Los+Angeles+and+Spanish

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Los Angeles, a city located in Southern California, is the second largest city in the United States, and is the most ethically diverse metropolitan area in the United States, according to CNBC.com. The population of Los Angeles consists of of four main races: White, Latino, Asians, and Black. Latinos have the biggest influence of all the minorities in Los Angeles. Their influences are apparent by prominent Spanish cultures throughout the city; like the street names, murals and city names surrounding Los Angeles. This is mainly because the history of Los Angeles is Hispanics and their influence to start with. The city was first found by the Spaniards, then it became a part of Mexico, and it ultimately became a part of the United States. Today, approximately 48.5% of Los Angeles’s population are Hispanic or Latino descendants, 32% of them are Mexicans.

__History__
Los Angeles’s history goes back to the 16th century. The coastal region of Los Angeles (Santa Monica) was first discovered by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, which marked the first European contact with the future site of Los Angeles. Later in the late 18th century, governor Felipe de Neve instructed for a colony establishment in the Los Angeles area with the name El Pueblode la Reina de Los Angeles Sobre el Rio de la Porciuncula (The Town of our Lady the Queen of the Angels of the Porciuncula River). Then on September 4, 1781, Felipe de Neve arrived at the site of the El Pueblo to clear the land and mark it off. Felipe brought along 44 men, women, and children to begin a new life at the El Pueblo; this group is known as “Los Pobladores.” Interestingly, only two of the settlers were Hispanic, where the others were Mestizo, African, Indian, and Mulatto. El Pueblo remained as a small settlement until around 1820 when the population increased to approximately 650 people. In 1821, El Pueblo achieved its independence from Spain, but continued to serve as a part of Mexico. About 14 years later, the population has increased to around 2000 people, and Los Angeles was given status of a “city” by the Mexican Congress, and was declared as the capital of Alta California. Mexican’s ruling of Los Angeles was short-lived. During the Mexican American War in 1846, the possession of Los Angeles quickly turned to the United States. But the capturing process was rough. When the U.S. Navy Commodore Robert F. Stockton landed his force on San Pedro on August 6, they quickly gained control of the city. The residents of Los Angeles were fed up with the constant bullying by the United State’s troops; they revolted and ultimately forced the troops to surrender. On January 13, 1847, the victory of the Battle of the San Gabriel River marked the U.S. force’s capture of Los Angeles. The residents surrendered to the force with the signing of Treaty of Cahuenga. On February 2, 1848, the Mexican-American war finally came to its end, and California was ceded to the United States through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, erasing the legacies of Spanish, and Mexican traditions. Even though Mexico lost the possession of Los Angeles, it didn’t mean the end of Spanish in Los Angeles.

__Modern Los Angeles__ [[image:LosAngelesMexican1.jpg width="128" height="127"]]
Fast forward to modern days, Los Angeles is famous for Spanish influences throughout the city. Even though Los Angeles is an American city, Spanish influences and cultures are visible everywhere. For example, the name of the streets, the people, the art, and the surrounding cities. One of the remarkable streets in Los Angeles is the Figueroa Street, which runs around East LosAngeles, and next to the Dodgers Stadium. Figueroa Street is Spanish for “grasshopper street.” The street got its name during the El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Angeles Sobre el Rio de la Porciuncula era; because there were farms and grasshoppers along the street. On the opposite side of the city, there are famous streets with Spanish names: La Brea Avenue, and La Cienega Avenue; both streets run along Hollywood. La Brea is Spanish for “the tar,” and it got its name because it runs over an old oil field. La Cienega Avenue stands where when West Los Angeles used to be swampland, and it's Spanish for "the swamp." Los Angeles also have cities with Spanish names, such as: Santa Monica, Pasadena, and Pico Rivera. Aside from Spanish names in the city, there are lots of Spanish speaking people too. Latinos represent 1.8 million people out of 3.8 million people in the city. 32% of them are Mexicans out of the other Latinos. Latino populations are concentrated around East Los Angeles. Only few walls in East Los Angeles are blank. Most of them are covered with graffiti, store signs, and murals (in the form of Latin expression). Even the mayor of Los Angeles is a Latino, Antonio Villaraigosa. Villaraigosa is the first Latino elected to that position since 1872. With the Los Angeles Latinos being almost half of the city’s population, it’d be legitimate to claim that Los Angeles is a Latino city. Especially with all the Spanish influences and cultures are visible throughout the city. The persisting Spanish culture in Los Angeles displays the Hispanic's and the Latino's legacies.

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__Sources__
Leclerc, Gustavo, "Urban Latino Cultures" (1999) Valle, Victor M. & Torres, Rodolfo D., "Latino Metropolis" (2000) Steen, Francis F., "A Short History of Los Angeles" (http://cogweb.ucla.edu/Chumash/LosAngeles.html) (http://www.angelfire.com/film/rjburns/los_angeles_street_names.htm)