more than 5,000 women turned out, Deshpande said.
When Patel reached out to Deshpande about bringing the concept to the U.S., he was surprised – and impressed.
“I thought, this girl has some guts,” he said, noting it took years for the Saree Run to gain traction in India.
Patel, who moved to L.A. a year and a half ago from Denver, has gamely taken on challenges of organizing a run for the first time with a small team of volunteers.
She scouted a dozen parks across L.A. and Orange counties before settling on Huntington Beach's Central Park East because it could accommodate both the run and a full day of free programming.
Aside from the 5K, there will be yoga sessions, dance classes, wellness workshops and a speaker series.
Tickets to participate in the run will be $50 a person and includes a swag bag. After expenses, proceeds will go to the Artesia-based nonprofit South Asian Helpline And Referral Agency for abuse survivors.
Run participants are strongly encouraged – but not required – to wear South Asian cultural attire which could also include a dupatta, a traditional scarf, or a kurti, a long tunic.
“Because our goal is to break the stigma,” Patel said. “Our goal is fitness without inhibitions.”
Most, though, will come in saris. Given that there are over 300 draping styles, what will Patel choose?
She’s opting for the dhoti style, which "does allow a separation between the legs for movement."
Interest has already come from other cities like Austin, Denver and Chicago with people online asking when the event might come their way.
Deshpande is also looking ahead. From India, he’s hoping to assist Patel with growing the U.S. version by tapping into diaspora networks.
“I'm here to help Aanal make it big,” Deshpande said.
