Items List

The photograph is part of a small series of photos documenting Latinx markets in the Pico-Union neighborhood that remains a hub for Latinx entrepreneurs. Between the 1960s and 1970s, Cuban and Central American produce markets and bakeries began to open in Los Angeles. These markets grew at tremendous rates during the 1980s when the city of Los Angeles experienced the mass migration of Central Americans. The economic activity generated by this diaspora strengthened both the stores and the neighborhood, keeping Latinx-owned businesses thriving for decades and demonstrating how immigrant populations fueled local business growth.

A cloth concert backstage pass for a Jackson Browne acoustic performance featuring special guests Sangre Machehual. Salvadoran-born musician Osmin Aparicio became part of Los Angeles' Sangre Machehual (Blood of the Poor/Oppressed)— founded in 1978 by Hugo Pedroza (Mexican) and rooted in the Chicano Movement music— when the influence of Latin America's Nueva Cancion (protest music) and the Salvadoran solidarity movement in the U.S. pulled the band in a new direction.

Photo of Carla Portillo on the movie set of Police Story, starring Lindsey Wagner. She played "Chata" on Police Story in 1988.

Photo of Carla Portillo's movie trailer. She played "Chata" on Police Story in 1988.

Some of the first restaurants in Los Angeles include La Casita Restaurant in Hollywood circa 1960s. It was a Salvadoran and Mexican restaurant at 6611 Hollywood Blvd. Hollywood, CA. Promotional matchbook from La Casita served both a practical and advertising function and provide evidence of the presence and growth of Central American-based businesses in Southern California.

Father Luis Olivares addresses attendees gathered at the Levitt Pavilion in MacArthur Park, Los Angeles, on January 19, 1992, during a community celebration marking the signing of the Chapultepec Peace Accords, which formally ended the twelve-year Salvadoran Civil War. A prominent advocate for immigrants, refugees, and the Sanctuary Movement, Father Olivares was a respected ally of Central American communities in Los Angeles. This photograph documents a significant moment in the history of the Salvadoran diaspora in Los Angeles.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the event brought together 3,000 Salvadorans and supporters to commemorate the end of the conflict and reflect on the hopes and challenges of peace. This photograph documents a significant moment in the history of the Salvadoran diaspora in Los Angeles.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the event brought together 3,000 Salvadorans and supporters to commemorate the end of the conflict and reflect on the hopes and challenges of peace. This photograph documents a significant moment in the history of the Salvadoran diaspora in Los Angeles.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the event brought together 3,000 Salvadorans and supporters to commemorate the end of the conflict and reflect on the hopes and challenges of peace. This photograph documents a significant moment in the history of the Salvadoran diaspora in Los Angeles.

Pehdro is an American abstract painter born in El Salvador in 1960 with a profound sense of community. In the 1990s, he received a scholarship and attended Pasadena's Art Center College of Design and Otis College. His art exhibits and service to his community have kept him busy for decades.

Nelson and his wife, Fanny Veliz Grande, are the co-founders of Avenida Productions in Los Angeles. Their company serves the US Latino market and other underrepresented communities, helping raise millions for filmmakers. Nelson was born and raised in Highland Park, California. Nelson Sr. is from El Salvador, and his mother Christina is from Mexico, giving Nelson a taste of two cultures. He shares with CAHAAS his Central American experience growing up and working in Hollywood; neither were idyllic, but they were the building blocks of his life.

From the Oral History Project - Luis is a member of the NASA team at Pasadena's Jet Propulsion Laboratory that cleared a path to space exploration for the world. For young students of color who look to see themselves in this field of work, the mechanical engineer—who made history in 2020 with the launch of the Perseverance rover to Mars—makes time to serve as a conduit between the world of science and young, impressionable minds. The Central American Historical and Ancestral Society of California (CAHAAS) met with Luis to learn and document his experience navigating cultures, his career, and the history-making achievement with NASA for the 100 Central American Historical Biography Project on August 29, 2021.

Revised second draft for Carla Portillo, Exec. Producer Carla Singer, September 28, 1988 [with note for Carla Portillo playing "Chata"]

The pamphlet for Rigoberta Menchú Tum who was the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate appearing at the First Baptist Church in Los Angeles 1997.

In 1987, a meaningful collaboration was born at Los Angeles City College between a Salvadoran-born American photographer and a Texas native. Together, they developed a plan to honor Juneteenth by photographing the residents and architecture of Houston’s Fourth Ward—a historic Freedmen’s Town and a key site of early Juneteenth celebrations. The photographs documented the early gentrification of Fourth Ward.

The photographer Roxanne Quezada held her first exhibition at the DCA's William Reagh Los Angeles Photography Center that has a long history of supporting cultural activities and spotlighting many of the city’s local artists. Today, the center is located at 2332 W. Fourth Street, but in the 1980s, its original home was at 412 S. Park View Street in Los Angeles. This item is the invitation for the opening night of the exhibition.

In 1857, during the Gold Rush period, a Salvadoran man submitted for publication in a Spanish-language newspaper, El Clamor Público, an open-letter about his broken heart and life in California.

Source Citation:
El Clamor Público, Aug 1, 1857, page 2, Call No. 225168, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Abigail Annette Hedman immigrated from Belize to the United States in the 1920s. Although she was born in Belize, little is known about her early life there. Tragically, she died at a young age after becoming the mother of three children, leaving only a limited record of her life in the United States. Yet her legacy endures through her descendants, who remember her as a guiding presence whose sacrifices and love helped her children flourish and become part of California's history.

A wedding party exiting the Church Roma, circa 1940s.

Dolores Portillo Sitting for Portrait and mother of David H. Portillo.

Portrait of Atanacio Portillo resident of Ciudad Barrios and father of Mr. Portillo

Three women in Ciudad Barrios (Right - Josefina Portillo, middle - unknown, left - Arminda Portillo)

Children in Ciudad Barrios stop to get their picture taken on the side of a dirt road.

Children Pose on Horse for Picture in Ciudad Barrios

Portrait of Arminda Portillo of Ciudad Barrios and sister of Mr. Portillo.

A woman and two young children pose for their portrait.

Three young girls pose for their portrait.

Children at El Salto waterfall in Ciudad Barrios

Children at El Salto waterfall in Ciudad Barrios

Portrait of Josefina Portillo, Ciudad Barrios

Notes on Back of Josefina Portillo's Portrait, Ciudad Barrios

Portrait of Arminda Portillo, Ciudad Barrios

Notes on Back of Arminda Portillo's Portrait, Ciudad Barrios

Portrait of Canda Portillo, Ciudad Barrios

1960's portrait of David H. Portillo of Ciudad Barrios

David H. Portillo's grandmother Esther Portillo

David H. Portillo's grandmother Esther Portillo

David H. Portillo's grandmother Mariana Portillo

Class picture taken at the atrium of Church Rome (Iglesia de Roma) on June 24, 1929 in Ciudad Barrios.

"Memory of the Official Boys' School taken in the church atrium on the 4, Ciudad Barrios June 24, 1929—David Humberto Portillo—Pedro Zuleta, Oscar Zuitiros, Oscar Romero"

The motel on Gillette Street revealed a wonderful juxtaposition of life and death, resilience and decay. In the foreground, remnants of a monument or pedestal base are visible. To the right of the photograph was the Lion House, known for the lion statues that once stood there.

The green landscape of Fourth Ward

Two members of my "Houston A Look At 4th Ward 1987" Facebook page identified this structure at Ruthven and Wilson as the Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church—one of the historic Freedmen's Town congregations whose roots date back to the 1890s.

Patrons outside of Albert Woods' Cafe (1987).

We met Monica (at right) and her sister Johnese at Wiley Park. Monica asked me if I would take their photograph. But she first had to change her little sister. They found us again on Andrews Street, and I took their picture standing on the historic Freedmen's Town Bricks.

We made our way to the row houses on Victor Street. Six wonderful examples of shotgun houses and a testament of the architectural treasures all around us. These homes were quite small, skillfully made, and perfectly laid out.

Mrs. Mayola Baldwin instantly graced the Leica camera with her beauty. Her image was the very first frame I documented in Fourth Ward.

Residents congregating in the afternoon (1987).

Freedmen's Town in Houston's Fourth Ward is being erased. Neglected homes full of history and streets made of bricks that hold generations of stories.

The Cooper family outside their row house cottage (1987).

Children at play on the beautiful red brick path that was Andrews Street. Formerly enslaved people and their descendants had handcrafted the bricks.

As we stood in the middle of the courtyard of identical buildings, the building to the right had tenants, and utility meters hooked up, but the building to the left was just a shell, with the only sign of life being this gorgeous tabby.

This photograph of Cecelia fanning herself with a hanky was my attempt to capture the extreme heat and humidity melting us with every step. It didn't work because she looks beautifully cool!

Formerly enslaved people and their descendants had handcrafted the bricks. They had laid the bricks in patterns to reflect West African religious traditions and possibly secret messages for the community.

Playing basketball at Wiley Park (1987).

There is history in this home on Andrews Street.

We arrived at the end of our journey at the corner of Andrews and Genesee. The bricks had guided us through Fourth Ward from one end of the street to the other.

Freedmen's Town in Houston: A 1987 Photo Chronicle

El Diario de Hoy Nov 28, 1939 describes a student, David H. Portillo, falling ill from ingesting medicine for stomach pain.

A San Salvador newspaper reported that Dolores Portillo returned to Ciudad Barrios after looking after her son who fell ill.