By selling, working, playing, socializing and relaxing
in the space around their homes, the working-class Latinos of
East LA have developed a residential vernacular that represents
their struggles, triumphs and everyday habits.
Latino residents bring a unique and often over-
looked perspective to the U.S. suburban form.
The Latin American ciudades, pueblos and
rancheros from which many of East Los Angeles’
Latino residents come are physically designed and
socially structured differently than their new commu-
nities in the United States. By adopting technology
and adjusting their cultural behavior patterns, Latino
residents appropriate and retrofit their neighborhoods
to suit their needs. This is illustrated in their use of
urban space.
Few signs or landmarks reveal the location of the
barrios of East Los Angeles. Visitors know when they
have arrived from the crowds of people in public
spaces-the trademark of East LA. Latino residents
seem to spring forth from the asphalt, communing on
streets, corners, sidewalks, front yards, as well as
marginal places like parking lots and alleys. Street
vendors flow in and out of commercial and residential
areas, attracting crowds wherever they go.
A typical house in the barrio resembles any other
house in Los Angeles, but what sets the barrio apart is
the appearance of the overall community, which is
distinguished by the residents’ use of the space
around their homes. By selling, working, playing,
socializing and relaxing in these outdoor spaces, resi-
dents create a spontaneous, dynamic and animated
urban landscape unlike any other in Los Angeles.
Rather than isolating neighbors as in other LA com-
munities, the streets, front yards, driveways and other
spaces around the homes typically bring neighbors
together.
James Thomas Rojas is currently in Hungary as a member of
the Peace Corps. This article is based on research conducted
for his master’s thesis in architecture and city planning at MIT,
and is reprinted from the Spring/Summer 1994 issue of Design
Book Review with the permission of MIT Press, Cambridge,
Massachussetts.
Moveable props, such as tables and chairs, allow
Latinos to control outdoor space by giving them flexi-
bility and freedom over their environment. Props can
be moved from indoors to outdoors, as well as allow
for permanent or temporary “personalization” in pub-
lic space. These items create a sense of security in a
place by acting as territorial markers. Like furniture in
a room, props on the street connect the user to the
open urban space. A pushcart selling ice cream cap-
tures a fleeting moment of social exchange between
children. A sofa under a tree or on a porch provides
some respite for residents from the afternoon sun,
while a barbecue pit may generate both revenue and
neighborhood gossip.
In the barrios of East LA, props are symbols of
place. They can be smelled, tasted, seen, heard and
felt, particularly on the weekends: the aroma of roast-
ing ears of corn, the taste of tangy, fresh-cut pineapple
and chili powder, the sight of colorful displays of trin-
kets, and the sound of laughter and music which
encourages people to sway to the rhythm of the barrio.
Whether the costumed mariachis, who walk from bar
to restaurant singing songs for a few dollars, or the car
stereos blaring banda (Mexican country music) or
disco, music adds a rich, intense ambience to the sub-
urban landscape of East LA.
Entire function-specific buildings are transformed
with the use of props alone, or with only minor
changes made to the structures. For example, some
gas stations have been converted into taco stands.
Wrought-iron canopies are sometimes added to
enclose some of the open space. Pumps are replaced
by an arrangement of tables and chairs that is as for-
mal as that of any European outdoor cafe. Patrons
have direct visual access to the street, thus reinforcing
street activity. The building’s new function is
expressed with minimal retrofitting; props and people
create the atmosphere.
32 N4CLA REPORT ON THE AMERICAS NACIA REPORT ON THE AMERICAS 32URBAN REPORT
Like the abandoned gas station-a relic of the
machine age-the automobile, too, has been integrat-
ed into the neighborhood’s fabric to reflect Latino cul-
tural values. Latinos use the automobile for social
interaction by cruising the streets and other areas
where young people congregate. In Latin America,
this sort of social mingling occurs on walks through
the plazas. The absence of plazas in LA forces Latinos
to drive instead of making the traditional paseo, or
walk.
Latino males-like their white counterparts-are
fascinated with automobiles. They are passionate
about their hobby, spending much money and time
with their car-club buddies, either on the streets or in
garages where they customize their cars. The classic
“bombs” (cars from the 1940s and 1950s), and sedans
Neighbors congregate on an East LA street.
and Chevy low-riders of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s
have given way in recent years to smaller cars and
mini-trucks and a new breed of low-rider. The chrome
rims and simple paraphernalia that characterized low-
riders in the past have been replaced with elaborate
details, such as hand-painted illustrations, gold-plated
hydraulic scissor lifts, suicide doors, Porsche rims,
and technological innovations. Drivers of low-riders
are no longer just teenagers, as was formerly the case,
but adult Latinos in their twenties, who have higher
incomes. It can cost thousands of dollars to customize
a car today. Cruising is still popular among teenagers,
but many of today’s embellished low-riders rarely
meet the asphalt, or are driven only at night when
there is no traffic because one pebble can ruin an
expensive custom paint job.
Many of these low-riders are seen at monthly car
shows held throughout the Southland, which cater
primarily to a young Latino crowd. Customized cars
of every color, make and model are displayed in
orderly rows. Each car reflects all the reverence and
attention to detail one would find in a Latino church
altar. Trophies, teddy bears, champagne glasses,
Mexican flags, and other items enhance the low-rid-
ers. Chrome engines, pink velvet interiors, water-
filled doors are just a few of the elaborate elements
that illustrate the tactile genius and imagination of
Latino car owners.
Like at a rodeo, crowds gather to watch low-riders
hop, or “dance,” with hydraulic lifts to record-break-
ing heights. The latest craze, bed dancing, is created
by hydraulic scissors that raise a truck bed more than
ten feet off the ground, at varying angles. Latinos’
cars are unique self-expressions and urban art. The
low-rider represents the Latino ability to appropriate
and redefine American standards.
Very few walls are left untouched in East Los
Angeles. From graffiti to store signs to murals,
public walls are also a place for cultural expres-
sion for cholos (gang members), political
groups, and shop owners. Garage doors, fences,
sidewalks, building walls, benches, buses, and,
recently, freeway signs are all targets of person-
al expression, which aim to violate the order of
place and the purity of blankness.
Graffiti is the most abundant form of visual
communication in East LA. Most residents do
not like graffiti and are constantly painting over
it, but it is a visual reality of the barrio. Graph-
ics and symbols are also important communica-
tion tools, especially for shop owners who use
both pictures and words to advertise their busi-
nesses. A large pig’s head or jersey cow indi-
cates a carniceria (butcher shop). Cornucopias
indicate vegetable and fruit stands. The flam-
boyant graphics and words give store facades a kinetic
look.
Murals are a form of political, religious and whimsi-
cal advertisement in the barrio, expressing various val-
ues. Murals of Our Lady of Guadalupe are popular
because she is the patron saint of Mexico. Many of the
murals from the 1970s express social ideologies, for
example, “Chicano Power.” However, the whimsical
murals that shop owners commission to advertise their
business are the most common type.
Murals, which offer residents an inexpensive and
quick way to personalize space, make marginal urban
spaces habitable, and can be appreciated by passers-
by in cars and on foot. Most are painted on the large,
expansive walls of the sides of buildings-the typical
target for graffiti. The murals may not deter graffiti,
but they prevent it from dominating the space. More-
over, local youths are often employed to create
this form of public art. By livening up the area, the
residents of East LA wrap commercial activity into
33 33 VOL XXVIII, No4 JAN/IFEB1995URBAN REPORT
otherwise forgotten spaces, transforming them into
important areas where street vendors sell their wares, and lending cultural value to these otherwise nonde-
script buildings.
But perhaps nowhere else in the urban landscape of
East LA is the Mexican use of space so evident and
celebrated than in the enclosed front yard. As Mexi-
can immigrants settle into their new homes, the front
yard becomes a place of personal expression; hence, a
new interpretation of the traditional American front
yard emerges, one that is reflective of Mexican cultur-
al values. Depending on the needs of the owners, the
use and design of the front yard will vary from elabo-
Few walls are left untouched in the barrio. Shop owners use murals advertise their business.
rate courtyards reminiscent of Mexico to essential
junkyards.
Like most U.S. suburban homes, East LA homes
are sited at the middle of the lot. However, the per-
sonalization of the front yards and their enclosing
fences make the expanse of land that surrounds each
home distinctive. Enclosed front yards are so domi-
nant that they have altered not only the general char-
acter of the neighborhood, but the residents’ behav-
ior patterns as well. The continuous, green park
setting that symbolizes the typical American front
lawn has been cut up into individual slices in the
barrio, allowing for individual expression and social
interaction.
Fences enclose many front yards across the United
States, but while most Americans regard them as hos-
tile or exclusionary, as a barrier against the world, for
Latinos, fences provide a catalyst for bringing neigh-
bors and pedestrians together. Edges, borders and
boundaries are dynamic places where people con-
verge. By creating an edge for residents to lean on and
congregate, fences break down social and physical
barriers. The psychological barrier that the front lawn
creates in most U.S. suburbs does not exist in barrios.
In Spanish, there is a saying, “Through respect
there can be peace.” Respect for the individuality of
each resident is reinforced by the use of the fences,
which clearly delineate property ownership. There-
fore, residents can personalize their front yards with-
out physically interfering with the spaces and lives of
their neighbors. The use of fences in the front yard
modifies the approach to the home and moves the
threshold from the front door to the front gate. The
enclosed front yard defines an area that bridges the
public and private spaces of the home, acting as a
large foyer and becoming an active part of the
household. When entering the front yard
through the gate bordering the sidewalk, visi-
tors feel as if they have entered the home. For
residents and pedestrians, it is perfectly
acceptable to have conversations at the front
gate and not be invited into the home.
The homes in East LA may have been built
by non-Latinos, but they have evolved into a
vernacular form because residents have
altered them to suit their needs. Houses are
personalized with every change, no matter
how small, because each has meaning and
purpose. East LA residential vernacular repre-
sents the struggles, triumphs, as well as the
everyday habits and beliefs of working-class
Latinos. The vernacular offers cultural, eco-
to nomic and regional solutions to the residents’
need for familiarity in their environment. The
beauty of the vernacular cannot be measured
by architectural standards, but by life experiences,
which are ambiguous. The vernacular represents indi-
viduals’ manipulation, adaptation, and appropriation
of their environment.
One must understand the differences and similari-
ties in Mexican and American values toward the
home and the urban landscape in order to comprehend
and appreciate the unique combination of the two
approaches. A bastard of architectural vocabularies,
Latino homes and barrios create a new language that
borrows from both Mexican and American syntaxes.
Latinos bring a new perspective to the U.S. suburb
in California and the Southwest through their appro-
priation and redesign of the environment. Their origi-
nal perspective fuses Latin American social values
with U.S. suburban form, and can offer solutions for
rethinking the urban form. This fusion of culture and
form illustrates the positive evolution of the suburb-
which has historically been an agent of segregation
and homogeneity, intolerant of ethnic and cultural r
differences-into a place that can support and even
nurture minority cultures.
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