Global Los Angeles

[pesto]

Good news but terrible writing. I assume they mean that a plurality of visitors were from Australia (more than any other country) not "most" were from Australia. Also, the logic of more tourism coming from more flights is a little suspect. Better to say that the demand for tourism brought about a scheduling of more flights.

Let's hear it for the Broad, Cirque du Soleil, the Hollywood clubs and bars, and...a weak dollar!

[VZN]

The next wave of European pop stars invade L.A.

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Los Angeles has long been a destination for artistic dreamers from Europe: Zsa Zsa Gabor moved to Hollywood from Hungary in the 1940s to act. Warsaw-born Roman Polanski moved to Southern California in the 1960s to direct.

Not to mention one ambitious actor named Arnold Schwarzenegger, who arguably has done more to boost California's image as a place receptive to Europeans than any tourism initiative the state might have dreamed up the past 30 years.

But for accented aspiring pop stars from the EU and beyond, L.A. hasn't generally been considered the place to launch an international music career. That honor fell to cities such as London and New York. Until now.

These days Manhattan is getting the flyover treatment as singers from all over Europe and farther east set their sights on the U.S. market via Hollywood as the new must-conquer gateway to American ears and eyes.

Artists such as Estonia's Kerli, Italy's Marco Bosco, t.A.T.u.'s Lena Katina from Russia, Slovakia's TWiiNS and Austria's Fawni are suddenly swarming L.A. with dreams of making it big.

Their presence is being felt at small clubs such as the Troubadour (Katina played a solo show at the venue last year) to red carpets (Fawni is now well known to Hollywood event photographers) to purchased billboards on Sunset Boulevard (Bosco recently bought expensive outdoor media to promote himself along the busy, high visibility corridor).

"I love being here...Los Angeles is my second home now," says Katina, who is working on her first solo record and now splits her time between L.A. and Moscow."

Katina and other singers from Russia and Europe's timing couldn't be better: America has finally started to embrace the increasing globalization of pop music on a scale beyond the occasional super group (see ABBA) or German one-hit wonder (see Nena's "99 Luftballoons") thanks largely to Websites such as YouTube, which has leveled the playing field and cut out past gatekeepers such as MTV.

Swedish singer Robyn topped many critical lists in 2010, with Denmark's Medina set to make similar inroads in the United States this year with early adopters in the pop and dance music arenas.

But perhaps the most interesting singer ready to make the crossover in 2011 is Estonia's Kerli.

"When I first got here, someone told me 'there are no friends in the music business' and I was so hurt," the former winner of a Baltic version of "American Idol" said over coffee at a West Hollywood restaurant last month.

"But Los Angeles is an amazing place to live once you find the people that inspire you, and I've found that circle of friends here," the singer said. "We make art together, and we constantly feed off each other."

The blonde beauty who looks like a glammed-out Goth version of Lady Gaga (though she and her fans loathe the comparison) and sounds like a hybrid of Bjork, Brandy and Avril Lavigne moved to L.A. around four years ago and has been slowly winning over American fans ever since.

Her debut for Island Records, 2008's "Love Is Dead," did fairly well for a new artist, considering Kerli is pushing a sound she herself calls "Bubblegoth." According to Nielsen SoundScan, around 65,000 copies were sold.

However, both the singer and her label are thinking bigger this year after buzz surrounding her just-released "Army Of Love" began heating up the internet.

It's too soon to tell if mainstream pop radio stations will embrace Kerli in 2011 (her follow-up full length record is expected to see a release by summer), but there are encouraging signs. AOL's popular Popeater blog featured the singer late last year in a campaign worthy of a former "American Idol" star; rolling out her video for the released-in-December "Army Of Love" with video diaries building up to a December 22 premiere.

"It's like Euro trash meets angels singing in a choir," Kerli said of "Army Of Love," which continues to draw interest online because of the video, which has a curious mix of swirling melodies set against striking visuals (the clip was shot in Estonia).

Adventurous college radio listeners have long been boosters of acts from the Baltic states and other European countries, but mainstream pop fans rarely hear singers such as Kerli on the U.S. pop charts.

And while European artists who have "made it" overseas have been buying second homes in the Hollywood Hills for decades, more interesting are the new pop singers living nearby, such as Slovakia's TWiiNS, who are hoping against odds to make a name for themselves in America after a modicum of success elsewhere.

The duo, who are identical twins, moved to L.A. last year. They are currently working on their first record for L.A.-based indie label B Records with known U.S. producers including Bryan Todd, who has worked with names such as Jordin Sparks.

"We love Los Angeles because of the weather, nice people and shopping, but the main reason why we moved is our work," Veronika Nízlové said via email last month.

Her twin sister Daniela added the transition has not been easy.

"It's really hard to come from Eastern Europe and try to achieve success in America. We are not native speakers, we are not Americans...it's a little disadvantage to us, but our big advantage is that we are twins. "

TWiiNS, which scored a minor European hit last year with a remake of Sabrina Salerno's 1980s hit "Boys," seem already savvy to the city's sometimes cruel undercurrent. In their forthcoming single "Welcome to Hollywood," the pair warn other aspiring singers that not everything is sunshine and smiles in the City of Angels.

"The song is not about the perfect Hollywood," Veronika said, "It's about people with their 'friendly faces' which is far from being true. You should have open eyes and be careful whom you trust. Hollywood and all that goes along with it really has two sides to it."

Sage advice from Los Angeles' latest émigrés, who sing on their soon-to-be released single: "Welcome to Hollywood/Boy you better give it up before it gets you down/Welcome to Hollywood/Just got to get a grip of how to get around."

[klamedia]

Nothing good can come out of this.

[pesto]

Klam: I suspect there is going to be lots of weirdness, funny accents, and customs we have never heard of.

LA is kind of missing an Eastern European influence. Lat Am, Asia, the Middle East are very well represented and the Brits have been coming for years but not too many Eastern Europeans (the older Jewish community is about gone, which leaves just some Russians).

[croyboy]

it adds to the already dynamic icon culture of L.A.

[VZN]

Originally Posted by klamedia

Nothing good can come out of this.

[CITYofDREAMS]

They forgot to mention Nastassja(Natasha) Kinski...

[KingNick]

Who the hell are those people? Never heard of them before. I mean shouldn't a star at least be some kind of famous?

Eastern Europeans to LA? Rather not, don't like their accent.

[djm19]

LA actually already has a lot of Russians. Especially old Russians. They really seem to have invaded, perhaps in their retirement.

[klamedia]

Russians have been in LA for a very long time, not just in their retirement. Eastern Europeans in the form of Armenians from Eastern Europe are a major presence in this city and basically run Glendale.

[Westsidelife]

^ Armenians are somewhat hard to define. Are they Eastern European or Middle Eastern? Some Armenians look Russian, while others look more Persian. Personally, I just refer to them as Caucasian (they're technically from the Caucasus region).

I know LASF is Armenian. It would be interesting to get his take.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by Westsidelife

^ Armenians are somewhat hard to define. Are they Eastern European or Middle Eastern? Some Armenians look Russian, while others look more Persian. Personally, I just refer to them as Caucasian (they're technically from the Caucasus region).

I know LASF is Armenian. It would be interesting to get his take.

Well, Armenia, the country is in the Caucasus, but because of the genocide, the diaspora was spread out all over. You have Armenians from Russia, Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon, who are all influenced by the country they are from. its very interesting how similar yet different we can be.

[klamedia]

That's exactly what I was referring to. Some Armenians because of whatever has happened historically are not just in Armenia, they are spread over a large area. I frequently meet Armenians from Russia, Armenia and one guy I know from Egypt.

[pesto]

I actually spent a weekend in Amsterdam with an Armenian girl from Sweden; Armenian looks but a Swedish accent. She was crazy.

btw, FIFA doesn't know what to do with them either, but for political reasons dumps them into Europe (with Israel) so they won't have to play Muslim teams.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

its tough being one of the few Christian nations in that area. Not exactly everyones favorite over there... lol

[Kingofthehill]

Originally Posted by pesto

LA is kind of missing an Eastern European influence.

Have you not been to Fairfax, WeHo or EHO lately? Those places - along Glendale and the SFV, with its Russian-speaking Armenans - are crawling with Russians. LA has the largest Russian population on the West Coast, and is one of the top five largest Russian-speaking cities in the county.

[milquetoast]

It's the KING.

[pesto]

Originally Posted by Kingofthehill

Have you not been to Fairfax, WeHo or EHO lately? Those places - along Glendale and the SFV, with its Russian-speaking Armenans - are crawling with Russians. LA has the largest Russian population on the West Coast, and is one of the top five largest Russian-speaking cities in the county.

KOTH: Actually I visit WeHo, Fairfax and Glendale quite regularly. Including today and tomorrow (going to "Noises Off" on Brand and then grab some Armenian food).

You gotta read my whole quote. I specifically exempt Russians and the older Jewish community on Fairfax. Armenians are not really eastern European (other side of Turkey) so are not really part of the discussion, unless you want to include Georgians, Azerbaijanis, and various Turkish groups as well.

[VZN]

Ethiopian community gathers to celebrate Timket

Huddled beneath a large white tent, hundreds of people sang together in the early morning darkness. For hours, they repeated a single word: Hallelujah.

They were gathered last Sunday to mark Timket, the Ethiopian Orthodox celebration of the Epiphany. For the faithful, the holiday commemorates Jesus' baptism in the River Jordan and his revelation as the son of God.

Los Angeles' Timket celebration is the largest in the United States. It takes place over a January weekend each year in a parking lot outside the Forum in Inglewood.

Ethiopian immigrants flock from across the country and Canada to receive blessings from church bishops who wear elaborate beaded cloaks and full gray beards. Organizers say it may be the largest gathering of Ethiopians outside that nation in the Horn of Africa.

The highlight takes place Sunday afternoon, when the bishops dip their crosses into a plastic pool of water and sprinkle it on the bowed heads of believers.

The feeling during the reenactment of the baptism is beyond words, said one participant, Tsehay Tseghun. "It blesses you the whole year," she said.

Tsehay and some friends were sitting near the tent last Sunday, preparing lunch. They chatted as they trimmed slices of beef that would be cooked with chili peppers, rosemary and onions and piled onto sourdough flatbread.

The festival, she said, goes beyond religion. It's a chance for Ethiopians to reconnect with their friends, family and culture.

Tsehay, who immigrated to the U.S. in 1980 and lives with her family in Baldwin Hills, grew up in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa. She remembers the way Timket is celebrated there.

Schools and shops are closed during the weeklong festivities, she said. And there are splendid processions, in which bishops carry replicas of the Ark of the Covenant, venerated as the vessel that carried the Ten Commandments, on their heads.

In Los Angeles, organizers have made some adaptations. Timket lasts only two days, and replicas of the covenant are brought to the Forum not on bishops' heads, but in limousines.

Under the tent Sunday, several of the city's prominent African American politicians sat in folding chairs in the front row. Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jan Perry, who was draped in a gauzy Ethiopian scarf, Maxine Waters and Rep. Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles), said they had come to show their support for the community.

In 2001, the City Council designated several blocks of Fairfax Avenue as Little Ethiopia — a symbol of the political sway the immigrants have won since they started arriving here three decades ago. Many were fleeing the Derg regime, a Communist military junta that ruled Ethiopia from 1974 until 1987.

Kesis Melaku Terefe, a priest at Los Angeles' Virgin Mary Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, which organized this year's event, alluded to that strife in a sermon in which he called on the audience to work for peace.

"Let us not forget the path that Jesus took and the path that our leader Martin Luther King took," he said in English.

Despite the fact that much of the service was conducted in Amharic, Ethiopia's official language, the festival attracted a varied crowd.

Harold Gabourel, a reggae singer and Rastafarian who was raised in South Los Angeles, said he had come because he wanted to witness the ceremonies of one of the few pre-Colonial Christian churches of Africa.

"It's celebrating something ancient," said Gabourel, dressed in a white linen suit whose shoulders bore the green, yellow and red stripes of the Ethiopian flag.

Ethiopians believe their religion dates to the time of Christ. The Acts of the Apostles describe Philip the Evangelist baptizing an Ethiopian official, laying the foundations for what would become the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

The church, which broke with the Roman Catholic Church after the Council of Chalcedon in 451, is closely related to other Orthodox branches, including the Armenian Orthodox Church.

Jamie Grumet, who was raised in the Armenian church, brought her husband, Brian, and their two sons to Timket. She said she had come to see the Ethiopian incarnation of Orthodox Christianity, and also to show their 4-year-old, Samuel, a bit of his culture. The Grumets adopted Samuel from an orphanage in Ethiopia last November.

"We're just trying to keep up his heritage, she said as Samuel played with a water bottle nearby.

Fassika Kebede, an Ethiopian who moved to Los Angeles as a teenager, had also brought his son to the festival. He and Yadel, 3, had ducked out of the ceremony and were looking at a display of gospel music CDs outside the tent.

In Ethiopia, Fassika said, children learn Amharic in school by reading spiritual texts. To learn Ethiopian culture, his son would have to learn its religion.

"I want to pass it on to him," Fassika said. He pointed to the tent, where people were once again singing. "Because he's the one who is going to be doing this some day."

[saiholmes]

Originally Posted by Los Angeles Times

Freeway signs in Montebello take note of Armenian genocide
The signs next to the Pomona Freeway direct motorists to the Armenian Genocide Martyrs Monument, which draws thousands of Armenians each April 24 to commemorate the 1915 massacre. Armenians say a freeway marker could lead to wider acknowledgement of the deaths of 1.5 million.
By Bob Pool, Los Angeles Times
April 2, 2011

It's only a sign.

But the large green message board unveiled next to the Pomona Freeway packed an emotional punch for those gathered Friday in Montebello.

"Armenian Genocide Martyrs Monument Next Exit," it reads.

A pair of the directional signs, authorized by the state Legislature, point the way to a memorial tower above Garfield Avenue that commemorates the attempt a century ago to eliminate Armenians from the Ottoman Empire.

People of Armenian descent from throughout Los Angeles gathered beneath the tower to thank state officials for recognizing their history — and for perhaps leading the way to what they hope is wider acknowledgement of the massacre of 1.5 million people.

Leaders of modern-day Turkey dispute the "genocide" label. The United States, worried about U.S.-Turkish relations, has not taken a formal position on the subject.

The directional signs will likely send "shockwaves" through those who fail to recognize the impact that the killings and deportations still have on Armenians around the world, said Grigor Hovhannisyan, Armenia's consul general.

"This is an international event that will be heard around the world," agreed Levon Kirakosian, a Glendale lawyer who helped organize the ceremony.

"These words are now nailed on the wall for all to see."

Legislation authorizing the signs was authored by state Assemblyman Charles Calderon (D-Whittier), who recalled growing up in Montebello and being influenced by his boyhood best friend's Armenian grandmother.

"This is not just another freeway sign," Calderon told the crowd of about 200.

The six-legged memorial tower, dedicated in 1968, draws thousands of Armenians each April 24 to commemorate the 1915 massacre. Calderon described the tower as "a beacon that stands in the night" for human rights.

Although there are few living survivors of the massacre — ceremony organizers say one of them, Montebello resident Hrant Zeitounzian, was 100 when he died Wednesday— Los Angeles-area Armenians labor to keep their history alive among younger generations.

"We're here today because of the hard work of our grandparents and great-grandparents," said Kevork Tutunjian, a 25-year-old writer from Glendale. "I'll make sure this monument resonates with my great-grandkids."

Garabed Armoudikian, 61, a Pasadena service station operator, held Armenian and American flags as he watched the ceremony. He predicted that the display will prompt discussion among those who travel the Pomona Freeway and who may be unaware of Armenian history.

And that's a good sign, Armoudikian said.

Read More: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...,2490459.story