Los Angeles Negros

Los Angeles Negros

23 May, 2014
San Francisco

One day in 1972, while sitting on the "beauty seat" on a bus in New Orleans, I was returning from a friends', holding in my lap a half-dozen record albums I borrowed from them. Gradually I became aware of some not-too-nice looks coming from three African-American youths sitting on the seat opposite from me.

This would not have been the first time someone of another race had not approved of mine, this is true. Race relations were not too good in New Orleans back then. 

I felt a little uncomfortable, and wondered why they were evidently upset with me - or something about me. Also, I noticed an occasional disdainful glance or two at the record albums I had. 

The writing on the album covers was in Spanish. They must think I'm Latino, I thought to myself, as the bus neared a predominantly black area. Maybe they don't like Hispanics either.

I could feel the tension rise among them and I became increasingly apprehensive. Then the bus pulled over and stopped at the next bus stop.

The three guys arose, and my heart started pounding - there's going to be trouble, now. For what seemed like an eternity, they towered over me - yet they did or said nothing to me - gave me a brief, unhappy, parting glance, and got off the bus. 

I breathed a sigh of relief, and rested easy for the few remaining minutes of my trip. I pulled the cord for my stop, again the bus pulled over, I got out, and was crossing the wide avenue, still contemplating my experience. 

What was their problem?? SOMETHING set them off.
It was while I was standing on the median, waiting for traffic to pass, that I figured it out:

It was my RECORD ALBUM! 


It was the cover of the record they could see: It was by "LOS ANGELES NEGROS," a South American singing group very popular back then. From Chile, the group was composed of very fair-skinned young men.

I didn't make the connection because I was looking at it from a Latino perspective, in which this group was called the "Black Angels" as the name translated into English. 

Like the Cleveland Indians using the term "Indians" when in reality there were no Indians on the team, some blacks, at first look, thought it meant Los Angeles NEGROES - meaning Los Angeles Black Guys, being used as the name of a white Latin band!

PERSPECTIVES!