Clara Corona Wearing a dress inspired by the garments of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, Corona visits Olvera Street for an early celebration of the Day of the Dead. She aspires to dress in the many different outfits of Kahlo, incorporating the painter’s ideas with her personal styles. In addition to her appreciation for Kahlo, Corona also takes pride in her own Mexican identity. “I am Mexican. I am very proud of being Mexican, and I like to do whatever I can do for Mexico,” said Corona. 44
Ubiquitous Imagery of Frida Kahlo Images of Frida Kahlo are observed in shops of all kinds on Olvera Street. They appear in a variety of mediums: stamped on leather accessories, printed on nylon bags, ornamenting water bottles, displayed as decorations, sold as photographs. As to how Frida’s artworks reflect complex emotions, narratives, and life stories, merchants of Olvera Street express diverse perceptions of her. To Norma Garcia from Casa California, the artist had lived a controversial yet exciting life. The portrait artist Davil whose studio stands next to Norma’s shop notices how Frida intimately transforms painful experiences into paintings. On the other hand, the owner of Mi Tiendita, Munoz, does not feel particularly connected to Frida’s work but acknowledged the popularity of her merchandise, especially in past years. 45
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Norma Garcia Norma Garcia from the retail store Casa California folds paper marigolds in preparation for the Day of the Dead. These paper Marigolds are built to decorate an altar dedicated to lost merchants of Olvera Streets. Also known as “flower of the dead,” the Marigolds in warm colors are native to Mexico and carry the symbolic meaning of guiding spirits to the altars where their family and friends celebrate their lives. 49
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Dia de los Muertos 2021 From October 25th to November 2nd, merchants of Olvera Street and the organization of El Pueblo Historical Monument present together the nine-day event Dia de los Muertos 2021. In celebration of the Day of the Dead, they hosted activities such as the nighttime parade Novenario Procession, the storytelling drama performance Danza de la Muerte, the 5k run Carrera de los Muertos, and community altars featuring face-painting stations and plays. The following sections of the book include references to the multi- day event and the various activities that it offered. 51
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Davil Artist Davil sits inside his studio on the west side of Olvera Street. His artistic practices include drawing cartoons and portraits. Behind him hung one of his proudest pieces of art. The painting titled “Conocimiento Eterno,” meaning timeless knowledge portrays himself as an old man to convey the sense of having lived through many lifetimes. As his paintings often deal with own philosophies, Davil believes that it is important for artists to express personal feelings through their arts. “Like Frida, she communicates her pains,” said Davil. Moving to the States from Colombia in 2015, Davil relishes working with Hispanic culture. He sees Olvera Street as a space more invested in traditions than other Mexican marketplaces in Los Angeles such as Plaza Mexico in Lynwood. 54
Built with paper and plastic, the statue of Frida was made by Davil originally for a competition. It now serves as a decoration placed next to Devil’s stand. Behind the statue is a photograph of Lazaro Arvizu, the founder and director of Xipe Totec, an Aztec dance company. The group used to perform at Los Angeles Plaza Park next to Olvera Street every weekend before the Covid-19 pandemic. 55
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Acalea Valle On the third day of Dia De Los Muertos 2021, Acalea Valle gets her face painted by Davil in sugar skull makeup around an hour before the Novenario Procession. Valle views the activity of face painting as a way of being involved and engaged as a part of the tradition. 60
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Festive Calaveras Exhibited throughout Olvera Street, the decorated skulls, also known as calaveras, are iconic and fundamental elements of the Day of the Dead. Their artistic natures suggest a more lighthearted way of looking at death, embodying the core of this holiday that embraces and celebrates mortality. According to the platform Google Arts and Culture, calaveras serving as motifs have also been incorporated into modern works of Mexican artists. 62
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Monique Hernandez Monique Hernandez points at an altar at Los Angeles Plaza the Dead to honor her ancestors who were buried here. The Park, where community altars are hosted for Dia De Los flower crown that she wore is traditionally for adorning the Muertos 2021. head of skulls, as explained by Hernandez. Hernandez is a descendant of the Otomí, an indigenous Standing next to Hernandez is her friend’s eight-year-old people of Mexico, and a Mexican American. Having lived her daughter Jessika who had lost her dad. Hernandez explained whole life in Los Angeles, Hernandez moved to Chicago with to Jessika the symbolic meanings and reasons behind setting her husband during the Covid-19 pandemic. She specifically up these altars and displaying the food. planned for a trip back during the weekend of the Day of 65
Alma Lemus Also at Los Angeles Plaza Park, Alma Lemus dances to the song “Señor Juez” by Puerto Rican singer Ozuna and Dominican musician Anthony Santos with her mother and kid. For two decades, Lemus has been visiting Olvera Street every Sunday for church. 66
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Manuel Acosta Muralist Manuel Acosta stands next to the monumental tree in between Los Angeles Plaza Park and the market. According to Acosta, this Moreton Bay Fig has been thriving at this location ever since he was a little kid. Back then, Acosta would dress up in a suit, wear a big hat, and sing next to a fountain on Olvera Street for quarters, all while his mother sewed and his father made candles. Currently, he is working on a proposal that would hopefully allow him to paint murals inside the courtyard of Avila Adobe. The proposal is to be scrutinized by the city’s government and police department who has been taking care of the place. “I feel like I am alive coming back here, and like I said I’m 81 years old, before I die, I want to leave something to the place that I grew up on,” said Acosta. 68
a Peek at the Past, a Hope for the Future “Olvera ST Preserving the Past to Enlighten the When Munoz, who moved to the States during his teenage Future,” I saw this quote on the mural at the back year told me, “I had to learn my culture here, I wasn’t raised wall of Casa California and reminisced what I here!” I grasped Olvera’s role in reconnecting people with wrote down during my first visit, “hopeful.” their roots. Spotting Reed, who is not a Mexican descendent, appreciating the traditional blouses on her first trip to By spending more time moving across this space and having the marketplace, I was able to see how cultural elements conversations with people, naturally, I have gained a more are transmitted and learned. Second-generation artisan comprehensive perspective on the historical, humanistic, Murillo, who still crafts leather the same way that his parents and cultural significance of Olvera Street. Yet, through had been for the past decades, allowed me to witness the observing and documenting the diverse sceneries embodied continuity of traditions. From Acosta, the muralist who by this marketplace, on a busy Sunday morning, a quiet hopes to give back to the neighborhood where he grew Monday afternoon, during the buzzing celebration of the up through artistic endeavors, I got to recognize legacy Day of the dead, the after-hours Wednesday…… slowly I as a gift. All these memorable interactions and inspiring comprehend the reasons why I am drawn to this place. encounters taught me how the remembrance of the past gives us hope for the future, a measure of what could be The hope that I felt from my first trip here did not simply carried on, exchanged, and innovated through generations. arise from the colorful objects, smiley people, cheerful music, or enthusiastic performances, as much as they are all integral parts of the street’s ecology. When I lost a majority part of my childhood home to urban land consolidation, I felt as if I have lost all important pieces of my identity as the structures that used to represent the memories were torn. However, I was able to figure through photography that there is a way to keep fleeting moments alive, and now, I am realizing that this is what Olvera Street as a space has devoted itself to. Like how photographs freeze passing time, Olvera Street preserves architectures from the past, recreates the ambiance of old streets, and carries the heritage of Mexican settlers. The street is not only a success story itself to be rescued from the threat of demolition, but continues to foster the cultural legacy that could have been lost. 69
By preserving what I have experienced in this marketplace into these pages, I wish for Those Found and Met at the Birthplace of Los Angeles, Olvera Street to not only provide a glimpse of the history but contribute to an optimistic outlook for our road ahead. 70
Acknowledgement Thank you to the merchants and visitors of Olvera Street, for nurturing a space full of spirits and stories, for having conversations and sharing anecdotes with me, and for inspiring this project. Thank you to Lecturer Yogan Muller of UCLA Design Media Arts (DMA), for guiding the class Photography and Ecology during Fall 2021, and for mentoring me through the making of this book. Thank you to Director Shalom Staub of UCLA Center for Community Engagement, for designing the course Engaging Los Angeles which led me to Olvera Street for the first time in 2019, and for encouraging me during the project’s ideation stage. Thank you to my supervisor at the DMA print lab Israel Gutierrez, for directing me to printing resources, and for providing advice on the book’s revision. Thank you to my peers from the class Photography and Ecology, for building a fun learning environment, and for offering me feedback and support. Thank you to my mom, for cheering me on in my every step of composing Those Found and Met at the Birthplace of Los Angeles, Olvera Street. Thank you, for being a part of this journey. 71
Self-published by Christine Kao in Los Angeles, CA December 2021 All Photographs © Christine Kao Adobe Garamond © Robert Slimbach & Adobe Originals Garamond ATF Micro © American Type Founders Collection Bodoni MT © Monotype Type Drawing Office Cinque Donne © Debi Sementelli Written & designed by Christine Kao in Los Angeles, CA Printed by Nonstop Printing in Los Angeles, CA Bound by A-1 Bookbinding in Los Angeles, CA
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