100 YEARS OF SOLICITUDE IN VENICE
By Marizsa
Bravo-Casillas
Who is the most
significant person in Venice History, you ask? This question is easy for me to
answer. It would be my Great-Great Grandmother Secundina Roman Villa (my Nana),
my Great-Grandmother Guadalupe Francisca Villa, and my Grandmother Irene
Vasquez. The reason is simple, because they are the only women who are able to
share the truth about how it was to live in Venice as Mexican women. A story
that I can connect with.
What was it like to live in Venice, you
ask? My Great-Grandmother Lupe has told me stories about how she searched for
work to support her family and children, but no one wanted to hire a
“dirty Mexican.”
She almost got
a job at the Pioneer Bakery, but the other women working there at the time,
refused to work with her, so she was let go.
My grandmothers often recall the most
difficult times of living through the depression. They explain with pride how
they survived during those times, boiling beans, making tortillas by hand,
cooking nopales (cactus), and gathering yerbas (herbs and greens) from areas in
the city that are now populated by condos and businesses.
It was my Uncle Magie who shared with
me that celery use to grow along Culver Blvd., a story told to him by my
Great-Grandfather Santiago Bravo, who fathered 8 children and also lived in
Venice. Along Olympic Blvd., my Nana and Grandmas use to go into the fields to
gather yerbas, and shared how corn use to grow where SMC now stands.
To live off the land, as our ancestors
before had done, is one of the most precious gifts that has been passed down.
That is how my Great Grandparents survived during the Depression. The strength
and determination in these women, this is what runs through my body, mind and
soul. I come from strong roots. Strong roots in family, culture, and of Venice
running through my veins.
My
grandmother Irene, shares stories of dances at OPP (Ocean Park Pier) where she
met my Grandfather Jimmy Bravo and where Zoot Suit riots took place. She also
shared how she would walk in the sand from Sunset Ave. to the Pier, during her
first pregnancy with my Uncle Frankie, so that he would come out. A story that
my mother also recalls as her own, in the same way that I can say... I have made
that walk myself.
Venice is where, my
grandparents lived, on both sides of my family. Members of the Bravo Family, and
the Villa Family still do. This is where my father ran the streets with all his
cousins and friends. He shared stories of playing in the boat, outside of what
is now Washington Mutual bank, on Lincoln Bl. I loved going to Venice Boardwalk
with him, where he knew almost everyone there. From the handball courts, the
performers, even the “winos” (before they were called homeless.) He
knew them all, and everyone knew him. Mousie, they called him because of his
ears. Even today, when I put on my Rollerskates and dance down in Venice to the
music, I stare out into the ocean, and am grateful to have been blessed with the
stories and memories of my family living in Venice way back when. Back when we
knew are neighbors, when all of my family could afford to live in Venice, even
back when the Pitbulls use to roam the streets of
Venice.
I am blessed to be able to say,
“My Great Grandfather and my Great-Great Grandmother have been living in
Venice since the early 1900s.” Not too many people living in Venice can
say that. My Great-Great Grandmother Lupe Villa who is currently 96 years old,
is STILL living in Venice. This is her home, this is our home. This is where the
spirits of my father, Tia Linda, Uncle Frankie, Nana, Uncle Berna, and so many
more relatives, come to visit us.
I
am blessed to be able to say, “My Great Grandfather and my Great-Great
Grandmother have been living in Venice since the early 1900s.” Not too
many of people living in Venice can say that. My Great-Great Grandmother Lupe
Villa who is currently 96 years old, is STILL living in Venice. This is her
home, this is our home.
Posted: Fri - July 1, 2005 at 01:54 PM