A Collage of Cultures

A day trip to Atlanta’s Little Five Points (L5P) is a must for connoisseurs of grunge, consignment store treasure seekers, graffiti savants and those who enjoy escorting their senses through a bazaar of cultures and countercultures who amass at the intersection of the Moreland and Euclid Avenues. The afternoon that I surrendered my L5P virginity was a sight to be seen.

            That Saturday, the sun stung my skin as I hobbled from one shaded refuge to the next. The number of patrons who dared vacate their shady oases astounded me, driven by the potential discovery of quirky knick-knacks and other miscellaneous goods. The clientele bounced from store to store, a mix of characters from flip-flop jean short clad teen girls whose sandals click-clacked as they scampered around to army boot, leather jacket tattooed motorcycle riders, beer wreaking off their bodies (they were probably at the Euclid Avenue Yacht Club, a smoky ill-lit restaurant-bar with deep sea fishing lures and photos telling the tales of man versus fish draping the soot-covered wood-paneled walls). Ornamental paraphernalia shops, herbal medicine emporiums, independent theaters and quirky costume stores inhabit the buildings in this revived neighborhood.

            In L5P you’ll notice that the countercultures make themselves known. Cheaply printed promotional concert posters for local indie bands are plastered on everything; even on store display windows, whose owners don’t care and welcome the sense of community. The graffiti artists of L5P discovered the walls of vacated buildings and turned them into their canvasses, now adorned with tag marks of all shapes and color. One wall, the wall in the Rag O Rama parking lot was claimed by a muralist who chose to pay homage to the great musical entertainers from Atlanta, a reminder that even though L5P’s culture differs from most of Atlanta, it’s proud of what Atlanta has given to the world.

As I approached the intersection of Moreland and Euclid, things got pretty interesting. Before I even saw the small shaded plaza where the ruckus occurred, the mish-mash of music ricocheted off the brick walls into every nook and cranny. This small plaza encapsulated what Little Five Points is all about: a burly absurdly sweaty pony-tailed man crooned on his saxophone as a Hare Krishna group chanted while a woman prepared samosas on a portable cooker, the intense scent of Indian spices cast into the air.

A man, presumably of the Rastafarian faith, drummed and shook his dreads side to side. An independent hip-hop artist, trying to sell copies of his living room recorded album, quarreled with the other sounds as he blasted his album from a portable stereo. Blaring techno music from down the street further complemented this battle of instruments and rhythms, where a blonde-haired girl with ear gauges and a green fur vest twirled violently on her own in the street, unhindered by the sweltering sun. I knew I didn’t belong to any of these groups, yet the sense of not belonging made me feel welcomed and made the experience utterly unique.

            This mix is what Little Five Points is all about. People from different cultures and backgrounds gathered on a few suburban blocks of street, free from the judgment of conservative society. The lack of harmony among all is harmonious. The medley of cultures unite to create a collage that is Little Five Points. A place one must visit while in Atlanta.