grief

February 19, 2026

“Sam, the Armenian Zorro”

Sam runs a liquor store like family—quiet trust, real reverence for his mother, and a moment that made me think about my own mom’s love with hands. Continue reading

Journal

being human, grief, Huntington park, journal entry, kindness, liquor store, Los Angeles, mothers, south central, trust
February 5, 2026

“Doña Tere, Alameda Swap Meet”

A small tribute to Doña Tere at Alameda Swap Meet—her kindness, her hugs, and the warmth she left behind. Continue reading

Journal

cance, community, gratitude, grief, kindness, lameda Swap Meet, Los Angeles, south central, street moments
January 31, 2026

🎬 Street Cinema: Gladiator — “The Son I Should Have Had”

I watched Gladiator during its original run and went back three times. One line froze me in place—and the ending still echoes. Continue reading

STREET CINEMA

cinema, Commodus, film essay, Gladiator, grief, Hans Zimmer, Marcus Aurelius, masculinity, Maximus Decimus Meridius, Movie reflection, Russell Crowe, Street Cinema
November 5, 2025

The Boy Who Doesn’t Belong 🥷 — A Hood Chronicle

Follow me on X: @punisherpapi · IG: @punisherpapi Another day, another puff of this cig — little swirls of smoke gliding between my fingers. Here in South Central I sit, on the curb, seeing. Today’s story is that of a young man, twenty-two years of age, soon to be twenty-three — a young man caught between two worlds.… Continue reading

Hood Chronicles

#EastLA, #pain, #rawwriting, #realstories, #streetphilosophy, #UrbanWriting, #wordsofsouthcentral, blog, family, grief, storytelling, writing
October 28, 2025

You Don’t Have to Wait for the Storm

Follow me on X: @punisherpapi · IG: @punisherpapi 📓 Sunday, October 19, 2025 — 4:39 p.m. El Mercadito, East L.A. There’s a woman who always buys from me. She’s in her forties — kind eyes, warm smile, a little tired. Her mother usually runs a stall here at El Mercadito, but she’s in Mexico right now, getting treatment.… Continue reading

Journal

#EastLA, #ElMercadito, #everydaylife, #melancholy, #nostalgia, #quietmoments, #rainydays, #soulofthecity, #streetstories, #urbanpoetry, #writerscommunity, blog, grief, hope, humanity, life, losangeles, love, mental health in the hood, poetry, reflection, south central, storytelling, writing
October 11, 2025

Then He Was Gone 🥷 — A Hood Chronicle

Follow me on X: @punisherpapi · IG: @punisherpapi A puff of smoke rises from the grid of South Central L.A. Let it swirl — a signal, a ghost, a memory finding its way back through time. This story takes place in a faraway place — where casino lights never sleep, and the call girls wander the desert nights… Continue reading

Hood Chronicles, Journal

books, family, fiction, grief, lasvegas, loss, short-story, southcentral, storytelling, writing

About Me

I’m Roberto Sanchez — illustrator, writer, and delivery driver in Los Angeles.

By day, I sell plastic bags out of a van across South Central.

By night, I draw, write, and build my life brick by brick.

I graduated from Cal State Long Beach in 2022 with a BFA in Illustration, but art has never been just school to me. It’s survival, reflection, and expression. My illustrations come slow — patience is part of the work.

I live and create out of a converted garage.

That small room became Echoes of the Garage — the place where I put words, drawings, and the pieces of a life I’m rebuilding one step at a time.

Here you’ll find journal entries, Hood Chronicles, and visual experiments that try to capture the absurd, the painful, and the human in everyday life.

This is where I put it all: drawings, words, and fragments of a life in motion.

This site is where I put it all: drawings, words, and fragments of a life in motion.

grief

“Sam, the Armenian Zorro”

“Doña Tere, Alameda Swap Meet”

🎬 Street Cinema: Gladiator — “The Son I Should Have Had”

The Boy Who Doesn’t Belong 🥷 — A Hood Chronicle

You Don’t Have to Wait for the Storm

Then He Was Gone 🥷 — A Hood Chronicle