facebook.com/hotelmariachi

City Council members voice support to keep Boyle Heights Mariachi Plaza intact

by Linda A. Rapka

Things are looking up for Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights, whose fate has been in question since plans were announced to develop the area into a modern shopping mall.

Mariachi musicians from throughout Los Angeles have gathered at the plaza since the 1930s to perform together and to get hired for work. In recent years the area has undergone numerous changes, largely viewed as positive, including a Metro Gold Line station and a large new stage.

But plans by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to build medical offices, restaurants, a gym and stores along the property across from the plaza have the community worried that the mariachis’ livelihood and their cultural center could be threatened, even wiped out. Continue reading →