Cuentos del Pueblo, part 1

I had great fun yesterday @ LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes. Alex Moreno Areyan was the instigator of the event; former and current staff members @ LAPCA were truly helpful in making things fall neatly in place. While I'm very proud of being from Pasadena and of being of Latino heritage, it was a joy to reconnect with my very specific family roots yesterday. All ofmy grandparents were from regions and states in Mexico - their patria chicas were Aguascalientes, Coahuila, Chihuahua, and San Luis Potosí.

As for me, my patria chica, my regional sense of place, could be viewed as Los Angeles- especially East Los Angeles. At the core my experience has its roots in Mexico, Los Angeles, and Pueblo, Colorado.

The City Hall of Pasadena fills me with pride and I am amazed at its architectural beauty. The City Hall of Los Angeles fills me with youthful memories and family stories.

LA Plaza is built in close proximity to the place where my father was baptized, where my parents wed, and where I was baptized. It is close to Olvera Street and the site of St. Vibiana Cathedral.

Yesterday it was a joy to share some of my family stories. And to share how fine it was to learn about, and then share, some of the stories of Pasadena. Stories that were well known in Los Angeles but stories that had been somewhat hidden or untold in Pasadena.
In a similar way, Olivia Cueva-Fernandez shared sentiments and stories of Mexican Americans in Wilmington.
Richard Santillan, PhD. and Francisco Balderrama, PhD., shared their works on baseball and on the repatriation/deportations of the 1930s.

Each of us has had books printed by Arcadia Publishing. Each of us is fortunate to be able to share the histories that contribute to a better understanding of the experiences and places of California and the Southwest.

Photos - James Grimes