A place at the Nayarit : how a Mexican restaurant nourished a community

Title:

Author:

Molina, Natalia, author.

ISBN:

9780520385481

Personal Author:

Molina, Natalia, author.

Physical Description:

xv, 294 pages : illustrations, maps ; 21 cm

General Note:

Source of cataloging data: WCP

Abstract:

"In 1951, Doña Natalia Barraza opened the Nayarit, a Mexican restaurant in Echo Park, Los Angeles. With A Place at the Nayarit, historian Natalia Molina traces the life's work of her grandmother, remembered by all who knew her as Doña Natalia--a generous, reserved, and extraordinarily capable woman. Doña Natalia immigrated alone from Mexico to L.A., adopted two children, and ran a successful business. She also sponsored, housed, and employed dozens of other immigrants, encouraging them to lay claim to a city long characterized by anti-Latinx racism. Together, the employees and customers of the Nayarit maintained ties to their old homes while providing one another safety and support. The Nayarit was much more than a popular eating spot: it was an urban anchor for a robust community, a gathering space where ethnic Mexican workers and customers connected with the tastes of their patria chica, one another, and the city they now called home. Through deep research and vivid storytelling, Molina follows restaurant workers from the kitchen and the front of the house across borders and decades. Their stories illuminate the many facets of the immigrant experience, from the pressures of racism and segregation, to the complex networks of family and community, the cross-currents of gender and sexuality, and the small but essential pleasures of daily life. The Nayarit was a local landmark, popular with Hollywood stars as well as restaurant workers from across the city, and beloved for its fresh, traditionally Mexican food. But as Molina argues, it was also, and most importantly, a place where ethnic Mexicans and other Latinx L.A. residents could step into the fullness of their lives, nourishing themselves and one another. A Place at the Nayarit is a stirring exploration of how racialized minorities create a sense of belonging, and will resonate with anyone who has felt like an outsider, but had a special place where they felt like an insider"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction : placemaking in a new homeland -- Finding a place in Echo Park -- Tasting home -- The emotional life of immigration -- Venturing forth -- Maintaining ties -- Epilogue : losing places.

Subject Term:

Restaurants -- California -- Los Angeles.

Mexican American neighborhoods -- California -- Los Angeles -- Social life and customs.

Mexican Americans -- California -- Los Angeles.

Immigrants -- California -- Los Angeles.

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
Searching... Aurora Downtown	Book	TX909.2 .C22 N39 2022	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Latinx Files 2022 Best Books, Los Angeles Times

L.A. Taco's 2022 Best Books

2022 Porchlight Business Book Awards Longlist

2023 PROSE Award North American & US History Finalist, Association of American University Presses

MacArthur Genius Natalia Molina unveils the hidden history of the Nayarit, a restaurant in Los Angeles that nourished its community of Mexican immigrants with a sense of belonging.

In 1951, Doña Natalia Barraza opened the Nayarit, a Mexican restaurant in Echo Park, Los Angeles. With A Place at the Nayarit , historian Natalia Molina traces the life's work of her grandmother, remembered by all who knew her as Doña Natalia--a generous, reserved, and extraordinarily capable woman. Doña Natalia immigrated alone from Mexico to L.A., adopted two children, and ran a successful business. She also sponsored, housed, and employed dozens of other immigrants, encouraging them to lay claim to a city long characterized by anti-Latinx racism. Together, the employees and customers of the Nayarit maintained ties to their old homes while providing one another safety and support.

The Nayarit was much more than a popular eating spot: it was an urban anchor for a robust community, a gathering space where ethnic Mexican workers and customers connected with their patria chica (their "small country"). That meant connecting with distinctive tastes, with one another, and with the city they now called home. Through deep research and vivid storytelling, Molina follows restaurant workers from the kitchen and the front of the house across borders and through the decades. These people's stories illuminate the many facets of the immigrant experience: immigrants' complex networks of family and community and the small but essential pleasures of daily life, as well as cross-currents of gender and sexuality and pressures of racism and segregation. The Nayarit was a local landmark, popular with both Hollywood stars and restaurant workers from across the city and beloved for its fresh, traditionally prepared Mexican food. But as Molina argues, it was also, and most importantly, a place where ethnic Mexicans and other Latinx L.A. residents could step into the fullness of their lives, nourishing themselves and one another. A Place at the Nayarit is a stirring exploration of how racialized minorities create a sense of belonging. It will resonate with anyone who has felt like an outsider and had a special place where they felt like an insider.

Reviews (1)

Choice Review

Molina has crafted an appetizing account of racial dynamics as told through the history of her grandmother's restaurant--the Nayarit, which operated in mid-century Los Angeles. Drawing on troves of government documents, accounts in the US and Mexican press, and oral histories, Molina argues that the restaurant became an "urban anchor" for working-class ethnic Mexicans in the eclectic Echo Park neighborhood. The encounters of "placemakers"--people of varying races, classes, sexualities, and politics who patronized the restaurant--cooked up an urban, multiethnic subculture of cosmopolitanism. Chapter 1 dishes out context on the multiethnic, left-leaning politics of Echo Park. Molina then focuses on how the restaurant provided safe space allowing ethnic Mexicans to connect in a city dominated by racial tension. Further, she argues that the Nayarit's location allowed opportunities for work and fellowship for gay men and divorced women who would otherwise have been stigmatized in the city's Mexican enclaves. The social ecosystem Molina describes empowered the Nayarit's workers to cross social boundaries and imbibe new experiences traditionally circumscribed by racial or class boundaries. Hyperlocality aside, Molina illustrates how the restaurant's patrons and workers also maintained connections with their communities across the border. This book offers superb food for thought for readers interested in the intersections of identity, place, and neighborhood change. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers. --Jean-Paul Contreras deGuzman, University of California, Los Angeles

Illustrations	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xi
Introduction. Placemaking in a New Homeland	p. 1
1 Finding a Place in Echo Park	p. 26
2 Tasting Home	p. 65
3 The Emotional Life of Immigration	p. 97
4 Venturing Forth	p. 132
5 Maintaining Ties	p. 161
Epilogue. Losing Places	p. 179
Notes	p. 187
Bibliography	p. 231
Index	p. 263

SD_ILS:394987

Molina, Natalia, author.

2022

A place at the Nayarit : how a Mexican restaurant nourished a community

9780520385481

A place at the Nayarit : how a Mexican restaurant nourished a community

M03400067651

Available:*

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Summary

Reviews (1)

Choice Review

Table of Contents