Organizers of a conference on Los Angeles’...
Organizers of a conference on Los Angeles’ Mexican roots say Saturday’s event will underscore what should already be apparent to millions of people in Southern California:
“Los Angeles is, was and will be a Latin city,” said conference organizer Manuel Pastor, a professor of economics and Latin American studies at Occidental College.
“Encuentro: Mexico in Los Angeles” is part of the four-month-long Artes de Mexico Festival in celebration of Mexico’s influence in Los Angeles arts and culture. It will bring historians, philosophers, folklorists, writers and artists to Occidental in Eagle Rock.
Discussions include the strained relationship between Chicanos and Mexicanos; the shift in Los
Angeles’ Latino population from a predominantly Mexican-American community to one also encompassing people from Central and South America; the impact of Los Angeles’ Mexican history on non-Latinos, and a keynote address by state Sen. Art Torres (D-Los Angeles).
The history of Los Angeles as a Mexican city “has been erased and romanticized in the history books, in the popular consciousness,” said Pastor, 35, a New York-born Cuban-American. “The idea is to uncover that history.”
The conference, which will be conducted in English and Spanish, will be at Occidental College’s Keck Theater. It runs from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tickets are $15. For more information, call (213) 259-2991.
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