I was born and raised in Los Angeles. My parents were born and raised in Los Angeles. My maternal grandfather was born and raised in Los Angeles, although technically Zeyde was straight out of Compton, where he broke his nose playing high school football during the leather helmet era. According to family lore, some of my ancestors first set foot in Los Angeles County just before the turn of the last century. Supposedly, one of my relatives sang at the opening of the Hollywood Bowl in 1922, although my own Karaoke skills give me reason to take that story with a grain of salt.
The point is, my family has a history with this place, but it’s not like our roots go back to the Treaty of Cahuenga, or the period of Spanish ranchos and missions, or LA’s Pueblo days, or the Tongva and Chumash times. Historically speaking, we’re relative newcomers to Los Angeles.
But in a city where the word “transplant” describes 99.99% of residents, my family’s history with the…
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