Photos: Boyle Heights girl with a love for soccer hustles to reach her goals
Erika Hilario, right, and her daughter, Luisa, 11, look up the definition of a word as her son, Erick, 8, works on his homework in their Boyle Heights home. Hilario runs her house like an Eastside “tiger mom.” (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Erika Hilario spends time with Luisa in their home’s kitchen. They live in an apartment not far from the Gold Line. It’s a dark, run-down, Spanish-style building in an area where many landlords have been trying to force people out with higher rents. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Luisa Hilario’s walls are covered with posters of her favorite soccer players, superheroes and members of the musical group One Direction. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Luisa Hilario, her mother and brother walk to the Gold Line to catch a train that will take them to her soccer practice. Luisa’s sights, for now, are set on using soccer to get a full-ride high school scholarship. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Erika Hilario, left, and her children, Erick and Luisa, make their way through the dark to the Gold Line in Pasadena after one of Luisa’s soccer practices. The trio usually arrive home in Boyle Heights a little after 9 p.m. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
