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Boyle Heights, a community

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Content BOYLE HEIGHTS: A COMMUNITY
Producer, Writer, Editor: Anna Bobadilla-Marino
Thesis

1

Boyle Heights, A Community

By

Anna Bobadilla-Marino

A Thesis Presented to the
Faculty of USC Graduate School
University of Southern California

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Arts
(Specialized Journalism)

August 2018

Copyright Anna Bobadilla-Marino
BOYLE HEIGHTS: A COMMUNITY
Producer, Writer, Editor: Anna Bobadilla-Marino
Thesis

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Acknowledgements

To the professors on my committee Sandy Tolan, Bill Yahraus and Megan Chao I would like to
express my gratitude for reigniting my spirit for storytelling, for showing me that I am capable of
pursuing my dreams and most importantly that I belong. Professor Tolan, I would like to thank
you for showing me that humanity is what often times makes the story. Professor Yaharus, I am
grateful for the risks you pushed me to take in and out of your class during documentary
filmmaking and allowing me to cultivate my own path and style. Professor Chao, you inspire me
with the ease that I am able to communicate with you and representing women in a field
dominated by men. Lastly, I’d like to thank my family, I would never go into this much debt
without your approval and support. Everyone mentioned on this page thank you for pushing me
into my future.
There is a housing crisis in Los Angeles, which has opened my eyes to the obstacles that
people, mainly of color and low income, are experiencing. It has become easier to lose your
home instead of finding one. Boyle Heights is a predominately Latino community in Los
Angeles and they have been fighting for healthy and equal housing for more than 50 years. The
community members of Boyle Heights are also fighting to validate their contributions to the
Greater Los Angeles area. Latino Culture can be seen throughout the city in restaurants,
architecture, street signs and language, they provide a rich history to Los Angeles and without
their contributions the city would not be the same.

BOYLE HEIGHTS: A COMMUNITY
Producer, Writer, Editor: Anna Bobadilla-Marino
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Table of Contents

1 Background………………………………………………………………………….…….4
2 Structure………………………………………….……………………………………….5
3 Key Findings……………………………….……………………...………………………6
4 Resolutions/ Summary…………………………………………………………………...8
5 Documentary Script……….…………….………………………………………………10
6 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………19

BOYLE HEIGHTS: A COMMUNITY
Producer, Writer, Editor: Anna Bobadilla-Marino
Thesis

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Background
I realized that there was a housing shortage and communities of color were experiencing
displacement at a higher rate than other communities. During the time I was accepted into USC, I
was living in Echo Park, a commonly known gentrified area. The guilt I was feeling about living
there led me to educate myself. From what I was reading, neighborhoods off of Sunset Blvd have
been getting revitalized. The so-called new improvements are having negative impacts on the
already existing communities. Where Sunset Blvd ended, Cesar Chavez Avenue began leading
into Boyle Heights. It is a community known for its immigrant history and banding together
during tough times. When I heard about the coalition Defend Boyle Heights and the work they
were doing, it opened my eyes to the all the stakes that could be lost if gentrification continued.
The erasure of mom and pop shops; Mariachi Plaza; the murals that told Mexican American
history, and leaving women, children, and men homeless. Revitalization and evolution is
necessary to every community however gentrification intersects with other issues such as a living
wages, health, and transportation.
I chose to do my thesis on gentrification in Boyle Heights to highlight how the betterment
of the community was nonexistent to the LA county or outsiders until the housing crisis in Los
Angeles started. What I have found is that the community does not want any outsiders interfering
with their work. To complete this documentary, I have found subjects that are outspoken and
well-known in the area and are willing to be on camera.

BOYLE HEIGHTS: A COMMUNITY
Producer, Writer, Editor: Anna Bobadilla-Marino
Thesis

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Structure

Carlos Montes is an activist in Boyle Heights who has been fighting for the equal
treatment of immigrants and Latinos for 50 years. He introduces the theory that the removal of
Latinos is cyclical in Los Angeles. He uses the historic context of Chavez Ravine to show that
developers take over areas, and push existing communities out ,leaving them with nowhere to go.
Josefina Lopez runs a local theatre in Boyle Heights and owns a restaurant, CASA FINA. She
and Carlos setup the conflict in the documentary by explaining all the issues gentrification is
causing. Corky Dominguez is the director at the local theatre; he expresses the importance of
preserving the community’s culture and what’s at stake if Boyle Heights is gentrified. Jackson
Defa is a new local business owner who is experiencing resentment from some of the local
community. Lastly, we introduce a group of tenants who came to a resolution with their landlord
about the rent increase. Despite their success, there is a long road ahead for many other tenants.

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Key Findings

Boyle Heights is a very tight knit community, most activist and locals did not want to
participate in the documentary. However, I was lucky to meet a few outspoken people who
agreed to be on camera. Most of my research was through the Census, LAHSA (Los Angeles
Homeless Service Authority) Zillow and articles by the LA Times, LA Weekly, and LA Curbed.
Through my reporting I was able to learn the significance of Mariachis, how the community has
fought against injustices before, and the causes of gentrification.
Gentrification is described in the dictionary as “The buying and renovation of houses and
stores in deteriorated urban neighborhoods by upper or middle-income families or individuals,
raising property values but often displacing low-income families and small businesses”.
Although briefly mentioned the fight over Chavez Ravine started in the early 1950’s, it is a
historic moment when Latino’s were pushed out of their homes to build Dodger stadium.
Gentrification impacts the already existing community negatively by increasing the cost of
living, mainly the rent.
1
Boyle Heights residents are primarily of Latino descent and bring in less
income than the rest of the average of Los Angeles County. Making a fraction of what the rest of
the county is bringing in makes them vulnerable when there are price hikes in rent and food.
2

Another issue residents are faced with is commuting to and from work. If they cannot afford to
live near their job they are pushed into places where there are less work opportunities and can

1
Carlos Montes Interviewed by Anna Bobadilla-Marino Boyle Heights, January 24, 2018
2
Censusreporter.org https://censusreporter.org/profiles/79500US0603744-los-angeles-county-centralla-city-east-
centralcentral-city--boyle-heights-puma-ca/
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spend multiple hours commuting by metro, bus, and walking. If they are able to stay in Los
Angeles they may be forced to live in areas with high crime and violence.
Gentrification also hurts members of the community who have been contributing, not
only monetarily but culturally. One example is the Mariachis who use Mariachi Plaza as a way to
seek out work and play classic Mexican songs. Mariachi Plaza was not always a beautiful replica
of the famous Plaza Garibaldi in Guadalajara, Mexico. It was renovated to resemble the plaza
because of the way local Boyle Heights Mariachis were using it. Now the Mariachis are being
priced out and forced to move.
3

Gentrifiers are seen as people who come into the community and change what is unique
or authentic about it. The key players of gentrification are developers, local government, the
people who move into the buildings, the displaced, and new businesses. A symbol of
gentrification is renovating the buildings, making improvements such as a security guards or
changing the name of the apartment complex to make it appear new.
Conflict
Rents have increased to prices people cannot afford. New businesses have opened that do
not serve the needs of the existing community. A common example is the art galleries and coffee
shops that have opened up. Who do they serve and does the community need them? Local cafe
Weird Wave Coffee is a victim of having their window broken; this also causes tension between
local activist and people in the community who want the coffee shop there. However, Josefina
says that businesses seen as non-gentrifying have experienced vandalism as well and it’s not a

3
Josefina Lopez Interviewed by Anna Bobadilla-Marino Boyle Heights, November 10, 2017
BOYLE HEIGHTS: A COMMUNITY
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political act.
4
Most businesses present their ideas to the neighborhood council land use and
planning committee. It is reported that Weird Wave Coffee bypassed the meeting and just
opened up.
5

The people who live there should represent the culture, when the culture is exploited and
the people who represent it are pushed out, the community’s authenticity is gone. Affirming the
contributions of the local community member is crucial to the survival Boyle Heights. Money
cannot replace the history that was created there but it can be lost if it is not preserved and cared
about. The community celebrates traditions that have been passed on from generation to
generation. In many ways their culture has evolved but young people are mixing in the old with
the new. Young people are participating in the Building Healthy Communities classes. This one-
year long program gives youth a platform to elevate their voices and an outlet to share their
experiences with the community.
6

Resolutions/ Summary

The Boyle Heights Museum is a collaboration between the theater CASA 0101 and
the USC Center for Diversity and Democracy; this is a way to affirm the contributions of Latinos
for the past 100 years. The museum also shares stories that resonate with its visitors and show
how history often repeats itself. One example is the way Mexican Americans have fought for
equality and justice in the United States. Recently articles describing the tactics local activist are
using and have gained national attention. Their tactics have spread to neighborhoods that are also
being threatened by gentrification in places such as Chicago, Brooklyn and Atlanta. In Boyle

4
Josefina Lopez Interviewed by Anna Bobadilla-Marino Boyle Heights, November 10, 2017
5
Carlos Montes Interviewed by Anna Bobadilla-Marino Boyle Heights January 24, 2018
6
Corky Dominguez Interviewed by Anna Bobadilla-Marino Boyle Heights November 10, 2017
BOYLE HEIGHTS: A COMMUNITY
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Heights local activist have helped an apartment complex fight back their 80% rent increase by
standing together. They camped outside the landlord’s home and protested outside his place of
business. The tenants from the apartment went on a rent strike. Finally, they were able to come
to an agreement with their landlords. A 16% rent increase for 42 months and a yearly rent
increase of only 5%. The apartment complex had lots of help from The Tenants Union, Defend
Boyle Heights, and a team of lawyers who agreed that this is unfair.
7

The documentary was started in September 2017. Right off the bat, I was denied
interview after interview because I was part of USC a school that is currently accused of causing
gentrification in South LA. That did not stop me. I found people who were willing to share their
stories with me. Los Angeles is the fifth largest economy in the world and one of the most
expensive places to live. As income inequality continues to grow and more people succumb to
homelessness, I hope to open the viewers eyes that money should not determine whether you
have a place to sleep at night. People before profits.
The most difficult part of this documentary was acknowledging my own privilege and
being seen as an outsider even though I am Latino. Other hardships in this process were finding
visuals to drive this story. I was unable to gain the trust of anyone who was being displaced and
had to rely on open Facebook groups, Instagram images and information that was being shared
publically. Only by attending an open meeting to the press about housing was I able to get some
of the footage. Meetings by the local activist specifically prevented journalist from attending
because of specific articles that had been written.

7
Mariachi Press Conference Boyle Heights February 15, 2018
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Documentary Script
PROLOGUE
Opening, fade up from black
NATS
EST Boyle Heights
00:00:06:18

Driving on the freeway
Mariachi Plaza
Establishing the neighborhood

BOYLE HEIGHTS IS A SUBURB OF
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES AND
LOOKS OVER ITS SKYLINE. IT’S
LOCATED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE
TEN, THE 60 AND 710 FREEWAYS. IT
MAKES IT AN IDEAL PLACE TO LIVE
BUT THE COMMUMITY HAS NOT
HAD AN EASY TIME SURVIVING
THERE.

SOT CARLOS MONTES
00:00:34:17
People have been fighting against
displacement, now they call it
gentrification, you know.

SOT JOSEFINA LOPEZ
00:00:41:15
The reality for a lot of people is that if they
can't pay the rent and they get displaced,
there are very few places they can go to.

SOT CORKY DOMINGUEZ
00:00:50:16
The big thing is not creating, an
environment where people a-are displaced,
where people are going to get hurt, or
people can afford so. // I'm really more for
the people and the culture within in the
community to stay that community.
Fade to black, title card

Text: BOYLE HEIGHTS: A
COMMUNITY

VO ANNA BOBADILLA-
MARINO
00:01:14:12

Source: Census Reporter

30% OF BOYLE HEIGHTS RESIDENTS
LIVE BELOW THE POVERTY LINE.
ALMOST 50% OF LATINO'S INCOME
GOES TO RENT EVERY MONTH. TWO
THIRDS OF BOYLE HEIGHTS
RESIDENTS ARE LATINO
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EXT. Street View of Boyle
Heights

NATS CARS DRIVING BY
EXT. Restaurant Casa Fina

NATURAL SOUND CARS DRIVING BY
SOT JOSEFINA LOPEZ
00:01:36:10

I was born on a kitchen table, kind of like
in like water for chocolate. (laughs) But I
tried to stay out of the kitchen forever. My
sisters make fun of me because I don't
know how to cook, right? Cause somehow
that's like, uh, the symbol of being a
feminine.

INT. INSIDE RESTAURANT

NATURAL SOUND PEOPLE TALKING
VO ANNA BOBADILLA-
MARINO
00:01:50:06

JOSEFINA LOPEZ IS A CRITICALLY
ACCLAIMED PLAYWRIGHT FROM
BOYLE HEIGHTS. SHE OWNS THE
ONLY THEATER THERE. SHE
CONSIDERS HERSELF A
PROTAGONIST IN THE FIGHT
AGAINST GENTRIFICATION, WHICH
IS WHY SHE HAS INVESTED IN A
RESTAURANT IN BOYLE HEIGHTS.

SOT JOSEFINA LOPEZ
00:02:06:05

My husband was gonna open a restaurant in
another part of town and then when Serenata
Garibaldi closed, I said, “Why don't we take it
over? Because if we don't it's gonna become a
brewery, it's gonna become a bistro, and it's
gonna be a symbol of gentrification."
SOT CARLOS MONTES
00:02:27:17

My family’s from Mexico. They brought
me here when I was five years old. //The
first thing we buy as immigrants is a TV,
right? But it was a black and white TV, and
I remember specifically seeing the evictions
of, when they were being carried out, I was
like, “Whoa”, I never forgot that.
BOYLE HEIGHTS: A COMMUNITY
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VO ANNA BOBADILLA-
MARINO
00:02:43:16
CARLOS MONTES IS AND ACTIVIST
WITH THE BROWN BERETS, WHICH IS A
CHICANO CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
STARTED IN EAST LOS ANGELES IN 1966.
SOT CARLOS MONTES
00:02:52:09

At school, I faced discrimination cause of
my accent, I didn't know how to speak
English properly; and then getting harassed
by the police. So, all of that, to me, uh, built
up. So, uh, when I ran into the young
woman and men who were in the Young
Chicano's for Community Action, I joined
them, which became the Brown Berets. And
the Brown Berets, they say, “We're brown,
we're proud." //The big impact of gentrification
is uh, increasing the price of the cost of living
in Boyle Heights, primarily the rental
VO ANNA BOBADILLA-
MARNO
00:03:33:15

IN 2017, THE MEDIAN COST OF A HOME
ROSE IN BOYLE HEIGHTS TO $440,000
AND $457,000. FOR MOST PEOPLE LIVING
THERE THE MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD
INCOME IS $35,000. FINDING
AFFORDABLE HOUSING MEANS HAVING
TO MOVE OUT OF THE COMMUNITY ALL
TOGETHER
SOT JOSEFINA LOPEZ
00:03:52:10

Buildings around the community

Mariachi Plaza

Windows with signs in them about
the rent hike.

// They'll either have to go to the desert,
Moreno Valley, which is a lot of people
where they end up at, right? Moreno
Valley; how funny. How poetic, right? Um,
or they have to go to another community
that has a lot of gang violence. And the sad
thing is that, that if you're poor it means
your whole life is about violence. Being
caught up in gang violence, or economic
violence. But do you somehow not deserve
to be at peace, or to have a place where you
belong, and you feel good about yourself,
and be healthy? That's what it means to be
poor in Los Angeles. // To me, what's really
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sad is about the mariachis because I
remember that, that area where my
Mariachi Plaza is now used to be called
Olympic Donut. And there the mariachis
just used to hang out there to get work. Uh
because the city recognized that oh wow
there's like a cultural asset here or
something really special the fact that all
these men are treating this location like it’s
you should recognize it, right? And then I
remember when they demolished the
Olympic Donut and then they brought in
this gazebo and they made it beautiful. I
was like so happy thinking, oh wow now
we have a place where we give them the
platform so that this art form that's so
important to a culture has a rightful place in
this community. I was just so happy. And to
me what's so tragic is that as a result of
these improvements and people taking
advantage of this now like prices
everywhere have risen to the point where
people in this community cannot afford um
you know to live here, rent here, own here.
You know I'm so proud of the mariachis
who are saying, "Hey, you cannot use our
name and our contribution to this
community to then raise the rent and kick
us out. That's wrong."

SOT CORKY DOMINGUEZ
00:05:57:13
Mariachi Plaza, even though it is the subway
um station, um it still holds on to the cultures
and traditions and I love that. I love that on a
Sunday night I can walk over there like around
8:30 9:00 and they're playing cumbias and you
have all these people dancing. All generations
dancing. And it's wonderful and it's just like
wow.
SOT JOSEFINA LOPEZ
00:06:15:10

Footage of the metro
The city neglected this community in so many
different ways. Uh it wasn't until Villa Raigosa
and then the metro that this influx and I thought
it was gonna be for our community but what's
sad is that] you know a lot of people getting
kicked out.
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SOT CARLOS MONTES
00:06:38:20

Archival Newspaper Articles

Footage of apartments.
Footage of homes that have recently
been renovated next to the older
style homes.

Homes for sale signs.

Documents of rent increases
One example of how developers are coming
into Boyle Heights, buying these big
buildings, and what they'll do, they'll do a
facial makeup. They'll paint it. Put a
security camera, maybe a guard. And one
example is Chicago Hotel. That's been a
place of, of, ah, low rental housing for
many immigrants, and families. So, we
have a new owner. He comes in a couple
years ago. He changes the name to the
Bellagio. And then he goes around passing
out leases to everyone in English, and
nobody can read English, so they don't
know what they were signing, right? So,
they were signing an increase, new
regulation, new rules that if they violated
they would be evicted.

VO ANNA BOBADILLA-
MARINO
00:07:26:17

Footage of closed businesses
Establishing Shot – Outside of
Weird Wave Coffee

Flier of Weird Wave Coffee owner
Mario Chavarria and the buildings
he owns

MANY LOCALS AND ACTIVISTS
BLAME ART GALLERIES AND
COFFEE SHOPS FOR THE RISE IN THE
COST OF LIVING, WITH NEW
RESIDENTS DEMANDING AMENITIES
THAT DID NOT PREVIOUSLY EXIST.
ONE EXAMPLE IS WEIRD WAVE
COFFEE.
SOT JACKSON DEFA
00:07:46:20

CG: Jackson Defa
[Owner, Weird Wave Coffee]

Sequence Footage - Jackson Defa
working and talking with customers

I moved here to L.A. from San Francisco,
where I lived for about four years, um. I
worked in coffee there as a coffee roaster,
and, ah, I actually could not afford to live in
San Francisco anymore because of the
gentrification there. So, I left.
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SOT CARLOS MONTES
00:08:05:20
//Most new businesses, ah, before they open
up, they come to the neighborhood council
and present their plan, you know, to the
planning and line use committee//
SOT JACKSON DEFA
00:08:16:05

Continue sequence of Defa working
and talking with customers
We have hired three local people from
Boyle Heights. They're baristas.
// They're all, three of them, are very
enthusiastic about their jobs here, and I
think rightfully so, because this is a cool
place. It's interesting, it's new, and they're
learning and yeah.
SOT CARLOS MONTES
00:08:39:01
And, ah, you know, they obviously totally
ignored us, or didn't bother to come, like
other people have come to us, ah, breweries
or cafes, or, ah, the Astro Café came to us.
So, I was surprised they just opened up.
You know, I support, ah, you know, ah,
locally owned, ah, businesses. I've always,
we've always done that, supported local
mom-and-pop restaurants, grocery stores,
and cafes.

SOT JACKSON DEFA
00:09:05:11

//Ah Every month we feature a new local
artist from Boyle Heights. We did that kind
of as response to, there was a gallery that
was kind of run out of town by these, um,
motley crew of protesters. Um, and they
were showing local art, I heard that, and I
thought, "That's such a tragedy to run out
local artists." Like, "What are you doing to
your own culture, to your own
community?" So, we decided, we have wall
space. let's offer it to the people who don't
have wall space suddenly. So, we did that,
and we've been happy ever since.

VO ANNA BOBADILLA-
MARINO
00:09:41:03
Footage of Weird Wave Coffee
customers
BUT DESPITE SOME SUPPORT FROM
THE COMMUNITY, THEY ARE ALSO
SUBJECT TO REPEATED BACKLASH
FROM PROTESTORS.

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SOT JOHN SCHWARZ
00:09:51:06

CG John Schwarz
[Owner, Weird Wave Coffee]

Archival footage from Twitter
account SOT 06:50

When I arrived here this morning at 6:05,
the whole door was shattered, and there was
a small mark in the middle of our logo that
looked like a rock hit there, and so I
elbowed the guy sleeping on the bench and
said, "Hey! What happened, man?" And he
said, "Ah, I heard some noise," at like some
time during the night, and, ah, "I played it
cool. I kept sleeping and pretended like I
didn't hear anything. I got up about five
minutes later. Looked around. Didn't see
anybody. Ah, and then throughout the night
I heard the glass shattering, and splintering,
and then that was it." Then I got here this
morning, and, ah, opened it up, and
everything fell down.

SOT JOSEFINA LOPEZ
00:10:34:22

Establishing shot of CASA 0101
theatre with a memorial in front of
it.
07:37
Any hoodlum could have done that. We've
had some, um, you know, some, like,
people have broken things. Right? It's
never, it's not a political act. They're just,
vandalism. There's, they're people who are
just jerks. Right?// We’ve had graffiti on
our wall and I go you know what they’re
not protesting our theatre, right because we
are not gentrifiers
SOT CORKY DOMINGUEZ
00:10:54:20

CG: Corky Dominguez
[Director CASA 0101]

Murals of the community that show
culture and history

I moved here from Echo Park because I
was priced out there and, uh I now live in
Boyle Heights// I do understand the
passions behind the issues and to me, it's
more about the culture of the people that
live there than outside people coming in.
SOT CORKY DOMINGUEZ
00:11:11:03

There's something about creating um, the
work here and especially with themes and
topics that represent this community. And
we do a lot of that kind of work with our
young people, with our youth program,
building out the communities in Boyle
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Establishing shot of the CASA 0101
theatre

Sequence footage Corky introducing
a play

Clips from the play brown and Out

Heights. And we've been doing that now for
about almost 7 years. //We're looking at the
issues and we're creating stories based on
their voice. And their perception, and what
it is they want to say to, help contribute in
making Boyle Heights a healthy
community.

VO ANNA BOBADILLA-
MARINO
00:12:02:03
Source: Zillow
CONTROLLING WHICH BUSINESSES
CAN OPEN JUST ISN’T AN OPTION.
THE COST FOR RENTING
COMMERCIAL SPACES HAS
INCREASED OVER THE LAST
DECADE, AND THE AVERAGE RENT
IN BOYLE HEIGHTS IS $2,335.
LANDLORDS ARE FAVORING
TENANTS FROM OUTSIDE THE
COMMUNITY.

SOT JOSEFINA LOPEZ
00:12:21:06
Footage driving down Sunset Blvd
through Silver Lake, Echo Park and
Boyle Heights
And there's even some spaces that are
completely empty because the landlords
don't want to rent to the people here. They
want someone from the West Side to come
in and buy them out. And, and they want to
cash out, and, and I mean, again, this is a
capitalistic society. I get it. But, to me,
that's, that's tragic.// And I just see how
Echo Park, and then like Dodger Stadium,
you know, Sunset Boulevard, how it's just,
and, and what gives it away is all these,
like, shops, that look like each other. They
look like they come out of catalogs. They
look like Venice. They look like San
Francisco. They look like generic, and
again I love IKEA but not as a culture. //
Guillermo Gomez Pena calls it an
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unbearable sameness. People trying to be so
different that they're unbearably the same.

VO ANNA BOBADILLA-
MARINO
00:13:19:07
THE BOYLE HEIGHTS MARIACHIS AND
THEIR LAND LORDS REACHED AN
AGREEMENT. WITH THE HELP OF LOCAL
ACTIVISTS AND LAWYERS
Establishing Shot
Apartment complex

MARIACHI LUIS VALDIVIA
00:13:27:22

CG: LUIS VALDIVIA
[title, affiliation]

Lawyers, activist and tenants
celebrating at a press conference.

Footage of the tenants signing the
new lease.
The Mariachis and the rent strikers of 1815
East 2
nd
Street along with BJ Turner and
Steve Goodman of the Boyle Mariachi LLC
are happy to announce that they have come
to a mutually agreeable resolution regarding
the issue of the rent increase that was
started in 2017. After many conversation,
negotiations, and dialogue between the
parties, we were successful in coming
together for a solution and agreement that
both parties are satisfied with.
SOTCORKY DOMINGUEZ
00:14:04:20
I’ve been giving to this community for
fifteen years, but it does beg the question
am I creating art in which non-Latinos are
going to be coming to witness and to view
and support? Yeah, I am.
SOT CARLOS MONTES
00:14:17:02
And you know I love the community. I love the
people. I went to school here. You know I feel
comfortable here.
SOT JOSEFINA
00:14:24:15
Culture is a way that people survive, and
you can learn how a people who have been
marginalized and oppressed can still be
creative and resilient, that’s what I’ve done
being a member of this community
CREDITS

Names in order of appearance and special
thanks.
FADE TO BLACK

BOYLE HEIGHTS: A COMMUNITY
Producer, Writer, Editor: Anna Bobadilla-Marino
Thesis

19

Bibliography
Lopez, Josefina. Interviewed by Anna Bobadilla-Marino Boyle Heights, November 10, 2017
Montes, Carlos. Interviewed by Anna Bobadilla-Marino Boyle Heights, January 24, 2018
Dominguez, Corky. Interviewed by Anna Bobadilla-Marino Boyle Heights November 10, 2017
Censusreporter.org, Census profile: Los Angeles County (Central)--LA City (East
Central/Central City & Boyle Heights) PUMA, CA

McGahan, Jason. "Facing Eviction, Boyle Heights Mariachis Are Going to Court." L.A. Weekly.
October 04, 2017. Accessed June 12, 2018. http://www.laweekly.com/news/boyle-heights-
mariachis-facing-eviction-go-to-court-8643684.

McGahan, Jason. "Mariachis Are Getting Priced Out of Boyle Heights." L.A. Weekly.
September 13, 2017. Accessed June 12, 2018. http://www.laweekly.com/news/mariachis-are-hit-
hard-by-gentrification-in-boyle-heights-8166410.

Vives, Ruben. "Race-based Attacks on Boyle Heights Businesses Prompt This L.A. Councilman
to Take Sides." Los Angeles Times. July 29, 2017. Accessed June 12, 2018.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-boyle-heigts-huizar-coffee-20170729-story.html.

BOYLE HEIGHTS: A COMMUNITY
Producer, Writer, Editor: Anna Bobadilla-Marino
Thesis

20

Romano, Andrew and Franke-Ruta, Garance. Yahoo News "A New Generation Of Anti-
Gentrification Radicals Are On The March In Los Angeles – And Around The Country." The
Huffington Post. March 05, 2018. Accessed June 12, 2018.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/a-new-generation-of-anti-gentrification-radicals-are-on-
the-march-in-los-angeles-and-around-the-country_us_5a9d6c45e4b0479c0255adec.

Abstract (if available)

Abstract Boyle Heights, A Community is a documentary that looks at the historic context of Latinos in the Los Angeles area and more specifically Boyle Heights. It highlights characters in the neighborhood that are fighting gentrification or contributing to it. It also includes the accounts of how new cafe, Weird Wave Coffee have setup shop in Boyle Heights and how the community views them.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Bobadilla-Marino, Anna Lucy (author)

Core Title Boyle Heights, a community

School Annenberg School for Communication

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Specialized Journalism

Publication Date 07/26/2018

Defense Date 07/25/2018

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Boyle Heights,buildings,Carlos Montes,documentary,gentrification,Housing,housing, low-income,Josefina Lopez,Los Angeles,Money,OAI-PMH Harvest,Poverty,The Brown Berets

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Tolan, Sandy (committee chair), Chao, Megan (committee member), Yahraus, Bill (committee member)

Creator Email annabobadilla1@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-25666

Unique identifier UC11671160

Identifier etd-BobadillaM-6475.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-25666 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-BobadillaM-6475.pdf

Dmrecord 25666

Document Type Thesis

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Bobadilla-Marino, Anna Lucy

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA