Valley Sites Are Links to the Latino Heritage

Bracketed by last Saturday’s local celebrations of Dia de los Muertos, the Mexican rememberance of the departed, and this Saturday’s history celebration, “Rediscovering Our History--Mexican Los Angeles 1781-1906,” November has begun with lots of events to remind children of our Latino heritage.

This branch of history is nothing new to local fourth-graders. California history is a required subject for 9- and 10-year-olds in California schools.

But for many Valley kids, as well as their parents, the Spanish and Mexican era seems remote. It’s not just a matter of whether a Valley family has Latino roots; many people know almost nothing of the Valley’s history.

Hereabouts, everything seems to have been settled or built up since Gerald Ford was president--or maybe Eisenhower--if anyone can remember that far back.

On the occasion of the convening of a major history conference, “Mexican Los Angeles 1781-1906,” plus an “Outdoor History Festival” at the Olvera Street Plaza in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, it’s appropriate to point out that the Valley was the scene of key historical events.

A major crisis in Mexico-U.S. relations came to a resolution in the Valley--in the Cahuenga Pass--where a deal was made 150 years ago for the U.S. to acquire the Pacific Coast of our nation from its former owner, Mexico.

A shooting war (the Mexican-American War) preceded that event, and much political wrangling followed. But that’s where Andres Pico--whose adobe in Mission Hills is headquarters of the San Fernando Valley Historical Society--made the deal with American negotiator John C. Fremont.

The treaty site is now surrounded by a chain-link fence because of subway construction--which impeded a major celebration there of the sesquicentennial anniversary of the event in January.

But there is a rich selection of historical sites to visit in the Valley, all of which offer kids a living history lesson rather than textbook stuff. And the sites are accessible along a number of routes, many of which will eventually take you to Saturday’s festivities at El Pueblo historical monument near Olvera Street.

You can clamber over Devil’s Slide, the rocky, treacherous pass in Chatsworth that connected Southern California to Northern California by stagecoach--if you paid the De La Osa family to aid your transit.

Or how about a face-off with some longhorn cattle in Calabasas just like the old Californios who lived at Leonis Adobe? It’s easy to do a bit of time traveling into the Valley’s Latino past this weekend.

Several other sites with similar historical adobes are still undergoing restoration as a result of the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

One, the Lopez Adobe at the corner of Pico Street and Maclay Avenue in the city of San Fernando, is a reminder that the Valley’s first postmaster was Latino.

Geronimo Lopez was appointed in 1859, after the American take-over of the region. In the following decade, he and his wife, Catalina, also established the first school and first newspaper in the Valley.

Andres Pico’s home and the De La Osa family residence in Encino are undergoing restoration, but the pleasant parks surrounding them can be visited by families seeking an escape from the hustle and bustle of Valley life.

The famous San Fernando Mission, which the Spanish founded before there was a USA, is also undergoing restoration. But the enclosed grounds and the chapel, with its striking Mexican and Native American wall paintings, are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily--providing an unforgettable taste of the Valley’s Latino past.

There, just for a moment, it might be possible for even a 10-year-old to catch the spirit of old Spanish days--and forget, for the moment, about malls.

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DETAILS

* EVENTS: Kids can enjoy weekend time travel into the Valley’s Latino past at selected historical sites in the Valley and at Saturday’s “Mexican Los Angeles Festival and Children’s Workshops” event, to be held downtown at El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument, across from Union Station. (For information about the free festival and workshops, call [213] 680-2525.)

* DEVIL’S SLIDE: Hikes organized by the Santa Susana Mountain Park Assn. explore the 1850s stagecoach trail and the De la Osa family’s La Cuesta Mountain Station. 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Sundays. Meet at 22360 Devonshire Ave., Chatsworth Park South. For information, call (818) 704-9304.

* MISSION SAN FERNANDO: Rey de Espana, 15151 San Fernando Mission Blvd., Mission Hills. Open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Founded in 1797, the mission compound and Serra Chapel feature strikingly restored Mexican- and Spanish-era painted decorations. Call (818) 361-0186.

* LEONIS ADOBE: 23537 Calabasas Road, Calabasas. The 1840s Valley ranchero lifestyle is complete with longhorn cattle. Open 1-4 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays. Call (818) 222-6511.

* LOS ENCINOS State Historical Monument and Park: 16756 Moorpark St., Encino. The 1769 campsite of Spanish explorers was settled in 1849 by the De la Osa family. Adobe mansion is closed for repairs but surrounding park, with spring-fed pond, is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays.

* FYI: For information on other Latino historical sites throughout the Valley, call the San Fernando Valley Historical Society, (818) 365-7810.