L.A. turns 227
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Happy birthday, Los Angeles. El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula would have 227 candles on its birthday cake today, if anyone had thought to bake it a cake. Or even to remember today’s anniversary, according to this Los Angeles Times editorial.
The town was founded on Sept. 4, 1781, by a group of 44 settlers, ‘los Pobladores.’ They were escorted by four Spanish colonial soldiers and their families. It was named the Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels on the Porciúncula River. These pueblo settlers came from the common Hispanic culture that had emerged in northern Mexico among a racially-mixed society. Two-thirds of the settlers were mestizo or mulatto, and therefore, had Indian and African ancestry. More importantly, they were intermarrying. The settlement remained a small ranch town for decades, but by 1820 the population had increased to about 650 residents. Today, the pueblo is commemorated in the historic district of Los Angeles Pueblo Plaza and Olvera Street.
Read more of the editorial on Los Angeles birthday here.
-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City