september field trip

I first "saw" Pacoima on a map. The map was from the LA Times neighborhood mapping project, and it drew Pacoima out for me in a salmon-colored rectangle-ish shape. It is a bit difficult to think of Pacoima as its own town because it is still part of Los Angeles city. Much like the physical landscape of the Downtown Arts District, it is a little difficult on first glance to discover the "borders" of the community. Where exactly does it begin and end? Is it necessary to know where it begins and ends?Paula and I walked and drove the neighborhood on a hot mid-September day.Here are some of the things that struck me:

• The Look. There is lots of concrete, lots of big, wide, busy streets. Car dealerships, flags from the United States and Mexico, words on signs are in English and Spanish.
• Language. The dominant language on the street is Spanish.
• Who did I see? Lots of women and children, lots of older men, lots of Latino/as, a moderate number of African Americans. (When I talk about race here, I’m making some assumptions based on looking at people and how they “read” on the street. I didn’t ask anyone what race they were).
• Who did I not see? Young men (Ages 18-35ish), Anglo people, animals
• Youth programming. There is a LOT of youth programming! It is everywhere. It is widely varied from swim teams, to visual arts programs, to the Boys and Girls club, to a youth recording studio, to a community beautification organization. A community with THIS MUCH youth programming in such a small area clearly is making an effort to engage and involve young people in the community in positive and constructive ways. This is cool to me.

• Eagles and Lions and Fences. The majority of single family homes in Pacoima have metal fences bordering the houses. Atop those sometimes ornately designed fences, are often statues of Eagles and/or Lions. I was struck by this. I wonder if it means something.

• The Hansen Dam. There is a big dam in the distance that you can see from atop a hill in the park. The park is beautiful.
• The Fake Beach and Lake. There is a fake beach that is really a swimming pool but made to look like a beach. Huge, lots of concrete, some sand, looks very fun to swim in. The lake looks like it is human-made, and like it might be overflow space for the dam water.
• The Schools. There is a beautiful high school (which is actually in San Fernando). It has a giant gymnasium and auditorium. In Pacoima, the Discovery school is small, but nice looking. We found another elementary school that looks nice—it has murals on the walls and is big. It was also across the street from a pool. The school is Hillery T Broadous Elementary.
• The Boys and Girls Club. When we first arrived, we stopped in at the Pacoima Boys and Girls Club, where Cornerstone performed Rushing Waters in 1993. There were two guys at the front desk-- Hector, a facilities manager, and Dwayne, the art teacher. Since they’ve been working at the B & G Club for 23 years, they remember CTC being there last time. Neither one of them saw the show, but they remembered the company immediately.

-xw