Walking on the Moon

There are a lot of ethnic communities in Los Angeles. Much of what makes the city’s history fascinating is how they tussle in creating the place. In Plaza William David Estrada takes a slice through that history framed by the plaza at the center of the city.

That plaza has undergone changes from a traditional European central square to something flavored by Mexico’s emerging identity to a multi-ethnic gathering place. Not to mention how it was manipulated by the people selling a fictional Los Angeles into a tourist attraction. Other parts were just erased. I had no idea how big a part the LA plaza played in the Sun Yat -sen’s revolution in China.

Estrada takes the reader through these twists and turns with scholarship and heart. It’s still a largely academic work, but with plenty of treasures.

Recommended.

Folklore is Eric Avila’s exploration of how mega-roads like interstate freeways have affected the urban environment. Many authors have looked at how these developments have changed both how we get around cities and how we live in them. What I liked about Avila’s approach was that he extends his analysis from statistics and anecdotes to the art of the freeway.

He captures how freeways become both a canvas for art and a subject of art in other media. Taggers, muralists, public art, and advertisers all use the freeway in different ways. By integrating art with the process of traversing cities, the communities producing it can merge with the experience. It’s an interaction that’s easy to miss.

The freeway has also entered more traditional art in ways that illuminate how the freeway has affected the artists. Again, it can be surprising how artists with different experiences of the freeway use it in their expressions.

These are interesting ideas and well worth a look. You may have to dig a bit. Folklore has an academic basis and format which can be a little distancing.

Recommended.