Monday, December 19, 2016

EL PUEBLO DE LOS ANGELES


When you hear those famous words: "go back to your country" keep this in mind, we all as ancestors came from somewhere else. The single example found in this great country of ours is in the state of California and the city of Los Angeles.

The originality of the city dates back to the Mexican settlers who were the first inhabitants of the area. The original place of settlement is called: El Pueblo de Las Angeles. Centered around a church, today sits the home of one of the businessmen men the Casa de Avila, the original settlement house restored to its original state, and a thriving marketplace to purchase food, clothing and blankets, toys and even souvenirs. The chatter is in Spanish as the locals come enjoying their day along the continuous rows of tented businesses. Colorful native traditional garb in worn for both men and women, headdress and ritual costumes dance to the Latin rhythmic beat music of the Mexican instruments. It is an exhilarating and yet natural gayness that pervades the air.

If you step into the Church El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de Los Ángeles (the Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels) where the Spanish civilian town was founded in 1781, you will witness the devotion to God on a high level, reverence for the Almighty, the air steep with solemnity and adoration. You see today's simple people from Mexico, in thoughtful prayer, some on their knees, some sitting with their hands on their foreheads, some standing with their hands folded and their heads down. This is true devotion, it fills their lives with love, joy, and happiness. Walking the area, many carry devotional candles, statues, and religious icons that they will carry back to their homes.

It was not the costumes or the food or even the music that impressed me the most, it was the people, beautiful, simple people with their guard up from the hatred they sometimes get from their fellow Americans. But if you dare to smile at one, give one a friendly greeting, you will be getting back ten-fold in love and respect, as they let their guard down. They are beautiful and amazing people.

You can see the discrimination that has taken a hold on their lives, the poor paying jobs, the abuse from the upper class and government of their native country, and the lack of medical help they could use from their adoptive nation. But they live in communities for a reason, they need to survive the unfounded anger, the suspicion and hatred of people who know nothing about them but that they speak Spanish and have menial jobs sometimes, their poorness concerning only the lost prejudiced.


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