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Two years after moving to LA, I revisited Olvera Street to explore the roots of a city that continues to reshape my identity. Known today as a Mexican marketplace, the site marks where Mexican settlers established the earliest part of Downtown LA on Gabrielino-Tongva land. Christine Sterling’s 1930 campaign transformed the neglected street into a vibrant venue. “Those Found and Met at the Birthplace of Los Angeles, Olvera Street“ captures this legacy through portraits of generational merchants, stories from first-time visitors, images of artifacts, and scenes from the site's Día de los Muertos celebrations, reflecting on how preserving historical sites sustains cultural heritage and fosters exchange.
Rene Gutierrez smiles, surrounded by the collections at Casa Gutierrez, the stall founded by his parents, in October 2021.
Armando Murillo, the second-generation owner of Murillo Leather, polishes his shoe in the store in October 2021. Murillo Leather is the only merchant on Olvera Street that still manufactures its own products using the same techniques established 52 years ago. Having grown up on this site and learned from his artisan parents, he strives to keep their legacy alive.
Jackie Hadnot, the third sculptor behind the wooden cross at the entrance to Olvera Street, poses in his studio beneath the marketplace in October 2021.
Hadnot is charmed by how the street attracts visitors from around the world, a sentiment reflected in the blessing he gave to the cross: "May it bless everything in the world as a whole, anything we ever can imagine." He believes his creation offers a piece with which every visitor can take a picture and pass down through generations.
A performer poses between two stalls during Olvera Street’s Novenario Procession celebrating the Day of the Dead in October 2021.
