Roots of El Pueblo: The Beginning of Los Angeles

[Music] Los Angeles California recognized the world over as the land of Perpetual sunshine freeways and tourism his sprawling metropolis is also the cultural and economic epicenter of the western United States the big Hollywood sign overshadows LA and everyone thinks that you know Los Angeles is all about you know fancy cars and movie stars but in fact we really have a humble beginning LA was a webelo of real humble Pueblo next to a river you are about to see the rich history of the people who came to el pueblo de la reina de los angeles and their legacy which enabled los angeles or the City of Angels to eventually blossom into one of the largest most culturally diverse and exciting regions in the world [Music] [Music] King Carlos the third of Spain ordered the creation of towns or pueblos in Alta California to provide food and resources for the Spanish army in 1781 el pueblo de los angeles was founded becoming the second civil settlement in Alta California Los Angeles was not a British colony it wasn't held by the French it was part of the Spanish Empire all of us in the new world in the Americas North and South America are here because of colonialism Empire building and the slave trade which made it all possible the original settlers of ebbed webelo the bull odorous were poor illiterate farmers recruited in New Spain in 1781 44 poblano dismayed the 1,200 mile journey to found the new pueblos the Pablo Doris had a variety of backgrounds including Spanish Indian and African the history of the city is very varied of the original Pablo Doris 26 of the original 44 people had some degree of black blood the Pueblo was becoming an agricultural center and tapped local Tongva Indians as a workforce many of the Indians had been laboring for the nearby San Gabriel mission one of 21 missions established under Spanish rule to spread Catholicism in Alta California not all Indians wanted to affiliate with the missions so you've had essentially two different strategies the natives could pursue one go to the mission and live under the bell so to speak another one you could work in the household of a Spanish seller and you could actually hold on to more autonomy in your own life by the end of Spanish rule in 1821 and boy blow had about 1,000 residents the plaza was built across from the Church of Our Lady the Queen of Angels or la Placita los angeles's first church the plaza and la Placita together facilitated a sense of community and created a place where the people could gather as one the church later became known as a sanctuary for immigrants and is home to a tradition of charity and aid this area should always be welcoming to to the poor and the downtrodden to remember that El Pueblo is not just buildings you know the name means the people today la Placita is one of the most cherished and vibrant centers of community pride in Los Angeles on a given weekend more than ten thousand people attend its hourly masses weddings and baptisms la Placita is not the only legacy that remains from the Spanish era Avila Adobe was built in 1818 by Don Francisco Avila a wealthy cattle rancher and a landowner it is the oldest surviving house in Los Angeles and today is a museum depicting life in the 1840s you [Music] after a bitter 11-year conflict Mexico including out the California achieved independence from Spain in 1821 el pueblo de los angeles would be part of Mexico for the next 26 years one of the first acts of the new Mexican government was secularization the dismantling of the missions and once the mission is collapsed with the help of the local government essentially all the missions lands for the most part were taken by soldiers and settlers small plots of each mission were given back to native peoples most of the mission territory was redistributed under a new system of land grants the recipients of this land a small number of privileged and well-connected people established larger ranches or Ranchos these owners cult rancheros enjoyed a lavish lifestyle with elaborate parties gambling and bear fighting many travelled long distances to El Pueblo which was the center of their economic religious and social lives many of the Indians and Mexicans who did not receive land became laborers on the big Ranchos rancheros have a pretty significant role to play on the landscape of Southern California through the entire mission period and well after secularization is it an egalitarian labor system no the notion that this is an equitable distribution of goods and labor is not not true in 1801 a boy was born in San Gabriel mission who had become one of the most prominent Californians of the 19th century bo DeJesus Pico or simply vo Pico he spent his youth climbing the political and social ranks in California and became a successful businessman and landowner at 31 years old he would be named Governor of California amidst great political turmoil when the mail from Mexico reached my hands the first communication I opened was that of my being named governor which I concealed keeping it in my possession for about four months before I made it public because I did not want to be governor I wanted to be free of a load that was beyond my strength particularly because of all the dissensions existing because of the danger of a foreign invasion which was threatening without resources to prevent it as was my duty Pico was concerned the growing power of the United States would threaten Alta California and his fears were not unfounded the mexican-american war began in 1846 and by 1847 los angeles was officially american the flourishing Rancho system in California was doomed however when the California Gold Rush began two years later the dramatic population increase drove up the price of beef bringing a final wave of prosperity to the rancheros but by the mid 1860s the era of the Rancho was over [Music] Los Angeles is an extraordinarily diverse City if you look at that one square mile right around el pueblo this is one of the most diverse places in the country the first Anglo immigrant web webelo Joseph Chapman arrived in 1818 like most of the few Americans who arrived in El Pueblo when it was part of Mexico Chapman married into a California family learned Spanish and converted to Catholicism the Italian community began to arrive in the 1820s many of them migrating west from their ports of entry on the east coast of the United States in los angeles they encountered a climate that was more hospitable and we're not only talking about the sunshine but a climate that's influenced by Latino culture Catholicism a similar language a culture that's similar to Italian culture and so they were often than not fit in and we're able to achieve upward mobility easier here than another place of the United States by 1900 there were about 2,000 Italians in Los Angeles which had grown from a small Pueblo to a city of more than a hundred thousand in 1908 Italian Hall was built on Olvera Street to serve as a business and social center it is presently home to an italian-american Museum French settlers also began to arrive in the 1820s and by 1900 there were around 2,000 French people living in Los Angeles both French and Italian immigrants were often experienced winemakers and capitalized on Los Angeles's fertile soil and Mediterranean climate turning it into the winemaking capital of California Lucy owned Brunswick a prominent Frenchman owned the largest drug manufacturing laboratory west of Chicago the Vickery Brunswick building in Brunswick annex both of which are in El Pueblo and were home to his company were renovated to house that blasted the Cordura yacht base built to celebrate mexican-american contributions to Los Angeles history art culture and food despite the importance of these European immigrants it was the white Americans who had become the dominant influence in the city of Los Angeles [Music] the gold rush in 18-49 and California's admission to statehood one year later brought a huge influx of Anglo Americans to Los Angeles this created great social instability and an increase in crime during the early years of California statehood daily killings and vigilante justice were common in Los Angeles [Music] most anglo-american immigrants did not want to live in El Pueblo preferring instead the newly developed neighborhoods to the south this population shift caused El Pueblo to fall into disrepair Pio Pico former California Governor was distraught about the decline of his beloved Pueblo he built Pico House in 1870 in order to rejuvenate the ailing area and it was hailed as the finest hotel south of San Francisco Pico House has gone through many changes over the years and is now a venue for special events as Pico was attempting to revive El Pueblo Chinese immigrants began to settle there in an area that came to be known as Chinatown this population influx to help to fuel a surge of racial and ethnic tension in 1871 the increasing hostility came to a head in one of the most infamous moments in Los Angeles history ok that los negros was the alley where the Chinese massacre occurred in 1871 two Chinese a Tong man fought over Chinese women one bystander Robert Thompson got killed the mob came and they looted the Chinatown 19 innocent Chinese people were killed it was a dreadful thing and seven people were found guilty and sent to jail and then they were all later released on the grounds that a Chinese person can't testify against an American that's a very bad chapter in the history of Los Angeles but it's something that needs to be told nearly 1/10 of the Chinese population in Los Angeles was killed in the massacre but the public reaction to the Chinese massacre brought about an end to vigilante justice in the city although many Angelenos during this time looked down on the Chinese in 1890 a Frenchman named Philippe Garnier built the Garnier building in El Pueblo to serve as a place of business for the Chinese community it now serves as a Chinese American Museum Chinatown had fallen into disrepair and in the 1930s its residents were forced to vacate their homes and relocate to make way for the new Union Station the people in Chinatown were given 24 hours notice to move and then demolition began and at that point they had to scatter and they left behind so much this moment of tearing down old Chinatown really marked a change for the Chinese community in Los Angeles because this center of life was completely destroyed although old Chinatown was demolished and relocated another historic part of el pueblo Avila Adobe was saved in the late 1920s by a determined woman named Christine sterling she led a movement to recreate the most famous street in el pueblo el vadas Street as a traditional Mexican marketplace well Vera Street is now a vibrant thoroughfare of colorful shops and restaurants but during Sterling's time the street had become a rat infested slum Christine's Tony had ideas that were appropriate for the time here she was in the 1920s and 30s and she sees this wonderful old building the avila Adobe and she realizes that it's about to be torn down there's a condemnation notice on the door she gets people involved to help including Harry Chandler the times they manage to raise the money and save or Vera Street as a Mexican marketplace American society underwent massive upheaval during the Great Depression of the 1930s as American jobs were lost the government began deporting Mexican citizens and free speech was restricted throughout much of Los Angeles the plaza of El Pueblo however was an important exception both the shape of the plaza as well as its central location renders it an ideal place for convocation speeches parades activities it is the heart of Los Angeles culturally if not economically I think that's a quite wonderful use of the park and the plaza that people could say what they thought and not be criticized for it maybe they were criticized but not punished in 1932 the renowned and politically active Mexican muralist daavid Alfaro Siqueiros was invited to paint a mural on Italian Hall on Olvera Street now they know of cicadas politics but their desire is to show a scene in keeping with the thematic content of Oliver Street which is a quaint Mexican village senorita's and Don's singing and playing their castanets and parrots and birds they give him the title tropical America to which cicadas responds you want tropical America I will give you tropical America and so he creates then what has now become one of the most controversial murals in the history of the world si quieres mural is a depiction of American and European imperialism in Latin America and a profound political statement many Angelenos were shocked at the perceived anti-americanism of the mural and most of it was immediately whitewashed it wasn't until the 1970s that the idea to restore the mural took hold this was emblematic of a new era for El Pueblo one that today celebrates its inclusive history [Music] today art food music and tradition also play an important role in El Pueblo and the many holidays and festivals held there among the largest are the blessing of the animals Cinco de Mayo and el Dia de los Muertos el pueblo exists whether you know it or not in the hearts of every person in Southern California it's a place of both extraordinary liveliness right now this afternoon but also extraordinary liveliness from history that shimmers around the place if you go there you're gonna feel both and that all by itself means it should be preserved you look at the plaza and you look at El Pueblo that is the court from which the city radiated and every group is represented in that sort of outward movement from the plaza from their foundation of the city it's a touchstone for every group in Los Angeles you could feel the history I mean when you go into these buildings these are the some of the oldest buildings in California and you feel the the history of LA I think it's a very important to know our history because we are what our forebears established and built we we continue that tradition we develop it in our own way but we can never forget our roots because we're connected you know we're connected with the past [Music] you you

Channel: El Pueblo Historical Monument

Views: 170,389

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Id: 0-jFL40GrOM

Length: 20min 14sec (1214 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 13 2018