#little armenia

[circuitmouse]

Le Goût Bakery and Cafe, Hollywood

[dynamicsofthecity]

Little Armenia

Zoe Deyermond

Little Armenia is an enclave located in Los Angeles, right next to Hollywood, named after the prominent Armenian community that settled in the area after the Armenian genocide that began in 1915. This small area of Los Angeles has grown throughout the decades to reflect Armenian culture and to preserve the history of those that live there, ultimately making Little Armenia the place with the largest Armenian population outside of Armenia itself (Mirzoyan). One of the most prominent attributes to Armenian culture is the emphasis on hospitality and etiquette for guests of a space. This could potentially be accredited to the culture’s faith in Christianity, and the belief that guests are sent as a gift from God (Bock). Aside from these cultural and moral beliefs for Armenian people and their communities, there also remains the fact that the city of Los Angeles holds a prominent and widespread population of people experiencing homelessness and a lack of hospitality. My goal in traveling to Little Armenia, with these ideas in mind, was to examine how people interact with the space as well as to see the types of people that are included in these spaces. Alongside this, I also interacted with several business owners in order to get a better understanding of how residents of the community might interact with non-residents or unhoused individuals.

The primary concern with the power dynamics of accommodating such a large population of unhoused and mentally ill individuals in a city such as Los Angeles would be the ever present systems and constructions of oppressive practices. Such practices can be observed through the use of exclusive architecture, monetary coercion, or blatantly destructive actions like “clean-ups” around the city. Practices like this that dismantle and further diminish the livelihood of unohoused individuals is not only cruel and inhumane, but largely counterproductive as it wastes resources on exclusionary measures instead of offering any real assistance. This being said, the responsibility to do better in terms of providing support for unhoused individuals should not solely fall onto the backs of local business owners and residents, but it is a good place to start in order to get attention from bigger organizations that only seem to exacerbate the issue. Focusing on Little Armenia as a foundational understanding of how the homeless population could be better accommodated in Los Angeles, I chose to travel to three different businesses, as well as the local church and the murals located around Winona Blvd.

My first impression of Little Armenia as a space was how clean and well kept the outdoor environment was. The sidewalks were relatively clean in comparison to the space around campus, and trash was seemingly nonexistent. This was impressive to me because the sidewalk space itself seems to be a fraction of the size that it is in Hollywood, but nonetheless seemed to be well taken care of. The first business that I walked to was a local coffee shop called Obet & Del’s, which serves a wide variety of coffees and teas, and also provided a welcoming atmosphere with open doors and open concept seating. The barista was very friendly and talkative, and I asked him to make me his favorite coffee. I was given a Filipino iced coffee, which was delicious, and I sat down in one of the available seats to observe the space. During my time here, there were about 20 other customers that entered and left, with about 5 of them utilizing the open seating. The demographic of these customers were mostly young adults. A good portion of them appeared to be college students, but the vast majority appeared to be local residents and regulars to the shop. The employees were all very friendly with each of the customers and even brought their drinks to their tables, if they chose to sit down. Another thing that I noticed about this business was how they would greet each of the customers upon entrance, as well as say goodbye and thank you when people left. I thought this was really refreshing and not something you would experience in a chain coffee shop.

After I left, I decided to go visit the local church, which is called St Garabed Armenian Church, and is located on Alexandria Ave. On my way there, the tidiness of the space was consistent, and I was unable to find but one tent on the sidewalk. Instead, unhoused individuals seemed to navigate and utilize the space just the same as everyone else and were even welcomed into many of the spaces, such as thrift stores or places with bathrooms. I feel this contrasts much of my experience thus far in Los Angeles where the homeless individuals are frequently excluded from these common areas. The benches were even more inclusive, as many of them were free of bars or handles and were being utilized by unhoused individuals. Upon arriving at the church, the front doors were unfortunately locked, however, I did spend a good amount of time outside of the church to take in the architecture and observe the overall surroundings. Much like the rest of Little Armenia, this space was very clean and well maintained. One aspect of the church that I observed was the implementation of outdoor, public water fountains for drinking. They were located at the front entrance of the church and were fully functional, providing access to clean water for people that might not otherwise have it. Once again, a very drastic difference to other areas around Los Angeles that make the best attempt at deterring unhoused people.

Next, I traveled back the way I came from and decided to eat at a local Armenian restaurant called Carousel’s. I went here alone, but this did not impact the positive experience that I had. I was seated at a table in the middle of the restaurant where I was best able to take in the surroundings. The space was very cozy and relaxing, both with the arrangement of the tables, the music, and the friendliness of the staff. There were about 15 other people dining at the restaurant at this time, with one large group of about eight guests, and two smaller groups at other tables. Although I was alone, I did not feel judged by any of the people here, which I really appreciate. I decided to order an eggplant dish, which was called the Mousakka plate, and it came with an Armenian style salad, an arrangement of cheeses and vegetables, pita bread, and a choice of one side. I decided to order the rice as my side, and the waitress was mindful to ask me about my diet preferences. I told her that I was a vegetarian, and she notified me that the rice contained chicken broth and brought me a plate of fries instead. My food arrived quickly and I was frequently checked on by multiple staff members about the quality of my food. There were outdoor seating options available, as well as a restroom open to the public, although nobody used it during this time. I packed up the remainder of my food to go, as the portions were quite large, and started to head back towards campus.

On my way back, I came across the murals located around Winona Blvd, which depict references to the Armenian genocide in 1915. One of the most prominent murals was the one called We Are Still Here, which was painted in 2015 and appears to showcase an older Armenian woman bound by chains at the wrist, releasing the tortured spirits from the past. Her mouth is covered with red cloth that reads “1915” across her lips. I spent a good amount of time here as well, taking in the artwork and appreciating the effort that is put into maintaining these large scale murals. The eyes of the woman in the painting visibly carry a lot of pain and suffering and I thought this was a really poetic way to honor and commemorate Armenian history and the residents of this space. Finally, my last stop in Little Armenia was a chandelier shop located on Hollywood Blvd, which was called George’s Lighting Plus. At first, I entered the shop because I was attracted to the beautiful chandeliers and lamps, but I stayed much longer than I anticipated to speak with the man working inside. He went into great detail about the lamp and chandelier services that they offer, as well as brought me around the store to show me some of his favorite pieces, and other works in progress. I was really touched by his enthusiasm over his lamps as well as his eagerness to welcome me into the store. I walked around a bit, thanked him for his customer service, and left with some really lovely pictures. Overall, my experience in Little Armenia was very positive and I witnessed more than one instance of accommodation for non residents and unhoused people. I think that other areas around the city should look to Little Armenia as an example of being able to keep a space clean without totally excluding those in need.

Bibliography

    Bock, Gregory L. “The Philosophy of Forgiveness.” vernonpress.com, 2019. https://vernonpress.com/index.php/file/6661/d4f20d145841a3af4df4e73b6ef881de/1537944706.pdf.

    Mirzoyan, Inna. “The Armenian Ethnic Enclave of L.A.” Armenian Los Angeles | Department of Sociology | Michigan State University, June 2, 2022. https://sociology.msu.edu/news/inna-essay.html.

[metamorphesque]

I never thought twice about Armenia until I started following your blog. Thank you for sharing your love for your country and culture! The way you speak about it makes me nostalgic for a place I’ve never been. Much love to you from Colombia 💛

(Ps. Fun fact! There is a town here called Armenia hehe)

I’ve always felt that sharing culture is like inviting someone into your home, and it means so much to hear that you feel that connection too. And how cool is it that Colombia has a town called Armenia?! It feels like a little bridge between us!

Thank you for your sweet words! 🧡

[marianomoreno]

yesterday some yank asked me what the flag on my bio was and i said armenia and he said then are you armenian or argentinian and i said im argentine with armenian heritage and he said oh thats unique and at this point i was already starting to get mad bc theres no reason he should know that but no it's not and i think it's stupid to presume but he was clearly nice so I couldn't really say anything and then. and then he said. "there's lots of armenians and azerbaijanis here in the US tho". what like it's the same? also what like you get immigration but we don't?

[nazzers]

WHY DID THIS GET VIDEO GET TAKEN DOWN FROM MY ACCOUNT ON TIKTOK????? HUHHHH

[mothmandibles]

woahh crazy guys from @geometryyaoi 's site Millennium Comet that you guys should all 100% check out...

[servuscallidus]

I Need to go to Scotland

[anotherescsite]

Thirty Seven Little Films - ARMENIA

ARMENIA

Jako - Ladaniva

Selection method: Internal

Has it been heard live? no

Semi final # 2

Drawn: 8th

I am generally not a fan of the Armenian songs. I need to say this before you read on, because I think it is important. I have not liked their genre of music, the way they are sung, the way they are much hyped each year and they generally get a meh outcome.

This, on the other hand, is a masterpiece. Traditionally dressed Jaklin in a small town environment with farm animal, pomegranates, traditional rugs and what is expected of her as a proper small town Armenia girl. That does not last long. She rebels, has fun, sings, dances, moves around and has a great time. Jaklin is very engaging and very fun which is only half the story.

Armenia has chosen to go with a traditional song and it is in Armenian. The music is uplifting and has a joyous bounce to it. It is punctuated with Louis trumpet playing and a clever inclusion of the piccolo. It give the music a large, more pronounced sound that makes you wanted to stand up and enjoy yourself. The song doesn't stand still either and doesn't conform to the expectations. I guess that is the purpose of the song.

Qualifier: Oh yes. (assuming she can sing)

[quercussp]

.

[arabela25]

Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022 countdown: 16 days left!

DANCE! - Nare, Armenia 🇦🇲 [x]

[weidli]

while a/b/o fic 99.9999% of the time just does not appeal to me at all and the tag is a sign to skip a particular fic i Will admit that it feels different when i encounter a/b/o fic in the supernatural ao3 tag compared to encountering it anywhere else. yeah you weird little fandom that’s exactly what you’re supposed to be doing

[eurovision-del]

21. Armenia – Future Lover

Oof I remember this feeling. Brunette nails that sort of empty longing where you know you should be fine alone but damn it would be nice to be in a relationship and you feel lacking without it. I really like how this is structured, with the gentle, intimate start, then building through the chorus before exploding in the second part. The music in each section perfectly evokes the emotions sung about – the quiet yearning in the first part, followed by the desperation and panic in the second. The pace there builds the tension perfectly, I just wish it built to something a little more exciting than ‘be good do good look good’. That chorus drags down the whole song for me – I think the repetition is trying to evoke a mantra, but I find the melody dull and the repetition doesn’t help. I think the idea of the chorus is that it contrasts the verses which are focused on all the anxieties about finding love, by instead focusing on what she can control, but I think it would be stronger if it explored that idea more instead of just repeating the one line, and as it stands it feels lyrically disconnected from the verses – we go straight from panic attacks to deciding to be good. I do think the song ends strongly though, the Armenian section makes much better use of the chorus melody, and the lyrics there about the future lover being so far away is a great way to sum up the song. Overall, while I don’t really gel with the chorus, this is an emotional and very interesting entry.

[quasi-normalcy]

It's actually really frightening to see officially sanctioned genocide denial rise up in Western countries in real time. Like, I remember 20 years ago hearing about how it was illegal in Turkey to point out that the Armenian Genocide happened, and how I thought that that was fucking evil and oppressive. Now here we are, with a campaign in Gaza that experts have called 'a textbook case of genocide', for which the UN Human Rights counsel has determined there are "reasonable grounds" to call it genocide, and the US Congress is trying to make it illegal to criticize Israel. We have Hollywood agencies refusing to represent anyone who points out that a genocide is currently taking place. And it's just the same shit from a fresh asshole as we got from the Turkish government over what happened in Armenia in the 1920s, like "Oh yes, there were killings, but...calling it genocide? Ohhhh, you must be very hateful to our poor little nation to think that our people are capable of that 😢 😭!" Fuck off.

[metamorphesque]

its so comforting to see someone unbashedly love their country and culture. the way u write and speak of it its so refreshing to me. im from india and well, the state of our country isnt good our fascist leader is successfully dividing the people and its so rare these days to find ppl just simply love where they come from, culture and language without any hate for anyone else. so i absolutely adore it when i see u talk abt armenia its like one can see how much care u hold for the language and the country. wishing for peace and sending love x

I am sorry, dear, that dark clouds are looming over your bright and colorful land of magic. In my lifetime, I’ve had the pleasure of encountering a few young Indian people (both in real life and online), and I have a lot of love and respect for your nation and its culture. I am sure that brighter days are awaiting both our homelands.

You see, what I’ve noticed is that some people often confuse their fatherland with their government. The hatred that they have toward the latter often taints the love and respect they ought to have toward their homeland. But, once and for all, we must remember that these two are not synonymous. Fatherland is a place where the roots of history, culture and identity intertwine. A fatherland is not just a geographical location; it is a sanctuary of shared memories, values and traditions passed down through generations. It represents the collective spirit of a people, their history, struggles and triumphs. To call a place one's fatherland is to cherish it as a cradle of life, as one’s own home.

To me, the love one has for their fatherland is like a mathematical function that always moves towards infinity (its designated final value) but never quite reaches it. One can never love their fatherland enough. There’s always something more you can do, there’s always something better you can do. I guess the vessel that carries one’s love toward their homeland is only ever fully filled when one gives up their life to protect their fatherland.

I can only speak from my own experience – I was raised historically and, more or less, politically conscious. When you’re a six or seven-year-old impressionable kid and you visit The Museum of The Armenian Genocide of 1915, you see the photographs, the articles, all the documentation that exists – firstly, you’ll never be the same again, and secondly, your naïve childish brain thinks that, as you’ve always been told, whenever someone commits a crime or does something bad, they get punished. Then I looked around and noticed that these heinous crimes, these massacres, were not only left unpunished, but the whole thing was swept under the rug by the world, as if it never happened. Then you grow up, sharing borders with the enemy, the dagger of war swaying upon your head, with every new day bringing more and more deaths of Armenian soldiers serving on the border. You see your enemy disrespecting you, your history and your culture. You see them erasing your history and your culture … and all of this is accompanied by the crickets of the world. Then there’s Western Armenia calling for us, a topic that I plan on writing more about. And at last, our Ararat that you can see so very clearly from Armenia …

And, alongside this, there’s this immense pride you feel in being an heir to a nation that created a culture so distinctly beautiful, a nation that gave birth to luminaries such as Grigor Narekaci, Sayat-Nova, Hovhannes Toumnyan, Vahan Teryan, Eghishe Charenc, Daniel Varujan, Paruyr Sevak, Misak Metsarenc, Silva Kaputikyan, Hovhannes Grigoryan, Vardges Petrosyan, Martiros Saryan, Sergey Parajanov, Shahan Nathalie, Gurgen Yanikyan, Monte Melqonyan, and the list goes on … the nation that invented color television, ATMs, hand-held hair dryers, coffee machines, PET scans, MRI and so much more.

Have all of this brew in your soul and dare not to love and cherish your fatherland – you can’t.

[the-cooler-king]

Me a few days ago: let's work on the discussion! What's the theme question?... contributing factors to world War one..... I can put this off.

Me tonight after putting this assignment off till two hours before it's due: when do I stop writing

[blastdamage]

the irony in aliyev accusing armenians of controlling politicians and the EU when hes the one spending vast sums of money bribing various politicians into remaining silent and complicit in his crimes against humanity would be hilarious if it werent so horrifyingly dystopian