Mexican Americans in Los Angeles (Images of America Series)

by Alex Moreno Areyan

Overview

Mexican Americans established and nurtured the foundation, fiber, and fabric of Los Angeles since the first pobladores arrived in 1781. Pride in family, work, community, and religion coalesces into their legacy from East Los Angeles to the San Fernando Valley to the port areas of Wilmington and San Pedro. Men and women of Mexican heritage comprised 47 percent of Los Angeles County’s Latino population in the 21st century. The modern Mexican American saga is embodied in the success of Congressman Edward Roybal, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal Allard, dynamic civic leader Dionicio Morales, and Los Angeles County supervisor Gloria Molina. Labor leader Cesar Chavez instilled passion and hope, while prizefighters Art Aragon, Paul Gonzalez, and Oscar De La Hoya and actors Anthony Quinn, Katy Jurado, Ricardo Montalban, and Edward James Olmos provided inspiration. The city’s first Mexican American mayor in more than a century, Antonio Villaraigosa, was elected in 2005. This book is a distillation of a proud people’s contributions to, and achievements in, a great city.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780738580067
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	04/21/2010
Series:	Images of America Series
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	1,020,839
Product dimensions:	9.22(w) x 6.58(h) x 0.35(d)

About the Author

Alex Moreno Areyan, a retired human resources administrator and the author of Arcadia Publishing’s Mexican Americans in Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach, was a migrant worker in his youth. He collected these vintage images from dozens of sources.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 6

Introduction 7

Foreword 8

1 Entertainment and the Arts 9

2 Community Organizations and Activists 35

3 Political Figures 59

4 Education 73

5 Sports 79

6 Journalists, Writers, and Artists 87

7 Military Veterans 95

8 Landmarks 105

Bibliography 127

Editorial Reviews

Title: History of Mexican Americans in Los Angeles Explored in New Book

Author: Staff Writer

Publisher: EGP News Service

Date: 5/13/2010

New from local author Alex Moreno Areyan is “Mexican Americans in Los Angeles,” the latest title in Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America Series. Mexican Americans in Los Angeles boasts more than 200 vintage black-and-white photographs of prominent and lesser known influential Mexican Americans.

Mexican Americans established and nurtured the foundation, fiber and fabric of Los Angeles since the first pobladores arrived in 1781, explains the author, Pride in family, work, community and religion coalesces into their legacy from East Los Angeles to the San Fernando Valley to the port areas of Wilmington and San Pedro. Areyan’s book briefly outlines the history of Mexicans in Los Angeles.

Without a doubt, long time Angelenos and Mexican American activists will debate why some people are included and not others, particularly in the chapters on Community Organizations and Activists and Political Figures.

Nonetheless, Areyan, using historical photographs, poster art and brief narratives, gives the reader a sense of how Mexican Americans are represented in all walks of life, from the early glory days of cinema, to sports, entertainment, politics, civic engagement, historical landmarks and of course, food and business,

The chapter on Entertainment and the Arts is particularly well versed. From Rita Hayworth to Anthony Quinn to Edward James Olmos to Culture Clash, many of the photos are recognizable not just to Mexican Americans, but to the general population as well, so this book should not be viewed as just for Mexican Americans, but rather a photo essay on Los Angeles’ history.

Men and women of Mexican heritage comprised 47 percent of Los Angeles County’s Latino population in the 21st century. The modern Mexican American saga is embodied in the success of Congressman Edward Roybal, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal Allard, dynamic civic leader Dionicio Morales, Congressman Esteban Torres, Julian Nava and Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina, among others, The photos capture them in a variety of settings and in relation to the political landscape of the time they were, and in some cases still are, in elected office.

Labor leader Cesar Chavez instilled passion and hope, while prizefighters Art Aragon, Paul Gonzalez and Oscar De La Hoya and actors Anthony Quinn, Katy Jurado, Ricardo Montalban provided inspiration. The city’s first Mexican American mayor in more than a century, Antonio Villaraigosa, was elected in 2005.

The chapter on Landmarks presents any interesting mix of official historical sites, such as Olvera Street, mixed in with landmarks that the author says “may exist only in the memory of those that remember it or as something captured in a photograph.” To that end, the author has included photos of Cinco Puntos in East Los Angeles, the Whittier Boulevard archway, famed singer Lalo Guerrero’s former nightclub, Lalo’s on Brooklyn (pre-Cesar Chavez) Avenue, El Tepeyac Restaurant in East Los Angeles, Garduno’s restaurant in Montebello, a bridge spanning the Los Angeles River and one of the last homes bulldozed in Chavez Ravine to make room for Dodger Stadium.

This book is a distillation of a proud people’s contributions to, and achievements in, a great city, using photos to visually relay that point.

Areyan also authored Mexican Americans in Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach in which he tells the 100-year history of the Mexican American community of this southwest Los Angeles region. He says the current writing of Mexican Americans in Los Angeles was a natural progression of his enthusiasm for and dedication to documenting the contributions and achievements of Mexican Americans and the their experiences in southern California.

From the Publisher