Los Pobladores

At the top of Olvera Street is a square containing a plaque listing
The first families brought by the Spanish from Mexico to settle
The new community of El Pueblo de Los Angeles. There are
Eleven named families: fathers, mothers and children. Beside each
Name is their race. Two españoles. Several indios. Mulattos
And mulattas, mestizos, mestizas and negros. Los Angeles
Was born a cornucopia. So it’s but tradition that places
A French Mansion next to a Korean deli; a colonial
Bungalow opposite a taco shop. Olvera Street claims to be
The city’s oldest. It contains the first house, adobe, and the first house,
Brick, where we ate quesadillos, tacos and nachos. This street still
Belongs to its multi-racial Mexican forbears, a quaint
Hostage to history in a city dedicated to fantasy.
Spanish is the given language, guyaberas and wrestling masks the
Momentos of choice. The gringos may have won the day, but just as
Mexico’s Spanish colonialists learnt that that the Indians could
Be defeated but never vanquished, so the gringos should be
Aware: the foundations of LA shall be forever Mexican.