Twenty-nine-year-old Andrew Salcedo has been involved in the graffiti scene since middle school. He remembers his friends having to go to South Central to buy the spray paint they needed to create art on the walls of Boyle Heights.
“I always thought like, man, for the guys right here, it would be cool to just be able to walk Cesar Chavez, get a drink, and be like, ‘Oh, let me get a marker, too, at the same time. Let me grab a spray can,’” Salcedo said.
That’s why Salcedo, along with friends Danny Diaz, 30, and George Turcios, 28, opened La Calle Sucia, which appears to be the only shop in Boyle Heights dedicated to selling graffiti supplies. The shop, which opened in June 2023, is owned by graffiti artists, for graffiti artists.
At La Calle Sucia, you can find paint markers, graffiti mops, spray paints, and caps. They also sell scribes, black books, canvases, and blank skate decks. La Calle Sucia also has a clothing line, offering shirts and sweaters. The owners also do art commissions.
The three owners met during middle school, around the time they started getting into graffiti. Turcios’ older brother, who has since died, introduced him to Diaz and Salcedo. They remember hanging out behind the Girls and Boys Club, doing pieces together. They also recall taking care of each other when things got difficult at home.
“You make friends from early, and you become family,” Diaz said.
The friends considered opening a graffiti shop while working on a memorial piece in honor of Turcios’ brother on an alley near their home, which they got permission from the neighbors. Then they contemplated the name: La Calle Sucia.
“La Calle Sucia could mean anything. You can’t trust the streets, you know,” Diaz said. “The streets are dirty. You can be with someone, and your partner ends up doing you dirty. Or you could buy weed, and they could lace it with fentanyl.”
“There’s always something up in Boyle Heights,” Turcios added.
Making the shop a reality has not been easy. None of the friends had ever opened or managed a business. They all have full-time jobs, and it can be hard to manage time between the shop and their families. They also said that financially securing the space was challenging. With support from their loved ones and the community, they opened up shop in the summer of 2023.
Candelas Guitars, the shop next door, gave La Calle Sucia a guitar that the guys used as a canvas for their graffiti. Local business owners have visited the space to offer business advice, they said. Their family has also stepped up, with their partners tending to the shop while they work their daytime jobs.
“We love the culture so much we want to be a part of it,” Salcedo said. “Now, we’re three kids from Boyle Heights that opened up their own graffiti shop,” Turcios said.
The trio has many goals for La Calle Sucia. They want to host classes to teach kids about lettering and how to draw characters and open a gallery space. Their aim is to create a sustainable future, not just for their business but for the graffiti culture of Boyle Heights. La Calle Sucia aims to showcase graffiti art in a gallery space and display it not as vandalism but as art.
For now, their store walls will do. La Calle Sucia’s wall space is emblazoned with their own artwork. Salcedo created the lettering on the walls. Diaz painted bear characters. Salcedo’s brother-in-law, who is a tattoo artist, painted an image of a snake. Wood-burning art, created by Diaz’s father, is also featured.
Every inch of the shop’s walls is covered in art.
The shop hosted its first event back in December. It was an all-day “Block Takeover,” where graffiti artists and the community came together to paint. The distinct smell of spray paint emanated from Cesar Chavez Avenue, As people also quietly created pieces in their black books inside La Calle Sucia. As artists painted, onlookers admired the work.
They also held a contest in which the community picked the best pieces. The winners received goodie bags filled with graffiti materials. “They really bring life here in the community,” one attendee said.
Martin, 31, a customer from Boyle Heights who didn’t provide his last name, said it’s nice to see a graffiti shop in the neighborhood. He visited the space recently and said he’s there about three times a month to buy spray cans and other items.
“It’s the only graffiti shop in Boyle Heights,” he said. “They’re super local for the people in Boyle Heights, and they’ve been doing a lot of good things, throwing events, supporting the neighborhood. That’s very cool to see. A lot of other shops don’t do that.”
For Diaz, Salcedo, and Turcios, it’s about providing a space where beginning artists can learn from others who have been doing this for years. Growing up in Boyle Heights, the trio understands how closely gang and graffiti culture are intertwined.
”It could all be mixed up into one because when society looks at us, it’s all gang graffiti,” said Salcedo.
THIS is what I feel Boyle Heights Beat excels in, highlighting the very local, very important communities we have in BH. Such a beautifully written story.