Boyle Heights Turns Out to Support the Runners

Yeah, I saw that too - I lived in Boyle Heights back in the early 1990s, and it has always had a very strong sense of identity. I was probably the only non-Latin guy on the block (sometimes it seemed in the entire area) but I never felt out of place. Sure, there are a lot of problems over there, but there are a lot of real cool people also - people who know what a community really is. Someone said to me the other day that it was not a good idea for the marathon to run over there since it “glorifies Mexico” - and I said rather sharply that it is no different than an Irish pub glorifying Ireland, or much of Glendale glorifying Armenia. The fact is that we are a nation of immigrants, and IMHO that is what makes this nation, and especially this city, great. I was very pleased to seethe marathon run through my old neighborhood, and I was very happy to see the outpouring of supporters. As LA embraces its multiculturalism more and more I think we (meaning the city and region at large) will find that in spite of the gangs, crime and urban blight so rampant here, it is actually a very fascinating and dynamic city.