A little piece of Los Angeles lives in the heart of Mexico City thanks to the many Mexicans who left behind the so-called “American Dream” and are now seeking a new beginning in their country. It’s Little L.A., a place where two cultures blend: Mexican and American.
For years, this neighborhood located in the Tabacalera district—near the iconic Monument to the Revolution—has become home to Dreamers, deportees, migrants, and binational families who live, work, study, or have started their own businesses in the Mexican capital after leaving the United States, the country where they grew up, studied, worked, or raised their families.
Edwin Sánchez is one of them. He decided to return to Mexico after more than 20 years living in Wyoming due to the limitations of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which does not offer a path to citizenship.
Although the difference between Little L.A. And like any other neighborhood in the Mexican capital, it’s not immediately obvious. In the streets of the Tabacalera neighborhood, English and Spanish mingle. There are businesses with bilingual signs, call centers where returnees can use their English skills, and shelters for those going back to their country. New Beginnings, a non-profit organization that has been providing assistance to migrants returning to Mexico since 2015, is also located there.
It was nicknamed Little L.A. because many migrants who lived in California find certain similarities between the Monument to the Revolution and the city. It reminds them of a small city, a central location with many businesses. “The road that connects to Reforma is very similar to the tall palm trees in Los Angeles,” Ana Estrada, director of volunteers at New Beginnings, explained to CNN.
“Little L.A. is a resilient community, a courageous community that wants to start over despite having lost everything in a country they considered their own, even though it clearly wasn’t, simply because a piece of paper determines their entire lives,” says Estrada.
“Returning (to Mexico) isn’t giving up, it’s starting over,” affirms Israel Concha, founder of New Comienzos, whose goal is to empower Dreamers, returning binational families, migrants, and deportees through various services such as legal and emotional support, food vouchers, English certifications, and job placement assistance so that those returning to Mexico feel supported by people who have been through the same situation.
“I lived in Utah for 15 years, but I had to return to Mexico because of a deportation, although my family stayed in the United States,” says Carlos Ramírez, who worked in construction because he enjoyed remodeling houses. Now, her dream is to support the New Beginnings community so that those arriving from the U.S. have better opportunities to work in Mexico.
Source: cnnespanol
