A Great Day In East L.A.

04/16/2026

It is with a heavy heart to hear about the passing of East LA guitarist Ronnie Reyes. Ronnie was one of those musicians who didn’t just play in the East L.A. scene he helped build it.

A guitarist through and through, Ronnie’s journey took him across bands like The Impalas, Strange Brew, Olde Tyme Religion, Yaqui, Cannibal & the Headhunters, Radio Aztlan alongside Mark Guerrero and many others. His path tells the story of the Eastside itself from garage and psych to Latin rock and beyond.

I had the honor of jamming with Ronnie for the first time in 2016.
The last time I saw him was in 2025, at rehearsal for a big show connected to my exhibition A Great Day In East L.A. He made it to one rehearsal before getting sick and spending time in the hospital.

Both times we played together are moments I’ll carry with me forever.

Sharing guitar solo duties with Ronnie and pushing my playing to the next level… hearing him praise my playing meant more to me than I can fully put into words. Coming from someone who helped shape the sound of East L.A., it meant a lot.

Ronnie was a true musician and pioneer.

He is not only immortalized in the music he played, but also in the portrait I had the honor of capturing of him for A Great Day in East LA where he will live on forever.

My heart goes out to his family, his friends, and everyone who had the chance to know him or hear him play.

Rest in peace, Ronnie.
May you be the loudest guitar in the sky, like you were on earth.

Thank you for the music, the kindness, and the inspiration.

12/23/2025

When I first had the dream that became , the Black Eyed Peas were on my original “top 10” list of artists who had to be part of this historic project. Always.

They are a pillar of the community and one of the very few artists to go from the streets of East LA to worldwide success, creating global hits heard across the world, while never losing connection to where they came from. They didn’t leave East LA behind they took it with them , and they’ve continued to give back, uplift, and open doors for the community ever since.

Two weeks before the exhibition opened, I got the call to come photograph the band. After more than a decade of building this archive for the community, that moment didn’t feel like celebrity it felt like homecoming. A true full-circle moment.

I’ll also never forget will.i.am and Taboo telling me that will’s song “East LA” was inspired by A Great Day in East LA. That meant everything because this project has always been a love letter to the neighborhood, the people, and the culture that raised us.

I was able to secure never-before-exhibited tour outfits from the Black Eyed Peas for the exhibition, but the museum ultimately chose not to display them, for reasons outside of my and the project’s control. A missed opportunity for the community especially given how important the band is to East LA but the legacy remains.

East LA forever. 🖤
And as always, Black Eyed Peas thank you for believing in me and my work. ~ Piero F Giunti

12/16/2025

FUN FACT: Did you know Bob Dylan has a connection to East LA?
In 1983–84, Dylan started jamming in Malibu with Tony Marsico (bass) and Charlie “Chalo” Quintana (drums) the powerhouse rhythm section from East L.A. punk trailblazers The Plugz.

That connection hit national TV on March 22, 1984, when Dylan walked onto Late Night with David Letterman backed by Marsico + Quintana, plus guitarist J.J. Holiday, and ripped through three songs including “Jokerman” and “License to Kill,” with the blues opener “Don’t Start Me Talkin’.”
(And a fun detail: it’s often said as “Dylan with The Plugz,” but it wasn’t the full band—just that Plugz rhythm section in the lineup.)

And the East L.A. link goes back even earlier: singer/songwriter Hirth Martinez, best known for his Warner Bros debut Hirth From Earth (1975) had that album produced/arranged by Robbie Robertson (The Band). The story around the record places Hirth in Dylan’s wider musical universe another Eastside voice connected into that legendary lineage.

From folk legend to Eastside punk to poetic songcraft East L.A. has always been part of the American sound.

That’s exactly why A Great Day in East LA™ exists!

09/18/2025

Hello Everyone, This evening join me Piero F Giunti Creator and Co Curator of the A Great Day In East LA Project/ Exhibition, David Gomez of the band Slowrider and the Edendale Library at 6pm in zoom tour of the A Great Day in East LA Exhibition now at LA Plaza De Cultura Y Artes. Make sure to email [email protected] for the zoom link.

Join photographer and co-curator Piero F. Giunti and musician David Gomez Thursday September 18th at 6:00 p.m. PST on the Edendale Library Zoom for a look behind the scenes at the incredible new exhibit at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes celebrating East Los Angeles music – A Great Day in East L.A.: Celebrando the Eastside Sound.

The sound of East Los Angeles is known around the world, from early pioneers like Lalo Guerrero, Richie Valens and Thee Midniters, to the soulful groove of El Chicano and Tierra, to classic punk bands like The Brat, The Plugz and Los Illegals, the roots rock of Los Lobos and newer innovators like Ozomatli, Quetzal and Chicano Batman. The exhibition showcases dozens of portraits of East L.A. bands taken by award-winning photographer and filmmaker Piero F. Giunti, as well as a lovingly curated galaxy of albums, instruments, flyers, posters, stage costumes, band t-shirts, lyric sheets, videos and much more.

Piero and David Gomez, who played in many East L.A. bands including Slowrider, give us a personal tour through the exhibit, sharing stories and memories about the artifacts on display. If you love the Eastside sound, this exhibit is a must-see!

Email [email protected] for the Zoom link to attend.

08/27/2025

Some voices don’t just make noise, they cut through history like an obsidian dagger. Zack de la Rocha has always been that voice.

To have him as part of A Great Day in East LA is an honor ten years in the making. Zack does not lend his presence casually; he stands only where spirit, struggle, and integrity align. His involvement is more than participation, it is a call to arms.

East L.A. has always carried that fire. From garage rehearsals to world stages, the music here has never been just about melody, it has been about survival, defiance, and truth. Rage Against the Machine was born in that lineage, and their music changed my life. They transformed me from a rebel without a cause into a relentless rebel with a cause: to stand against injustice, to challenge every attempt at erasure, and to confront the weight of institutional walls.

Sometimes, the universe aligns things at the exact right moment with the exact right people. This is one of those moments. For me personally, it is validation, not only of this project, but of the years of relentless community building and work I have poured into it. A vision I once scribbled on a piece of paper with a list of names, Zack’s among them, has become real. To now see that list come alive with him and so many of the great artists I dreamed of from day one is proof that faith, persistence, and vision matter.

But this is not just my validation. It belongs to the community that raised me. East L.A. has carried the weight of history, injustice, and joy, even as its voices have too often been ignored, blurred, or claimed by institutions trying to reshape the narrative as their own. This moment pushes back. It says: we are here, we are seen, and the story cannot be stolen.

Just like his music, Zack’s presence here is thunder that cannot be contained. It reminds us that resistance takes many forms: a lyric, a photograph, a gathering of voices that refuses to bow.

Ten years waiting for this moment. Worth every step.

 Piero F. Giunti ✊🏽
Creator & Founder of A Great Day in East LA

P.S. No Spiritual Surrender!

📷©2025 Piero F Giunti & A Great Day in East LA all rights reserved.

07/27/2025

Happy heavenly birthday Brenton Wood!

07/08/2025

Today was A Great Day sharing my project with good friends comedian , owner Rigo Jimenez and one of the first bands to believe in me, as an aspiring photographer at age 16/ 17. Both Uli and WillDog of were the first to give me my first concert photo pass, which sparked what would so far now be a 23 year career of adventures. I feel so honored to have Ozomatli in this historic project, where I get to pay back the hundreds of musicians/ bands that changed my life and for the world to see.

Photos by the great thank you for capturing the moment.

06/27/2025

You’re Invited
A Great Day in East LA — Celebrando the East Side Sound
Opens June 28, 2025 | LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes

After a decade in the making, A Great Day in East LA is finally coming home.

Conceived and led by photographer & filmmaker Piero F. Giunti and co-creator, musician, and historian Mark Guerrero, this labor of love has grown into the largest oral-history and portrait project ever devoted to Los Angeles musicians—especially those of East LA—capturing the untold stories of the artists who shaped our city’s soundtrack.

This exhibition is the culmination of more than ten years of work. It is not only the largest oral-history and portrait project on Los Angeles and East LA musicians, but also the largest exhibition LA Plaza has ever mounted—in both scale and content. Co-curated by Piero F. Giunti, Mark Guerrero, and Professor Jorge N. Leal, Ph.D., the team has assembled over 850 pieces of never-before-seen memorabilia that honor and preserve this rich, often overlooked legacy.

Featuring 450+ musicians, 250 in-depth interviews, 170 original portraits, rare archival materials, and personal artifacts, the exhibition tells a story far deeper than hits and harmonies—one of resilience, resistance, and cultural pride.

A highlight of the show is a dedicated room honoring Los Lobos, East LA’s most iconic band, showcasing never-before-seen memorabilia from the group and private fan collections.

This project affirms that East LA is not just a place—it’s a movement, a legacy, and a living, breathing act of cultural defiance.

A Great Day in East LA is a homecoming, a celebration, and a statement: our stories matter, our sounds matter, and we will not be forgotten.

LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes
June 28, 2025 Doors at 12pm

Come celebrate history in the making.

501 N Main St, Los Angeles, CA 90012

04/05/2025

Part 1/2 Please welcome 21 of the 47 newest inductees into the project. This new wave is a cross-section of genre breaking and a ferociously unapologetic group of artists that are redefining the East side sound. Please welcome .elena and

03/27/2025

Throw back to the early days of the project interviewing the legendary at the historic before it was officially open to the public. Seeing this photo reminds me, no matter how little gear you have or you just having a crew of one, you can still make history. One man crew, two cameras and a light.

03/13/2025

Join us tomorrow! To talk about music, fashion & photography