Prototype Issue
The Emancipation of Cholo Style in LA
By Kamren Curiel
(page 2 of 2)Cartoon is a family man, but he didn’t start having kids until he was 35. Today he is a proud father of four and warns anyone who doesn’t have children that like tattoos they’re addictive. In the true spirit of Chicanos from LA, he cruises the streets to a soundtrack dominated by classic soul—artists like The Whatnots and Dynamic Superiors—but also dips into the music of those he tattoos—50 Cent and Paul Wall—and breaks it up with some Doors and Nirvana.
Cartoon and Oriol, who share a love for the strong women in their lives, their children and Manuel’s Mexican food in East LA, have another commitment: giving back to the streets they grew up on. Their airbrushed old schools, tatted arms and street apparel make it easy for youngsters growing up in the ’hood to relate to them. They walk into juvenile halls and high schools as living proof that sports and rap music aren’t the only money-making hustles offered to young people today; photography and drawing are ways up too.
Drowned by his hypnotizing Chevy lowrider collection, Cartoon reflects on life’s real hustle. “This all looks great and beautiful, but it’s not real,” Cartoon says. “What’s real is invisible—a sense of humor, thoughts, dreams, experience, love, even my pain and failures—all the things I can’t grab. You’ll know I’ve made it when you see me walking down the street with no jewelry, no nothing. But for now, I’ll suffer. I’ll be the martyr with plasmas and jewels. I’ll set up the blueprint for these youngsters to prepare them for the next hundred years
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