LATINO PERSPECTIVE-I remember the first time I went on a vacation outside of Mexico. We went to Los Angeles when I was 6 years old. I didn’t have to wonder why my dad choose Los Angeles, he knew I wanted to go to Disneyland and meet Mickey Mouse. That first trip we took that summer made me fell in love with this City.
Los Angeles has everything a 6 year old wants to have and experience … Disneyland, Universal Studios, Knotts Berry Farm, Magic Mountain, movie stars, and of course malls everywhere filled with toy stores … I was literally a kid in a candy store.
However, there was another more serious reason that we came to Los Angeles that year. I was born with a hearing problem and it turns out that Los Angeles not only has all the best amusement parks in the world, but it also has The House Ear Institute (HEI), now known as House Research Institute.
Since 1946, the House Research Institute has led the way in defining the causes of hearing and balance disorders, improving medical/surgical procedures and prosthetic devices. The Institute's discoveries have helped millions of people receive successful treatments.
The trip lasted 10 days but it created a profound and lasting impression that shaped my life and view of the United States. I can still feel to this day.
I never intended to move to the U.S. but when I was 19 I decided I and wanted to study film and communications. There was only one choice for me, and that choice was the University of Southern California. Why? Because USC is the best film School in the United States, and where is USC? Los Angeles, of course!
By coincidence, I later found out that my grandfather had attended USC in the late 1920’s on a diver’s scholarship; he later went on to represent Mexico in the Summer Olympics.
So for me LA is a very special place and not for the weather. I wish Los Angeles was a little cooler, this eternal summer wears me down. But despite the weather I love Los Angeles. One of the reasons I ran for City Council was because I don’t like what’s happening to our City, and wanted to do something about it.
I don’t agree with those who say that “LA is not designed to work,” Los Angeles has a lot of problems but they are all solvable. LA can work and will work because those of us who love this City will work hard to make it happen.
We all have our opinions as to what needs to be done to make LA the City that we all want it to be, but I’m sure that most of you agree that Los Angeles is a very special place. What’s your LA love story?
(Fred Mariscal came to Los Angeles from Mexico City in 1992 to study at the University of Southern California and has been in LA ever since. He is a community leader who serves as Vice Chair of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Coalition and sits on the board of the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council representing Larchmont Village. He was a candidate for Los Angeles City Council in District 4. Fred writes Latino Perspective for CityWatch and can be reached at: [email protected] )
-cw
