Interwoven
"Interwoven" 14" × 14" in. Linocut 2025
Mariachi Plaza stands as a cultural landmark for Boyle Heights and its' community, although the structure is recent as 2007.
The corner of 1st Street and the Boyle Hotel itself marks a historical site for Mexican-American culture and heritage as musicians clad in charro suits would seek work and reside here since the 1930's.
A majority of Boyle Heights residents are of Central-American descent, and some coming from indigenous families like mine.
Born and raised here myself, I'm grateful to embrace my roots through my art and be inspired by my environment.
However we cannot disregard the rightful ancestral lands prior to the "founding" of greater Los Angeles.
All of what we know generally as Los Angeles, San Gabriel, San Fernando Valley, Orange County, to name a few, were known as Tovangaar, to the Tongva.
Boyle Heights was a part of El Pueblo, the settlement recognized as the "birthplace" of LA where Olvera Street is located. The area of Boyle Heights was home to displaced Tongva after their home and site of Yaanga was decimated for El Pueblito. The village of the Tongva were forcibly removed again having their settlement destroyed once more following the purchase and establishment of Boyle Heights in the 1850s