Restaurantes Oaxaqueños

   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 settled in Santa Monica, Koreatown and Burbank. We can see this by looking at Oaxacan restaurants in L.A., with many of the being concentrated in these areas (see Additional Sources). 

In future posts, we'll highlight a restaurant in L.A. and explain how it ties into the history of the Mexican-American.