Los Angeles, Oct 9 (EFE) .- Echo Park, an area traditionally occupied by Latinos and is now changing its image with modern apartments for executives, has been named one of the “Best Neighborhood” in America.
The designation adopted by the American Planning Association (APA English) places the district as one of the “10 Best Neighborhoods” of the nation, renowned for the excellence of their homes, streets and public spaces.
“Echo Park is one of the brightest lights in a city full of stars …”, said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, in making the announcement Wednesday of the name.
“A neighborhood that prides itself on its rich cultural heritage,” he added.
The sector, which gets its name from the public park located at the intersection of Glendale and Park avenues, has traditionally been the seat of a large Latino population.
The area was populated mostly by Mexicans after the Second World War and the decade of the 80 received high Central American migration.
However, the development of the city over the past 10 years has gradually changed the physiognomy of the area to the extent that many older apartment buildings have been remodeled to convert them into modern apartments and studios, which employ young professionals who generally work in Downtown Los Angeles.
These changes, which have raised the value of the property, have undermined many traditional residents of the area used to living in rented apartments and in recent years have felt the pressure of eviction.
“This area has been changing, renovating houses,” he told Efe Consuelo Rodriguez, while caring for her granddaughter Sarah, in the park. “They look more American and less Hispanic, especially in buildings. Rents are more expensive and you do not have to pay.”
According to Mexican born in Guanajuato, one of his five daughters had to move his family to a neighborhood north of Los Angeles, under pressure from the owner of the apartment building where he lived, “who wanted to evacuate to remodel the building” .
Echo Park has been immortalized in movies like “Chinatown”, “Echo Park”, “Kentucky Fried Movie,” “Mi Vida Loca”, “Tending Echo Park” and recently “Quinceanera”, which within its subject-change is sustained around the neighborhood.
Silvia, a seller of “scrapes” (slush) in the park, told Efe that in his nearly 12 years living in the area has seen the change suffered …
