East Los Angeles
Los Angeles is a large city filled with unique neighborhoods rich with style, culture and flavor. This city is known for it’s wide diversity of communities. You can travel through these vicinities and at times feel as though you are walking through different parts of the world like Chinatown, little Tokyo and other ethnic neighborhoods. Out of the many different areas in Los Angeles, there is only one part of the city that I feel at home with, a part of the city that helped define who I am, East Los Angeles. East Los Angeles is unique because of its beautifully painted murals, strongly Influential Mexican American heritage and its un-modernized traditionally landscaped neighborhood.
East Los Angeles is known for it’s vivid and colorful murals painted throughout the city. On almost every business corner in the community you will find walls covered with murals symbolizing the Mexican American and Chicano culture. They are beautifully paintings depicting the Virgin Mary, Cesar Chavez, the Aztec calendar, Dia de los muertos and other cultural murals. Among these pieces of artwork, you will also find great paintings like those of Diego Rivera and Frida Khalo. Each art piece catches your eye as you pass these brilliant and vibrant colorful murals that tell a story in the neighborhood. Many in this community will see themselves identifying or connecting to a piece of artwork they see.
The city is strongly influenced by Mexican American traditions. In East Los Angeles, “la familia,” the family, is a huge part of the community. Families in East Los Angeles live very close to each other. You can literally walk from your house and visit family living a few blocks away. One tradition you will find is the early evening walks that are taken in the neighborhood. Some of the families are drawn out by the smell of the carne asada tacos. They step out into the crowds of people lining up ready to enjoy their steaming tasty food. They have their...