Angel Alva was born in 1991 to Jackelyn Alva and Alex Barajas, in Torrance, California. His mother was born in California, and his father was born in Mexico. Jackie and Alex met at Will Rogers middle school, which Angel also attended. Angel lived in Lawndale, California, but also lived in Culver City for a few years during elementary school. Angel attended Mark Twain Elementary School, Will Rogers, and graduated from Lawndale High in 2010. After high school, he attended El Camino College briefly. He worked as a silk screen assistant at Soccer Event Specialists for 5 years, as an office manager at Coach Auto Mart for 6 years, and was working at Evan’s Hydro Inc. as a shop assistant at the time of his death.

Angel’s close family include his younger brother, Anthony Barajas (born in 1997), his younger sisters, Alivia (born in 2014) and Arianna Ornelas (born in 2016), his older sister, Alexis Barajas (born in 1990), and his younger brother Alex Barajas (born in 1997). Angel lived with his grandparents, George Alva and Jacquie Villaneva at the Fonthill house in Lawndale for the final years of his life. Angel is survived by his cat, Luna, whom he cherished for 10 years. His previous pets include cats, Jack and Friend.

Music: Angel’s entire life was music. As a child, he was exposed to his parent’s musical interests, from New Wave to Mariachi. During his young teen years, he favored hard core rock, screamo and later Emo music. His favorite bands include, From First to Last, Senses Fail, Turnover, Balance and Composure, and many more. He frequently attended concerts and collected merch such as shirts and sweaters. Angel wrote songs, played the guitar and had a great singing voice. His first band, “No Guts, No Glory”, released music in 2012. He dabbled in writing music and singing for the rest of his life. He covered his favorite artists (First to Last, Chemical Romance, Anthony Green, Real Friends), wrote songs, and played music with his longtime friends. At the time of his death, he was recording music with his “High Tide” band. Angel’s last recorded song is entitled, Fast Drive.

Activities: Angel played organized soccer with AYSO for 10 years, playing defense. He was an artist and had a talent for drawing. Angel loved playing video games, especially his favorites, Kingdom Hearts and Super Smash Bros. He was a sports fan. He loved to watch the Lakers play with his grandfather. For years, he traveled to Las Vegas with his dad and watched soccer/football. His favorite teams were Real Madrid and Manchester United. His all-time favorite athletes include Kobe Bryant and Cristiano Rolando.

Hobbies: During his early childhood, Angel was a fan of Power Rangers, Sonic the Hedge Hog, Digimon, Pokémon, and Yu-Gi-Oh. As a young adult he developed an interest in Anime such as Dragon Ball Z, Gundam, Bleach, and others. He collected figurines, models, action figures, books, and CDs. Angel’s collection is currently on display at the Fonthill house in Lawndale.

Angel lived his life with his amazing friends, those he met at elementary school, middle school, high school, and those he met online. Angel had hundreds of friends. After his passing, an online friend wrote “Angel was a valued friend online to me and many other people. He made a positive effect on literally thousands of people online and I wanted you to know that. Angel made a real difference and created so many friendships. His light will always continue through his positivity. I can't imagine what you are going through, but I hope you know how much he is still valued by people from all over. I still see people in the groups looking for him and then hearing about his passing and making posts about missing him. There's not forgotten by any means, I can promise you that. And all his friendship and joy that he brought is still going strong and will continue to grow. I know that for a fact because I see it.”

Death: During the very early morning hours of Wednesday, June 12, 2024, Angel passed away in his sleep with his cat, Luna, by his side at his home in Lawndale. He was 32 years old. He was found on his bed by his cousin, Geovanni Torres. An autopsy revealed his cause of death as Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy, or heart failure. Angel’s family was unaware that he had a heart condition. Genetic testing of Angel’s brother, Anthony, suggests that Angel was born with a rare pathogenic gene mutation in the Desmoplakin (DSP) gene. The gene produces a protein that is important for the integrity of heart muscle. The DNA mutation leads to loss of the DSP protein. This mutation is strongly linked to heart disease, heart failure and sudden death in individuals under 40 years old.

Note: If you would like to contribute to Angel’s obituary, or make changes, email Jackie, jalvaucla@gmail.com.