Westside represents diversity of Costa Mesa

Jennifer Kho

COSTA MESA -- The city’s face is changing.

Latinos, who in 1990 made up 20% of the city’s population, made up

31.8% in 2000, according to the 2000 census.

During that time, many of the minority populations have remained

largely the same, including African Americans, Asians and Pacific

Islanders. Both the American Indian and Alaska Native populations have

decreased slightly, and the white population has decreased the most in

percentage, but not in numbers.

Nowhere is the city’s growing Latino population more evident than the

Westside, where 44% of the residents are Latino, according to a 1997

survey that contains the latest figure available.

The influx of Latinos on the Westside has become a source of concern

with some who believe many of them are illegal immigrants.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service has no hard data to support

or dispute the belief, but Councilman Chris Steel, who ran nine times

unsuccessfully on the theme of stemming illegal immigration, was able to

strike a chord with voters in November and lead the ticket in a field of

11 candidates.

Steel, using the slogan that the city can no longer “‘educate,

recreate, medicate, domesticate and compensate noncitizens,” called for

the closure of the city’s job center and the end to funding for some

charities, which he claims are magnets for illegal immigrants.

Some of Steel’s supporters have taken up the theme.

But regardless of the rhetoric aimed at illegal immigrants, Latino

activists say there are reasons why Costa Mesa remains a favorite place

to live.

“People live in Costa Mesa because it is clean and safe,” said Paty

Madueno, a Westside resident for more than 20 years. “You can walk on the

streets at 10 p.m. and rental prices have been low, although they are

getting higher. Houses are still affordable in some beautiful places, and

you can build your home here without being stuck with the same color and

architectural design as every other house in the neighborhood, like

Irvine.

“That’s why we like Costa Mesa,” she continued. “It isn’t square; it

adapts to the needs of families. A lot of our families, legal or not, are

day laborers or low-salary workers, and Costa Mesa has a lot of the

businesses that our families work for.”

And there is evidence of much more community support than disfavor,

she said.

Community celebrations, such as Cinco de Mayo -- a minor holiday in

Mexico -- and a December commemoration for Our Lady of Guadalupe are

evidence of the growing Latino population, Madueno said.

St. Joachim Church had a small Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)

celebration last year, she said.

“It’s incredible,” she said. “Sept. 16 is the independence day of

Mexico, but we don’t celebrate that because we celebrate the Fourth of

July like everybody else. But everybody seems to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.

Here, it is an excuse to go outside, listen to mariachi, see ballet de

folklorico, speak our own language and feel welcome.

“Another tradition that reflects the Latino culture is at the Orange

County Fair, one day is traditionally set aside for mariachi music,” she

said. “Supermarkets now have Mexican food sections and carry menudo in

their meat departments.”

Frank Gutierrez, owner of Mueblerita Vallarte and Mesa Art and

Framing, said in the last decade he has seen a few more businesses open

that cater to Latinos and many more that have become Latino-owned.

“The Latino community is strong enough to sustain businesses that

cater only to the Latino community, but it also provides an opportunity

base for us to go into businesses with wider scopes,” he said. “Many

businesses that started catering only to Latinos have now expanded. Also,

I’m seeing Latinos who once worked for businesses now owning those

businesses, such as at Colonial Iron.”

Maria Elena Avila, owner of Avila’s El Ranchito Restaurant, said she

thinks the trend is likely to continue, with more Latinos deciding to

make Costa Mesa their home.

“We have the opportunity to be a model for how the rest of the nation

deals with diversity,” she said. “I really believe we can work together

to be that model.”