Plaza Mexico

3100 E. Imperial Hwy., Lynwood, CA 90262

 

Plaza Mexico offers its Mexican visitors a feeling of being "home" away from home, and its non-Mexican visitors an experience of being on a Mexican getaway. Through its architectural reproductions, "Plaza Mexico's facades and architectural motifs feature replicas of cultural icons found in Mexican cities" (Irazabal, 81). Among the replicas is one of the most important symbols of the Mexican nation, the Angel of Independence, located at the main entrance of the plaza. Perhaps the most interesting, is the replica of the façade of the Palace of Jalisco. This reproduction, like the others, were carefully crafted and "even the selection of construction materials and the construction process itself [was] carefully monitored to guarantee quality and Mexican 'authenticity" (Irazabal and Gomez-Barris, 6).

"The draw of Plaza Mexico, especially on weekends, is its cultural events, ethnic and religious commodities, and an accessible, social space that 'feels like home'' (Irazabal, 81). Like its design, the cultural events reproduce Mexican traditions that connect visitors back to their roots. "Cinco de Mayo," "El Grito de la Independencia," and "Las Mañatitas a La Virgen de Guadalupe," are among the most notable traditions. In addition, the plaza serves as a place where people can go and consume Mexican goods, much like a "mercado," which creates an atmosphere that becomes so authentic that Mexicans feel like they were "there" and not "here." Thus the desire to identify themselves back to their roots becomes stronger.

 Due to the cities increased racial shifts, the plaza "provides a place of solace, gathering, and the reterritorialisation of individual and collective identities of its mostly Mexican immigrant clientele" (Irazabal and Gomez-Barris, 11). Certainly, Plaza Mexico is not only a place that invites visitors of Mexican descent to come closer to their cultural backgrounds, but also to reclaim old identities. "[It] produces a physical and cultural space that imitates 'the best' of Mexico without requiring the increasingly impossible journey of return" (Irazabal and Gomez-Barris, 3-4). Plaza Mexico is a place where Mexicans feel like they belong, a place that represents them, and a place that offers an environment that is "identity affirming". Through its architecture, its use of cultural events, and its atmosphere, Plaza Mexico becomes a defining place of identification for Mexicans in Los Angeles. 

For more information:
 

Gomez-Barris, Macarena, and Clara Irazabal. "Transnational Meaning of La Virgen De Guadalupe: Religiosity, Space and Culture at Plaza Mexico." Culture and Religion: An Interdisciplinary Journal 10.3 (2009): 339-57. 

Irazabal, Clara, and Macarena Gomez-Barris. "Bounded Tourism: Immigrant Politics, Consumption, and Traditions at Plaza Mexico." Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change 5.3 (2008): 186-213. 

Irazabal, Clara, and Ramzi Farhat. "Latino Communities in the United States: Place-Making in the Pre-World War II, Postwar, and Contemporary City." Journal of Planning Literature 22.3 (2008): 207-28.  

Irazabal, Clara. "Transnational Planning: Reconfiguring Spaces and Institutions." Transnationalism and Urbanism. 1st ed. New York: Routledge, 2012. 72-86. 

"Plaza Mexico: About The Plaza." Plaza Mexico. N.p., 2004, http://www.plazamexico.com/abouttheplaza.php, Accessed November 6, 2013.