Meeting_Body
PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING COMMITTEE
MAY 19, 2021
Subject
SUBJECT: MARIACHI PLAZA
Action
ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
RECEIVE AND FILE status report on Mariachi Plaza.
Issue
ISSUE
On December 3, 2020, at the Regular Board Meeting, Directors Solis and Dupont-Walker made a motion approved by the Board to direct the Chief Executive Officer to report back at the May 2021 Planning and Programming Committee meeting with:
A. Recommendations to streamline the management of Mariachi Plaza as it relates to event programming and maintenance. Metro should collaborate with the City of Los Angeles and Boyle Heights stakeholders to identify potential management frameworks.
B. A cultural preservation strategy for Mariachi Plaza developed in partnership with the City of Los Angeles and local Boyle Heights stakeholders. The strategy should consider data on the use of the plaza, including the number of artists and musicians that utilize the plaza for performances, in order to ensure that the history and cultural significance of Mariachi Plaza is preserved, celebrated and uplifted.
Concerns were also raised by the Metro Board about the maintenance and operations of Mariachi Plaza, part of which is located on Metro property with the remaining portion located in City of Los Angeles (COLA) right-of-way.
This receive and file report is to provide an update on staff progress in addressing the above opportunities.
Background
BACKGROUND
Mariachi Plaza has been referenced as a historical landmark in the community of Boyle Heights at the cross streets of First Avenue and Boyle Street across from the old brick Boyle Hotel, which was recently renovated in 2013. Since the 1930s, Mariachi Plaza has remained the art and cultural center of the community and is where mariachi musicians have gathered for employment opportunities as a solo, trio, or full band.
Metro's Mariachi Plaza is a seamless pedestrian plaza that connects the use of ...
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