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EvelynZazueta
March25,2014
CAS114B
ProfessorZelaya
HomeAwayFromHome
ThroughoutthisyearinourCentralAmericanwritingclasswehavebeenlearningaboutCentral
Americansculture.OurmostrecentprojectexpandedmoreonthatwedidfieldresearchonCentral
AmericanspacesandcommunitiesinLosAngeles.OurgroupvisitedaGuatemalanBakery&
RestaurantknownasLaGuatemaltecainVanNuys,CA.ThisrestaurantattractsmanyGuatemalans
duetotheirauthenticGuatemalanfood,breadandproductswhosetasteisjustliketheonein
Guatemala.Theplaceitselfisareminderoftheircountry.NotbeingCentralAmericanIhadnoidea
whattoexpectwhenwalkingintothisplace.Oneofthemembersofmygroupwastheonethatpointed
outthattheMarimbaplayingthroughoutthespace,thebrightcolorsthewallswerepaintedandtheart
hunginthewallsallgaveherasenseofGuatemala.Althoughtheenvironmentdidnotlookwelcoming
orsafefromtheoutsideduetotheareathatitslocatedatonceyoustepin,theenvironmentinsidewas
acompletedifferentvibeduetotheaspectsmentionedabove.Althoughsomemayarguethatthisis
theUnitedStatesthereshouldonlybeAmericanizedlocationsnotculturaldiverseones.Ibelievethatit
isimportantforCentralAmericansjustlikeanyotherethnicgroupstohaveplaceswheretheyfeellike
theybelong.PlaceslikeLaGuatemaltecathatsservesasaplacewhereGuatemalanscanfeelless
alienatedtothisnewcountryanditsculture,aplacewheretheycangowhentheyaremissinghome,
andaplacewheretheycanbuyfoods,productsthatremindthemofhome.Also,thesecommunities
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serveasplaceswhereImmigrantsfromanycountrycangotoescapehowharditistoadjusttothis
countryandmeetothersgoingthroughthesamething.
TheUnitedStatesisoneofthemostdiversecountriesduetoitbeingknownasthelandof
opportunities.Itisknowntohaveover150differentethnicgroupswhohavemigratedhereinsearchof
anewandbetterlife.Livinginoneofthecitieswherepeopleallovertheworldcomefornew
opportunities,abetterlifeorjustastourists,itisimportanttohavecommunitiesthatneverletthemlose
andforgetwheretheycomefrom.LosAngelesisoneofthiscountriesmostpopulatedanddiversecities
wheremostofitsoccupantsareHispanics(MexicansandCentralAmericans).Igrewupinasmall
townjustafewminuteseastfromLAX,atownthatismostlypopulatedbymexicansandafewCentral
Americans,itisnotthefanciest,safestorprettiestcommunitytogrowupinbutithaskeptmyfamily
andmyselfgrounded.IamremindedofwhereIcomefromeverydayjustbygoingoutandseeingTaco
stands,orhavingaplacewhereIcanbuymexicancandy,tamales,andsoda.ThisiswhyI,myselfhave
notforgottenwheremyfamilycomesfrom.Thisisjustapersonalexampleofwhattheimpactofhaving
communitiesofyourethnicitycando.AlthoughIamnotCentralAmericanthisisthesameforthemjust
inaCentralAmericanbasedcommunity.
LaGuatemaltecaislocatedinVanNuys,California.Itislocatedinacommunitywhereitis
knowformanyGuatemalanstoliveat.WhenweinterviewedtheManagerofthisplaceandaskedher
ustedsabeporqueeldueodecidiabrirestelocalenestaciudad,oenestacomunidaden
particular?herresponsewasporquemuchosGuatemaltecosvivencercadeaqui,incluyendomeyou
misma/sayingthatmanyGuatemalansneartheplace,includingherself.Oneofmygroupmemberslives
onlytwoblocksawayfromwhereLaGuatemaltecaislocatedatandshesaidthatshelikesvisitingthis
placebecausenomatterhowlongithasbeensinceshelastvisitedGuatemalashecangotothis
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restaurant&bakerytogetaholdofthefoodandbreadsheloves,aswellastoremindherastowhy
shelovesGuatemalasomuch.ThisisthesamereasonwhyIvisittheMexicanplacesinmyhometown.
Twodifferentcountries,twodifferentcultures,twodifferentcommunitiesintheUnitedStatesbutwith
onepurposetoremindofusofwherewecomefromandwhyweenjoyvisitingitsomuch.
ThesecommunitiesmakeitaloteasierforCentralAmericanstoadjusttothenewcountry,new
lawsandnewculture.Itisextremelydifficultcomingtoacountrywhereyouareseenastheminority
andwheretheydontspeakyournativelanguage.GettingtotheUnitedStatesisnottheonlyconflict
CentralAmericanshavetodealwithwhentheydecidetostartanewlifehere.Findingajob,surviving
inthiscountryarehardtodoespeciallywhenyouarealoneinanewforeigncountry.Havingthese
CentralAmericancommunitieshelpthesenewresidentsfeellessaloneanditsaplacewheretheycan
gotolearnaboutresourcesthatwillhelpthemsurvivethisnewcountry.CentralAmericansjustlikeany
otherimmigrantsnewtothiscountryratheraskforhelpsomewhereandtosomeonetheyfeel
comfortablewith,likeotherCentralAmericanswhohavebeenintheirpositionandtheyareallowedto
dothisinthesecommunities.LaGuatemaltecaservesasaplacewhereGuatemalansnewtothis
countrycandothis.Fromvisitingthisplaceonce,Iobservedthateveryonefromtheworkerstothe
customersareveryniceandwillingtohelpyouout.Somethingthatstoodouttomefromthisvisitwas
whenAlejandra(mygroupmember)andIwerewaitingtointerviewthemanager,acustomercameup
tousandneededanyhelp.OutofallthethingsIobservedIrememberthatthemostbecausenotmany
peoplecustomerscomeuptoyouandmakeyoufeelcomfortableandlessalienated.JustlikeIfeltlikeI
belongedinthatplacewhenthatladyaskedmethat,manyGuatemalansvisitthisplaceaswellasthe
restofthecommunitytofeelthesameway.Theywanttofeelliketheybelong,liketheyarenotaliensin
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thisnewcountrywhichseemstobejudginganyonewholookshispanicnowadaysandthese
communitiesmakethispossible.
TheirismanyundocumentedimmigrantswithfamiliesinLosAngelestoday.Theseimmigrants
arentabletoreturntotheirhomecountriesandhavingthesecommunitiesnearthemkeepsthemfrom
stayingincontactwiththeircultureandtheirroots.Thesecommunitiesareallmanyhavelefttoremind
themofbackhome.Undocumentedimmigrantscantgobacktovisittheirhomecountriesanddueto
thatmanyofthemloseandforgetabouttheirrootsandcultureandforthisnottohappenmanyturnto
thesecommunities.Manyoftheseundocumentedimmigrantshavechildrenwhotheycanttaketo
CentralAmericatoshowthemwheretheycomefrom.Theyinsteadimproviseandtakethemtothe
placesinthesecommunities.WhenwevisitedLaGuatemaltecaInoticedthatmostofthepeopleeating
attherestaurantwherecompletefamilies.Manychildrenofparentsfromothercountriesnotjustof
CentralAmericanparentsdontknowabouttheirrootsoranythingaboutfromwheretherefamily
comesfrombecausetheirparentsdontteachthemorcanttakethemtothosecountriestoshowthem.
Butthesecommunitiescandothatforthemwithoutgoingveryfar.Iknowthesecommunitiesdothis
becauseIhaventbeentoMexicoinyearsbutIstillknowmyrootsandwhoIambecauseofthe
Mexicancommunitiesnearme.Theyhelpmerememberthatnomatterhowmuchtimegoesbyand
howaccustomedIbecometotheAmericancultureIwillalwayshaveanothercultureIbelongtoo.
ThesecommunitiesdothesameforCentralAmericans.
CentralAmericancommunitiesmayseemlikeawaytokeepCentralAmericansfromadjusting
toAmericaswaysbuttheyareawaytorememberhomeawaysfromhome.ManyCentral
Americansfeelliketheydontbelongherebutthesecommunitiestellthemotherwise.Havingthese
communitiesisawayoftellingCentralAmericansthattheyarewelcomedinthiscountry,thattheirisa
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spotforthemhere.Ithelpsthemfeellessaloneandisolated.Allaroundthesecommunitiesiswhat
makesthecityofLosAngelessogreat.AndwhatmakesCentralAmericansfeellikehomewhileina
placesofarfromtheiractualhome.
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WorkCited
LaGuatemaltecaBakery&Restaurant,7630VanNuysBlvd,VanNuysCA
Blandy,Doug,andJohnFenn."Sustainability:SustainingCitiesandCommunityCulturalDevelopment."
StudiesinArtEducation:AJournalofIssuesandResearchinArtEducation,53.4(2012):
270282.
Loeuille,Nicolas."ConsequencesofAdaptiveForaginginDiverseCommunities."FunctionalEcology,
24.1(2010):1827.