Oaxaca L.A.

 This is a working document and is updated frequently.  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1KK_UXLXe5qcQmDLoZ1FOHtQ6KLb9CHl26RRew42orpY/edit?usp=sharing Comment suggestions. 

Expresion Oaxqueña  3301 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90019   The rise in Oaxacans in the city and the rise of authentic Oaxacan restaurants led to the increased inportation of Oaxacan product. Everything from chapulines (grasshoppers) to cheese began to be sold in Los Angeles. Many Oaxacans sold them among each other, but it eventually became a business through the establishment of markets and other Oaxacan shops.  Zeferino Garcia, originally from Oaxaca, is the owner of several markets and restaurants in Los Angeles. He began his journey selling hot dogs from a cart before progressing to a food truck and then progressing into a restaurant. He opened Expresion Oaxaqueña in 1998 with the help of family members and neighbors from his hometown.  In Oaxacan culture, community is an important thing. This is something they brought with them, creating vast networks of people, businesses and mutual aid. The creation of Expresion Oaxaqueña and the rest of the Zeferino Garcia...

 Guelaguetza Restaurante  3014 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90006 Guelaguetza Restaurante is one of the first ever Oaxacan restaurants in Los Angeles. During a rough economical time in Mexico, Fernando Lopez came to the United States, leaving his family in Oaxaca for a year before bringing them too. He opened Guelaguetza on 8th Street and Normandie in 1994 and found success with it. He opened it with the intention of giving Oaxaqueños away from home an authentic taste of their traditional dishes. Guelaguetza became so successful that Lopez moved to a larger location and his restaurant is now located on Olympic Blvd in Koreatown.  Lopez went on to open six other restaurants, but eventually closed them all except Guelaguetza because of the 2008 economic recession. The only reason why Guelaguetza remained opened was because Bricia, Paulina and Fernando Jr. Lopez all pitched in to buy their father's restaurant and save it amidst the recession.  From then, the success ...

   Mexican-American history is rich and broad, encapsulating not only the people who were born in the United States and have Mexican heritage. This history goes all the way back to the colonization of the Americas and even before that (Read Martha Menchaca's Recovering History, Construction Race: The Indian, Black and White roots of Mexican Americans !!).       While restaurants are one of many things Oaxacans began to establish in Los Angeles, these are one of the most visual and most well-known impacts they have had. There are a dozen articles and reports on the food of Oaxaca in Los Angeles (see Resources). L.A. Taco's Daniel Hernandez writes that this is due to the diversity amongst Oaxaqueños and their rich indigenous background, separating from the typical "colonial Mexican culture" we usually see. Restaurants also tell much of the history of Oaxaqueños and how they became a part of America. Devra Weber, and other scholars, write that Oaxaqueños settl...

A large amount of Oaxacan immigrants began entering the United States in the 1980s, although many also entered the country through the Bracero program and throughout previous other points in time.  They mostly migrated to California, settling in the Central Valley, Southern California, among other places. They worked in agricultural, manufacturing and other labor sectors where jobs were available for immigrants.  Looking at Los Angeles specifically, many Oaxacan immigrants that have established communities here are Zapotec, coming from places like Tlacolula and Macuiltianguis. Devra Weber write they have "formed enclaves around the city [Los Angeles]", establishing communities in Burbank, Santa Monica and many other parts of Los Angeles.  As more Oaxacans began to migrate to California, they brought with them their customs and traditions. They established community organizations and began to host Guelaguetazas, their yearly festival held in the Summer. As Oaxacans became ...

The history of Oaxacan culture in Los Angeles is an example of the impact that Mexicans, Mexican-Americans, and Indigenous people have had in the United States. For so long, Mexican culture has been suppressed and rejected, unless it fit the American ideal (which it usually did not). In “ Citizens of the Past?: Olvera Street and the Construction of Race and History in 1930s Los Angeles” by Phoebe Kropp, we see how Mexican culture was perceived and romanticized by Anglos. Despite the control that Anglos had over this space, Mexicans-Americans eventually reclaimed the space by developing their businesses and using Olvera Street as a social and political space.  Looking at Oaxacan restaurants, markets and other shops in Los Angeles, they are a representation of the impact Mexican, Mexican-Americans and Indigenous culture has had in the United States. While not located in a single space (Oaxacan spaces are quite spread out), the creation of restaurants, markets, and shops demonstrates ...