I LOVE YOU LA

It was love at first sight. 

I didn’t know your language or your past, but the moment I saw you I knew I would never leave.

I fell in love with your streets and their stories, with winding Mulholland Drive, with Laurel Canyon and with the Elvises and Marilyns impersonators of Hollywood Boulevard. I fell in love with Bandini’s Bunker Hill and with your downtown skyscrapers looking down at the callejones and Skid Row.

Once I got to know you, I learned that you speak many languages and practice different religions. In fact, your diversity is one of the things that attracted me the most.

I learned about your history of pachucos and zoot suits, of lowriders and surfers, of the Hollywood pioneers that made you world-famous, and of the actors and musicians who came to you following a dream. As a Latina reporter, I walked your streets writing about immigrants, celebrities, homeless, and politicians. I wrote about your droughts and your atmospheric rivers, about your earthquakes and the Santa Ana winds.

And your food!

From potstickers to lumpia to samosas. Thanks to you, I discovered meals from around the world. A lady on the street selling fruits in plastic cups, introduced me to mangos for the first time. The troca parked a block from my apartment sold me the best tacos I ever ate.

Thanks for your beautiful weather, your blue sky and your pink sunsets. Thanks for introducing me to your beautiful people. Thanks for showing me a new world and letting me be part of it.

I left my hometown, and I adopted you. I doubt I will ever leave.

I Love You, LA.

https://www.kcrw.com/shows/love-letters-to-la

Photo: Daniel Semenov/Pexels