At just 29, Aileen Elizabeth Castañeda Orozco decided to take a leap. With money she had saved and a passion for vegan food, she opened PlanTita’s Kitchen, a Mexican vegan restaurant in Long Beach, in May of 2023. 

The Bixby Knolls Car Wash in Long Beach opened at 8 a.m. like always on Saturday, Sept. 13. For a little over two hours, staff worked as they always have, hand washing cars and detailing interiors.

Then, around 10:30 a.m., about 12 unmarked vehicles surrounded the car wash from Linden to Atlantic Avenue.

Approximately 14 people exited the vehicles. 

Many wore plain clothes and had no visible badge. All wore vests saying ‘police’ and face masks. 

Todo empieza con una idea.

On a stage inside a small screening room, six directors held a Q&A. 

All had taken part in the Queer Diaspora, a series of LA-based queer-centric screenings hosted by filmmaker Gregorio Davila. 

Dressed in authentic snakeskin boots, queer Chicano filmmaker Daniel Eduvijes Carrera attended his screening of “El Paisa,” a 2023 upbeat drama short about a young, punk Latino coming to terms with his sexuality. 

While driving down Anaheim Street in Long Beach, you might pass a hidden gem. It is not an influencer restaurant or a trendy store with bright lights. Rather, it is Guv’nors Boxing Club, an old-school-style gym filled with the passion and determination of its owner, Elizabeth Parr. A Latina from the city of South Gate, California, she explained that her earliest memories of boxing came as a child, with her father being a heavy influence. 

Bright red flowers grow in an open book, watered by three helping hands in a house-like frame. Beneath it reads, “Cultivating Comunidad”, a slogan created by Casita Bookstore’s proud owner.