MIGRATION AND EARLY 20TH CENTURY BARRIOS

The Commodification of Culture
By N.C.

It’s nothing new when the unique aspects of a racial minority group are adopted by the majority for its own use, and while some may view it as an appreciation, it’s usually paired with a maintained prejudice against these minorities. We see examples of this throughout history as well as into modern day. During the rapid expansion of the Mexican population in Los Angeles in the late 1800s and early 1900s, we saw a romanticization of Latino culture in an effort to promote Anglo settlement in the city. Today, we see a highly commercialized Cinco de Mayo “celebration” that allows beer and other private businesses to make enormous profits while catering to a society that generally doesn’t even understand the actual idea behind Cinco de Mayo. Why do we as a culture eagerly accept and promote some aspects of Latino culture while simultaneously upholding negative stereotypes that hinder their societal advancement?

Around the 1880s when Los Angeles was competing for growth against New York City, planners chose to gloss over the actual Latino history and cultural conflicts to display a quaint Spanish heritage, the best angle they could push aside from an amiable climate (Sánchez). Basically saying, “Your culture is appealing, but let’s not get out of hand.” La Plaza de La Reyna de Los Angeles (The Queen of Angels) was founded in 1781 and functioned as a central gathering place for the Mexican population, however after the United States took over the area, it became a less sanctimonious place (Sánchez). It did function briefly as a market, however this didn’t fit with the vision held by city planners to cultivate a more touristic environment. As the city grew with new Anglo settlers, much of the Latino population was pushed to different areas, forming barrios (a general term for neighborhood, however often interpreted by English speakers as ghetto). These barrio environments at the time were indeed often in poor shape, maintained by businesses using tactics to keep the Latino population around while being paid less than those with lighter skin. Many Latinos settled in the Boyle Heights area of Los Angeles, where in recent years a struggle has formed between gentrification and “gente-fication” (gente meaning “people” in Spanish, a name given to the efforts for locals to personalize and make their own improvements to the barrio). Rising rent prices are forcing life-long residents and businesses to move or close, while commercial businesses bid to replace them. There are currently protests against the many art galleries that have come into the neighborhood, which some have considered the “Trojan Horse of gentrification” (Mejia) and would prefer the use of these locations to be left to the locals. As these often White, affluent, and for-profit establishments block out property with their ability to pay higher rents, they simultaneously are able to take advantage of untapped customer bases who become limited to these newer options. And once the process starts, it will continue until those capable adapt, or move elsewhere. By driving out previously stable and beneficial local businesses, Latino advancement becomes strained and hindered. These barrios become seen as an area of capitalist expansion, and in situations where the selling point is the culture, those who are the subjects are often excluded. Is it just an inevitability that a social majority will take interest in something different, and pairing that with our Capitalist society, we feel a need to profit off of it?

I think the United State’s obsession with Cinco de Mayo is another modern day example of commercializing culture. To the average twenty-something, the phrase is synonymous with a drinking party. Everyone puts on fake mustaches and giant sombreros, and does their best to portray the most concentrated Mexican stereotype possible, in what essentially boils down to a reason to party. The actual reason for the day isn’t known by the majority of these people (it’s for a Mexican victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla in 1862, not Mexican

independence), nor is it celebrated by a majority of Mexicans. The intrigue perpetuates a business model that’s become one of the best times of the year for beer companies, and the heavy marketing furthers the notion that people should take advantage of what now equates to a new U.S. “holiday”. Ever since Latinos have lived in the US (either after the border crossed them or they migrated for work), Anglo society has found ways to control their advancement while skimming the profitable aspects of their culture. And to cap it all off, we now have a prominent political figure expecting a Mexican funded wall built at the border the U.S. moved.

Works Cited
Brand, Madeleine. "In Boyle Heights, the Signs of Gentrification Are Everywhere." For The Curious. N.p., 20 July 2016. Web. 07 Sept. 2016.

http://s7d5.scene7.com/is/image/PartyCity/Cinco_De_Mayo_2013_0974
op_sharpen=0&resMode=sharp2&op_usm=1.2,1,4,0&wid=486

Mejia, Brittny, and Steve Saldivar. "Boyle Heights Activists Blame the Art Galleries for 
Gentrification." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 4 Aug. 2016. Web. 07 Sept. 2016.

Sanchez, George J. Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture, and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900-1945. New York: Oxford UP, 1993. Print.