Well, I thought I would try something different. Initially, I thought I was going to go to San Diego, but the thought of another 4+ hours of driving round-trip dissuaded me. I am so tired of driving, and there is no need for me to go so far. San Diego will be an occasional trip for me, not monthly. So, I knew I had to go out today, but also, I could not go east. The mountains would be packed (I am thinking Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead), and I don't want to be driving with aggressive tailgaters behind me up those winding roads that are frightening. So, it was one of the beaches here, to the west. Where to? Today was the last day of volleyball at Manhattan Beach, but I had no desire to go. Also, I didn't want to go to the other places,which are Redondo Beach and Santa Monica. Instead, I opted for Los Angeles. It wasn't the beach, but there was a little relief from the almost 100 degree temperatures where I live. It was about ten to fifteen degrees cooler, and I was in need of a good walk. I planned an itinerary.
This time, I would park in Chinatown, as I usually do. I wanted to go to Echo Park Lake, so I would either take the bus from Chinatown to that location, or walk it. The distance guide shows it is about a 45 minute walk of two miles. Then from there, walk down Glendale Blvd (not the one in "The valley"), and go to another park I had never seen. It is called Vista Hermosa Natural Park, which supposedly gives astounding views of downtown Los Angeles. Then, I would continue to walk on 1st street and go back to the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Then, continue on 1st street, hopefully by bus, to Little Tokyo, then walk back to Olvera Street and end my excursion. I thought that would be different.
Well, I left at 9:30 a.m. today and encountered very little traffic. That was very nice. I got to my spot where I park and paid the usual $4 for all-day parking, then walked through Chinatown. The place is deserted. Such a difference from 30 years ago when it was bustling and there were so many people on the sidewalks. And to think, the popular conception was that the Asian tide would wash over us and make us either Japanese or Chinese in our cultural habits. I remember the 80s and 90s, and people here in the USA were avidly studying Japanese and teaching themselves to eat Sushi and to enjoy the fetish culture of geishas and samurai. In a way, Asian culture did wash over us, but it ended up being a matter of economics. The Chinese do all our manufacturing, and the Japanese provide us with some industrial products but also continue to feed our popular culture imagination with Cosplay and Animé. So, it did happen, but in a way we didn't expect.
I didn't end up taking the bus, I tried but never hit the stops when the bus was arriving, and I didn't want to wait. So I walked, and it was almost like a death march. I was much longer than it should have been, but I persisted, thinking, well if I didn't exercise, it would be worse for me. Finally I arrived after about an hour to Echo Park.
What a change! Now they have this fencing all along the park, and only a few select points of entry. Why would they do that? And I though, of course, look around you. There are homeless people everywhere. If they didn't put fencing in and boot everyone out at the end of the day when they close the park, the homeless population would move in and destroy the park. I know, it sounds uncharitable to write this, but the park was clean this time, and there were so many families there, it looked very wholesome.
Gentrification is well underway, and it is only a matter of time, say, 10 years before the Latino character is lost. I already saw it in the way so many murals have disappeared. Gentrification has really changed the look of Echo Park, and I guess I have to admit it, it is a "done-deal". But it is a natural process, and there is no point in fighting it. The Latinos took over neighborhoods and transformed them too, so new communities and groups are always moving in and claiming new spaces. We have no "birth-right" to a place, no claim of ownership, so Latinos should not be complaining in Echo Park nor in Boyle Heights where it is also happening. And when I think about it, the place has really become better. Back thirty years ago, Echo Park and Boyle Heights (especially) were notorious gang territory where shootings and killings were always being reported. There were cholos and cholas in Echo Park,and ugly graffiti everywhere. It was also very run-down.
Yes, you can say, but it was "ours", there were good parts, but I like the way it is changing. It doesn't seem so dangerous, and I suspect the same will continue to happen in Boyle Heights too, even though the people who grew up there and obtained degrees and moved away to nice places in Whittier and West Covina (where they are changing those neighborhoods) object to "gentrification". I love the fact that I did not see the graffiti that marred the place 30 years ago, although yes, it is also poignant to reflect on the changes and the shops that have been lost. I miss the old bookstore that used to be on Cesar Chavez Blvd back then. I used to buy all kinds of Mexican comic books (called "historietas"), and now, the corner book and magazine sellers are gone throughout the city.
So, I found the entrance point and started walking around the city. There were so many Anglos there that I didn't use to see, and they were happy there! I saw them throughout the park, and yes, the Latino presence is still there, the Central Americans frying hot dogs wrapped in bacon on makeshift stores next to the sidewalk, but not as many as I remember years and years ago. There were brown-skinned women selling tamales out of baskets and coolers, but not as many as before. Inside the park? No street vendors. I like that, others may not and may call me a "malinchista", but I like to have cleaner spaces. No, in Mexico (and Latin America) the street vendors are not controlled the way they are here, but I just like it better this way, it feels more comfortable, and people take care of the place and don't leave wrappers or bottles all over the place.
The lotus plants are in bloom, and the water is so clean! And there are paddle boats that are rented, and many families were out in the lake in those boats, something I didn't remember twenty years ago. My first time here was in 1990, for the Lotus Festival, and I always loved those festivals, but we could see that the plants were dying in the lake, it was so full of trash, and the upkeep was faulty. It was not being protected, but now, the plants were abundant, so full, so beautiful, so many flowers! And I loved the general environment. I know, I know, it is gentrified, and I should be screaming about that, but I am not. It is less affordable to members of my Latino community, not as many will be moving in, but by the same token, it is more livable now. I took photos with my Minolta Autocord using Lomochrome Purple film. I had to capture these lakeside vistas, and I would have liked to capture more photos of the people as well, but I didn't take covert snapshots of them. That would have been invasive.
I walked around the lake and enjoyed it. By then, it was time to go to another part. I wanted to buy some pupusas at a Salvadoran restaurant, but as I walked south on Glendale, I just felt more and more tired. It would have been a longer walk than I wanted, and I needed to find that other park, the one with the astounding views of downtown Los Angeles. So I made a beeline for that park. Here are a few images of Echo Park with my cellphone. I also took a few images with my Canon T90 with Arista 200 black and white film, but didn't finish that roll. I can't get over my surprise when I see the photos. Echo Park was not nearly this luxuriant back in 1990!
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