Inside the fight to save the spirit of one of Los Angeles’ oldest streets
The street that runs through the oldest neighborhood in Los Angeles used to be full of music, vendors and the bustle of customers long into the night.
The restaurants, largely owned by Mexican-American families, were filled with patrons. Families would pose for photos along the brick-lain street.
Today, Olvera Street is still full of vendors and the sounds of pan flutes and strings, but the sidewalks are emptier, shops sit boarded up and the plaza at the center of El Pueblo de Los Ángeles has struggled to recover after the COVID-19 pandemic that drove many customers away.
After its restoration about 100 years ago, Olvera Street — a narrow stretch located between downtown Los Angeles and Union Station — became the historic epicenter of California’s biggest city.
El Pueblo, established in 1780, offers a glimpse of the city’s Mexican-American roots and extends to Latinos a cultural haven in the center of the city. It’s reachable only by foot, but still manages to attract roughly 2 million visitors each year.
Tony Sandoval, an Angelino, has been visiting El Pueblo since he was a child. Back then, he said, his parents would pose him for photographs with a live donkey. But years later, when he brought his own grandchildren to the street, he said, the donkey was replaced by a life-sized stuffed donkey — and, Sandoval said, it might not be there for long.
“El Burro,” as the donkey is known to most, or “Jorge” as it has been dubbed by area regulars, was inspired by a live one owned by Jesus and Maria Trancito Hernández, who immigrated from Mexico and established nearby restaurant, La Carreta in 1968.
Ricardo Hernández, who operates the donkey stand and restaurant, received a 30-day eviction notice on July 11. He said the general manager of El Pueblo has been attempting to push him out since his mother’s death in April as her name was on the lease, despite efforts to add his name five years ago.
The Board of Commissioners said Hernández had a record of not paying rent and has been accused of aggressive behavior. A Los Angeles Times reporter was unable to verify the allegations against Hernández.
In the spring, a family member began circulating a petition to save La Carreta. As of this week, it was approaching its goal of 5,000 signatures. Hernández says the next step may be to get a lawyer involved.
Longtime customers of the businesses on Olvera Street, like Sandoval, hope the area can turn its fortunes around and return to being the lively cultural hub they remember from years ago.
But, he acknowledged, “everything changes.”
Across from where Sandoval sat along the red-brick road of Olvera Street, the boarded-off façade of a café loomed over groups of tourists walking past.
Lauren Lifke is an incoming senior double-majoring in journalism and statistics at the University of New Mexico. She is the news editor for its student newspaper The New Mexico Daily Lobo and an intern for the Santa Fe Reporter. She aspires to work with data and investigative journalism. She can be reached at lifke.laur [at] gmail [dot] com or on X at @Lauren_Lifke.
Jaeel Beato is a junior at Emerson College pursuing a degree in broadcast journalism. He is an intern at The Boston Globe, serving as the video intern. Jaeel visually captures culture, entertainment, and human interest stories. Reach him at jaeelbeato30 [at] gmail [dot] com or on LinkedIn.
Jacob Anthony Amaro is a reporter at NJ.com for Mosaic, where he writes stories about and for New Jersey’s diverse communities. He earned his bachelor’s in journalism from Rutgers-Newark and will continue his studies at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism in the fall. His goal, no matter what the future holds, is to write stories that inform and empower his readers. He may be reached via email at jamaro2001 [at] gmail [dot] com and on LinkedIn.
