The Nightclub Turned ‘Safe Haven’ For Angeleno Youth (And Other Headlines)

As a kid growing up in East Hollywood in the late ‘90s, still without regular access to the internet, I would have loved having a creative space to visit after school or during the weekend. So I was maybe a tad jealous reading about the story of 12-year-old Wilber “Wilpower” Urbina, who found that space in an unlikely place: a hip-hop club in MacArthur Park. It was called the Youth Break Center, Inc. — better known as Radiotron.

A place to breakdance

Before it transformed into a youth center, it was an avant-garde, underground space called Radio Club. It then became Radiotron, a place where kids could breakdance for hours for less than 75 cents. Urbina then became a part of the trendsetting Air Force Crew, (an inspiration for Korea’s b-boying scene) which was founded at Radiotron.

Radiotron was opened in 1983 by a young Mexican American dancer named Carmelo Alvarez, who had dreams of opening up a performing arts center in his childhood neighborhood of MacArthur Park — and it became a place of inspiration and safe haven for Angeleno youths like Urbina.

“He (Alvarez) was kind of like a father figure,” Urbina said. “In barrios or hoods, most people just grew up with just a mom. To see and hear a kind person say good things, that’s great. He didn’t want anything in return. He wants you to do good, to stay away from trouble. To do art. In this place, you could do graffiti, it was really a safe haven."

Read more about the history of Radiotron and its close connections to West Coast hip-hop.

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Wait... one more thing

What to eat when it's too damn hot to cook

Bun cha gio

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Gab Chabrán

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LAist

)

It felt like only yesterday when we were experiencing an extended June Gloom and May Doom and wishing for the sun to come out. Now we’re in peak hot weather. And as someone who just moved and is trying to conserve energy (but also feeling a little lazy), the last thing I want is to turn on a hot stove to make a meal.

My colleague Gab Chabrán put together this handy guide of meals that will keep you and your house cool during this heatwave.

And speaking of Gab and summer food, tonight is the Culinary Connections event with How To LA host, Brian De Los Santos. Don’t forget to grab your tickets before the event starts at 7 p.m., and if you can’t make it in person, there will also be a livestream! Get your tickets here.