After a year of "intense negotiations," the Arts, Parks, Health and Aging Committee passed a motion on Monday that brings the city and merchants of historic Olvera Street closer to a lease agreement that's been missing for 13 years, reports the Los Angeles Independent. more ›

LA Plaza De Cultura Y Artes, L.A.'s first center focused on Mexican American art and culture, opened its doors for the first time yesterday with a day of special events. LA Plaza opened up to regular attendees today at Noon. more ›

Billing itself as L.A.'s first Mexican American Cultural Center, LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes will open its doors on April 16, 2011. The center, which is located downtown on Main Street across from Olvera Street, encompasses 2.2 acres, including 30,000 square feet of garden and the Vickrey-Brunswig Building and Plaza House. It's stated mission is to celebrate the influence of Mexican and Mexican American culture on Los Angeles and Southern California. more ›

La Feria de Los Moles is an annual celebration of the traditional Mexican mole sauce, and this year the showdown is focused on a battle between the styles and flavors of Puebla versus Oaxaca. more ›

Next Year, Los Angeles will gain another museum and cultural center and it will be quite unique for anyone curious about the early days of the city and its roots. When LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes opens on April 15th, it will be housed in what was once the tallest building in the city -- five whole floors! -- and near where the city was founded in 1781. more ›

Judge Vaughn Walker today overturned Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in California, calling it unconstitutional. "Plaintiffs have demonstrated by overwhelming evidence that Proposition 8 violates their due process and equal protection rights and that they will continue to suffer these constitutional violations until state officials cease enforcement of Proposition 8," Walker wrote in his ruling. "California is able to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, as it has already issued 18,000 marriage licenses to same-sex couples and has not suffered any demonstrated harm as a result." more ›

Vivacious entertainer Charo will be the star attraction at a rally to be held tomorrow at noon on historic Olvera Street. The Spanish native will be there on behalf of PETA on the eve of Mexico's highly promoted bullfighting festival to raise awareness about the perils of bullfighting, and to air her new anti-bullfighting PETA video. Charo was raised going to bullfights with her father, however she has come to see how the entertainment is actually cruelty. "This animal doesn't need to be punished, just to entertain yourself and sacrifice this beautiful animal," says Charo. "Just to spend 45 minutes enjoying the death of a living thing is barbaric and has to go." more ›

There are already visions of doing it in Hollywood, Santa Monica and Ventura. And Seattle has already done it. But since 2008, thanks to a group of interns and the support of Caltrans and other agencies, there's also a vision to cap a freeway, placing a park above, in downtown Los Angeles. more ›

It is Cinco de Mayo and you know what that means: lots of drinking and partying around town. If you haven't already done so, take a look at our Cinco de Mayo guide and also check out these other options. more ›

Father Luis Olivares, who was the presiding pastor at La Placita across from Olvera Street in the 1980s, may be soon recognized with a street named after him for social contributions. more ›

OK, so Halloween is over, no more dressing up and having fun. Wrong! The fun never stops! Dia de los Muertos in Los Angeles means days of face-painting, music, giant puppets, sugar skulls and even special bread. So get out there and let the celebration continue! more ›

Last Saturday at the annual Blessing of the Animals hundreds of pet and animal owners journeyed to Olvera Street in downtown Los Angeles where Cardinal Roger M. Mahony presided over the ceremony steeped in tradition. more ›

Sunday was the final evening of the Olvera Street Merchant's Dia de los Muertos celebration. It seemed like the entire city showed up, crowding the narrow streets and gazebo. Blessings were given in the street center, cleansing the faithful with smoke that billowed from small clay pots. Shops sold sugar skulls, mariachis played, and the lines at taco stands grew as the hour of the procession neared. more ›

Los Angeles' 227th birthday is actually on September 4, but early this morning was the annual Pobladores "Walk to Los Angeles" nine-mile Re-enactment. more ›

What are you kids doing indoors on a beautiful day like this? Go outside and play! more ›

Changes could be brewing over at Olvera Street where a Downtown News investigation looks at the cost of rent, which is currently well below market rate. The area, which is run by a City of Los Angeles department not quite self-sufficient yet: more ›

Yesterday it was (the best) taquitos (in the city) from an Olvera Street stand; today it is flautas from an upscale Downtown restaurant, as photographed by LAist Featured Photos contributor hinducow. Normal flautas these are not -- try this on for California size: they are Chicken flautas filled with avacado from Noe at the Omni Hotel on Olive Street. more ›

LAist Featured Photos contributor kpeII submits this Eye Nosh photo with a bold statement -- these taquitos from Cielito Lindo on Olvera Street are the best in town. Well, their website certainly boasts it and Yelpers seem to agree. more ›

Walking through the Broadway Arcade mall near the Jewelry District, Charles Phoenix rued the changing face of Downtown. The mall, built in 1922 and billed as Los Angeles's oldest shopping center, was the fourth stop on what could be Phoenix's last tour of some of the oldest and grandest sites in a city long accused of lacking history. But it was in the mall, where naked upper floors could continue the loftization of Downtown, that Phoenix revealed his love/hate relationship with L.A.'s true city center. more ›

While the feathers were flying in Pershing Square, just a few miles north, feathers of a different kind were being blessed at Olvera Street. A tradition since 1930, it has to be seen to be believed. The crowd is an interesting mix of religious folk and what looks like extras from a John Waters film. more ›

Legend says that Echo Park got its name from workers building the original reservoir said their voices echoed off the canyon walls. However... more ›

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The Los Angeles Fire Department is reporting a five-car pileup on the 101 north freeway at Barham over the Cahuenga Pass. Luckily, the three injuries are minor, but that means three blocked lanes and a Sigalert. more ›

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There is a common misconception that we don't have seasons in Los Angeles. We know when the seasons are changing. There are two distinct events that herald the coming winter: the Christmas displays replace the Halloween merchandise, and the lunch trucks start selling champurrado. more ›

Many people think of Olvera street as nothing more than a tourist trap. There are touristy elements, such as roaming mariachis and margaritas bigger than your head. But Olvera street is more than that. Not only does Olvera street host a number of cultural events throughout the year, it also has its own church with a close-knit congregation, and a community that is centered around the old square. more ›

TOYS FOR TOTS Everyone has that one special moment when it really starts to feel like Christmas. It might be shopping Thanksgiving weekend, baking cookies or buying the tree. For me, it is that magical moment while stuck in traffic when I am taken unawares by a phalanx of motorcycles zooming by carrying giant stuffed bears on the back. That is truly the spirit of Christmas. The bikers are part of an annual Toys for... more ›

There I was, minding my own on the Red Line, screeching along toward Hollywood and Western, reading the ad copy on the walls. I'd seen the cross-promotional Metro-Wicked ads before, but I noticed something different this time: the witch is reading a copy of the Los Angeles Tribune. (Hed: "Metro Named America's Best Transportation Agency.") Two questions: First, why isn't she reading the Times? It's probably because Metro's marketing department wanted badly to include... more ›

Olvera Street's Novenario has all of the pageantry and all of the colorful calaveras characters as similar Dia de los Muertos events, but there is something more. Something sacred. The rituals honoring the dead combine Catholic and indigenous blessings, bringing a solemnity to the occasion. The traditional pre-Columbian Novenaria (nine-night) procession is a traditional ceremony to remember deceased loved ones. It is a moving experience, even more poignant this year because the merchants lost two of their own. As participants lift pots of burning copal incense to the sky, we all remember someone, and even those who do not pray send a silent message to those we have lost. more ›

8th Annual Festival de los Gente Saturday the 27th 11am - 10pm and Sunday the 28th 11am - 8pm On the streets of LA at the historic 6th street bridge Festival de la Gente is a community-based Event in a Historic Venue featuring Live Entertainment, Arts and Crafts altars, in a carnivale-like atmosphere for families with children. The event will feature live music, art exhibits, teatro performances, storytelling, arts and crafts demonstrations and traditional latin-American... more ›