Agustín Durán | Hispanic L.A.
Rafael Gonzales, 83, from Michoacán, Mexico, was approaching the stage with his cell phone to take one, two, three, many photos of his granddaughter Emma, 11. At the time, the girl was participating in a folk dancer from the Plaza de la Raza Holiday Celebration 2025, in East Los Angeles Lincoln Park.
A lover of Mexican music and traditions, Gonzales said he was proud that his granddaughter, born in the United States, embraces Mexican culture, enjoyment and promotes a tradition that – she stressed – should not be missed, as it represents the wealth and identity of the Mexican and Latino community in the United States.
“It’s great that this type of event takes place in the park, a space open to the public so that everyone can appreciate and enjoy it,” explained Gonzales, who was with his wife Santa Ana to applaud his granddaughter.
In the same place, Martha Ortiz, 64 years old and originally from Irapuato, Guanajuato, tried to take a video of her youngest son, Christian Ortiz, who at that same event played the trumpet in the band Plaza de la Raza Student Mariachi Ensemble.
Home and shelter
That Saturday, December 19, hundreds of Angelenos of all ages gathered in English and Spanish, immigrants and citizens, to appreciate more than a dozen events that included theater, mariachi music, dances, folk dances and an inn; in addition to traditional food, crafts, books and crafts from where Mexican, Chicano and Latin culture was exposed.
“Lincoln Park is an important cultural center for Plaza de la Raza and has served as home and shelter for the Latino community of Los Angeles for over 55 years,” said Tomas Benitez, professor and director of Plaza de la Raza Development. “It’s the oldest green space east of the Los Angeles River and has been a cultural destination since the creation of Lincoln Heights.”
One of the goals of Plaza de la Raza has been and is for people to understand that Latino culture is part of American culture, and that it should be preserved and celebrated.
For LA’s Divine Dance artist, Evelyn Garcia, Lincoln Park is a sacred public space that allows them to become stronger as a community. Especially now with the migratory raids, the park makes them feel united and safe.
“Expressing our dancing culture is a way of resisting and prayer,” he said. “It’s a way to connect with your ancestors and represent your culture in a time of a lot of tension.”
Garcia, born in Huntington Park to a Purépecha father (a native town in Michoacán), and currently a resident of Lincoln Heights, said that as a child the dance helped her to assimilate to American society, but at the same time helped her connect with her culture and confront the racism that students of color confront in some areas of Los Angeles.
He added that people should not be afraid in these times of great challenges, “because culture is beauty and also a form of resistance.”
Collective memory
Lincoln Park, where 22 football fields could fit, is also home to The Wall-Las Memorias, a memorial and educational memorial dedicated to people who have lived and died from HIV/AIDS. It was created more than three decades ago to preserve collective memory, combat stigma and raise social awareness.
Richard Zaldivar, founder and executive director of The Wall-Las Memorias, explained that the monument was designed in the shape of the serpent Quetzalcoatl, the Aztec symbol of the Renaissance. It consists of eight panels: six murals depicting life with HIV/AIDS in the Latino community and two granite panels with the names of the people who died from this disease.
“The monument is probably the most beautiful part of the park,” Zaldivar said. “A lot of times, even the community uses it for weddings, they take pictures and that’s because it’s a beautiful environment.
He added that the fact that the monument is in the park dedicated to Abraham Lincoln, suggests that just as the former president abolished slavery, in a way The Wall-Las Memorias has allowed the “liberation” of people affected by HIV. In addition, it is in front of the General Hospital that at one point had the largest AIDS rooms in the country.
The fact that the monument was the first to be publicly funded in the United States, strengthened at the time the argument that the disease was of social interest and public health, not individual; a situation that inspired other monuments, educational projects and conversations internationally.
Zaldivar explained that an event is held annually commemorating the International AIDS Day. Community, school and public health events are also held.
“We do tours and educational sessions, but there are many groups that come on their own to see the monument because many people have names to visit,” Zaldivar said. “The monument also helps new generations understand the real impact of the disease.”
Safety and inheritance
In another of the corners of the park is the Department of Parks and Recreation of District 14 of the city of Los Angeles, from where sports programs, recreational, community and cultural services are operated: such as visual arts, guitar classes, performance and creative activities and crafts.
Jesús Chávez, a 60-year-old Mexican immigrant who has lived near Lincoln Park the last 40, said the park is very safe 24 hours a day.
However, he pointed out that the presence of some homeless people has affected some areas, but that in general it is a place where you can walk day and night safely.
“I have fallen asleep on one of the benches and left my bike without padlocking and, when I wake up, my bike is still in place,” Chavez said, stressing that Lincoln Park has it all. “He doesn’t just have sport, swimming and programs for the elderly. If you leave on the other side, you can learn more about the AIDS disease and if you continue, you will find the Plaza de la Raza that does cultural events all the time.”
Angelica Arévalo grew up in Lincoln Heights and thanks to her great-grandmother learned to play mariachi music and preserve her Spanish.
It indicates that a park like the Lincoln that offers cultural alternatives, allowing organizations like Plaza de la Raza to settle in their green spaces, is a great option because it allows people to enjoy and value their roots, but also takes new generations out of the streets and prevents them from falling into bad steps. Today his son also plays guitar.
Jacob, son of Arévalo, is 15 years old and said he enjoys playing guitar in a mariachi thanks to his mother inspiring him.
“Now I play to express my culture and show how great it is,” Jacob said. “It makes me feel very good and allows me to express myself better.”
This story was produced by American Community Media in collaboration with the Laboratory for Environmental Narrative Strategies (LENS) at UCLA as part of the Greening American Cities initiative supported by the Bezos Earth Fund. Read more stories like this by visiting the Greening Communities homepage.
