Olvera Street El Pueblo de Los Angeles

Dia de los Muertos - The Mexican Halowe'en

2011-10-26T15:01:00.000-07:00

The Mexican Day of the Dead is observed for nine days prior to November 2nd. This year, 2011, the memorial for loved ones started on October 25 and continues until November 2nd.

Here is a 1 minute long video of the beginning procession. I wish to remind all readers that this is akin to a funeral service. It's not a party, it's not Halowe'en, in the usual sense of American children going door to door to grab a handful of candy.

Facing Olvera Street from the Plaza.

Olvera Street and Union Station

2009-02-24T10:33:00.001-08:00

This is the last of the pictures from Olvera Street and Union Station for Christmas of 2008.

Union Station Los Angeles Christmas 2008

2009-02-17T09:22:00.000-08:00

2 pix of Olvera Street & Union Station

2009-02-16T10:29:00.000-08:00

These 2 pix of Olvera Street from last Christmas (2008) are the last in this series. I will post a few of Union Station from Christmas, and that will be the last ones until December 2009.

2009-02-08T10:05:00.000-08:00

East of the Mexican Cultural Museum is a place to sit and rest after walking around the Olvera Street area. I snapped a picture of the light standards in repair. The photo of the church is: La Placita Church. It is the oldest Roman Catholic church in Los Angeles, begun in 1784. 535 N Main St Los Angeles, CA 90012 - (213) 629-3101. After Sunday services, I have found good quality Mexican food in the church. On a nice day, you can get some of it to go and walk around. The last photo is the Pico House Hotel. Built for Pio Pico, Mexican Governor of California, the hotel was begun in 1869. It had approximately 80 room and at the time, was a luxury hotel. Since then it had dilapidated until it became property of the government in the 1950s. Since then it has been re-habbed, but is no longer in use as a hotel.

North passage way - Xmas 2008

2009-02-07T11:55:00.000-08:00

Pictured is Olvera Street looking north towards Sunset Blvd. (Cesar Chavez Blvd.)

Olvera Street Christmas 2008

2009-02-03T09:50:00.000-08:00

Click each photo for a larger image.

Instituto Cultural Mexicano de Los Angeles

2009-02-02T09:13:00.000-08:00

The Mexican Cultural Institute has a small museum and is open to the public. Do check their website for days and times. The posters are from a shop on the east side of Olvera. Pictured are Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata.

----------- Political stuff below this line -------------------

Villa is the only person to attack and murder Americans before the Al queda horror of September 11, 2001 on American soil. Mostly, Americans, looking back at Villa do so with a smile. Not that the smile is with the understanding that those 20 odd people killed in Columbus New Mexico had done anything to Villa. He killed them, sacked or destroyed a Coca Cola bottling plant and did other damage. Today, in Columbus, there is a Pancho Villa Park and a statue of Villa. Even more oddly, school children from Mexico are picked up by a Columbus school district bus, carried across the border and educated in the Columbus school system. This author hopes that in a century from now, there are no "nods & winks" about the events of September 11th.

Casa California

2009-02-01T10:18:00.000-08:00

Casa California with a few snowflakes (top of doorway) for Xmas 2008.

The photo of the huipiles is from another store on the east side of Olvera Street. The link I've provided is to a travel bureau. I'm not associated with it. I give this link as I had a problem finding Mexican huipiles photos and this travel-sales site had an excellent article about them. Wikipedia's was a stub and didn't distinguish Mexican from Guatamalan, etc.

Olverva's Plaza de Armas

2009-01-31T10:21:00.001-08:00

Often used for music concerts this kiosko has the Nativity scene in gold. Click the images for a larger picture.

Olvera Street - El Pueblo de Los Angeles

2009-01-30T16:36:00.001-08:00

I was surprised to see that nobody in Los Angeles did much posting about Olvera Street on the internet. The merchants have a webpage and some other commercial group, too. The City of Los Angeles has a website about the "historic monument" of el Pueblo. It's got no fun in it almost entirely. So, allow me to present to you my loving take on my (almost) favorite street in all of Los Angeles, in mostly pictures.

From the El Pueblo official site:

"ABOUT EL PUEBLO DE LOS ANGELES HISTORICAL MONUMENT

El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument is near the site of the early Los Angeles pueblo or town where forty-four settlers of Native American, African and European heritage journeyed more than one-thousand miles across the desert from present-day northern Mexico and established a farming community in September 1781. Since that time, Los Angeles has been under the flags of Spain, Mexico and the United States and has grown into one of the world’s largest metropolitan areas. Today, as a department of the City of Los Angeles, El Pueblo is a living museum that continues to fulfill its unique role as the historic and symbolic heart of the city, reflecting the Native American, African American, Spanish, Anglo, Mexican, Chinese, Italian and French cultures that contributed to its early history. Of the monument’s twenty-seven historic buildings, eleven are open to the public as businesses or have been restored as museums."

While I'm talking official, the city's official, original name is:

El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles del Río de Porciúncula,
The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels on the River Porciúncula

Because that takes a long time to say, most people reduce it to: Ell-lay (LA).

I was visiting Olvera Street, just after Christmas this year, early in 2009. I took some photos and because NOBODY else put them on the 'net, I'm glad to preserve the cultura.

In the next few days, I'll post the rest of the photographs. Click on them to see a much enlarged image.