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East Los Angeles, Cesar E. Chavez Ave.

Today, the urban avenue, with its colonial red-tile architecture, has the settled feel of a Mexican Mayberry. It passes the Centro Maravilla county offices, auto parts shops, and East L.A.’s only heated indoor pool, where aging women perform aqua aerobics.

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Photography and audio by Aurelio Jose Barrera

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It was a quintessential L.A. scene. The bride sat squeezed between her parents, wrapped in embroidered white satin, bejeweled, makeup in place, waiting for her groom. They were to be married in just a few minutes.

But the groom hadn't arrived. He waited at home for his father, who was stuck in freeway traffic.

The wedding was to take place at Our Lady of Solitude Catholic Church on Cesar E. Chavez Avenue. Many residents of East Los Angeles attend the historic church, which opened Christmas Day 1925. Cesar Chavez once held meetings there; in 1994 Brooklyn Avenue was renamed for him.

Today, the urban avenue, with its colonial red-tile architecture, has the settled feel of a Mexican Mayberry. It passes the Centro Maravilla county offices, auto parts shops, and East L.A.'s only heated indoor pool, where aging women perform aqua aerobics. It passes popular bakeries and eateries like the one at Zamora Meats with its famous carnitas. But even Mayberry can change, and a Denny's is coming soon.

Our Lady of Solitude still celebrates all but one of its Masses in Spanish. The groom who was running late -- 27-year-old Manuel Lomeli -- met his future wife, Diana, 25, there. He finally pulled up to the church. It helped that the priest arrived late too.

--Deborah Schoch

What is Street Scenes?

Southern California is a vast land of neighborhoods. Drive Olympic Boulevard in Los Angeles, for example, and you'll encounter industrial blocks, the garment district, Koreatown, West L.A. bungalows and the burgeoning entertainment district at the eastern end of Santa Monica.
But most of us don't spend time driving from neighborhood to neighborhood--so L.A. Times photographers have done it for us. Throughout the summer, we'll spotlight their portraits of a variety of neighborhoods, ranging from the Fairfax District to Newport Harbor.

View All Street Scenes


 
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