The Los Angeles Plaza: Sacred and Contested Space

Title Page, Photo, Copyright, Dedication, Epigram

The Los Angeles Plaza The Los Angeles Plaza Sacred and Contested Space William David Estrada Foreword by Devra Weber U n i v e r s i t y o f T e x a s P r e s s Au s t i n Cover photo credits: (top) photo by Frank Damon; (middle left) courtesy of the Huntington Library and Art Collection, San Marino; (middle second from left) courtesy of Cruz Moreno; (middle center) courtesy of El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument; (middle second from right) courtesy of La Opinión; (middle right) courtesy of El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument; and (bottom) courtesy of the Huntington Library and Art Collection, San Marino. Copyright © 2008 by the University of Texas Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America First edition, 2008 Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work should be sent to: Permissions University of Texas Press P.O. Box 7819 Austin, TX 78713-7819 www.utexas.edu/utpress/about/bpermission.html ♾ The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (R1997) (Permanence of Paper). Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Estrada, William D. The Los Angeles Plaza : sacred and contested space / William David Estrada ; foreword by Devra Weber. — 1st ed.    p.   cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-292-71754-1 (cloth : alk. paper) — isbn 978-0-292-71755-8 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Los Angeles Plaza (Los Angeles, Calif.)—History. 2. Public spaces—California—Los Angeles— History. 3. Sacred space—California—Los Angeles—History. 4. Memory—Social aspects— California—Los Angeles—History. 5. Community life—California—Los Angeles—History. 6. Human Ecology—California—Los Angeles—History. 7. Los Angeles (Calif.)—History. 8. Los Angeles (Calif.)—Social life and customs. 9. Los Angeles (Calif.)—Ethnic relations. 10. Los Angeles (Calif.)—Buildings, structures, etc. I. Title. f869.l87l67 2008 979.4'94—dc22 2007036326 For Patricia, Amelia, and David Just as none of us is outside or beyond geography, none of us is completely free from the struggle over geography. That struggle is complex and interesting because it is not only about soldiers and cannons but also about ideas, about forms, about images and imaginings. Edward Said, Culture and Imperialism ...