Imperfect Paradise: Highland Park: Land of the Snake

Norco 80

LAist Studios

True Crime

4.2 • 887 Ratings

🗓️ 5 March 2025

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Tucked away in Highland Park - a neighborhood that’s been dubbed “ground zero” for gentrification - sits a small park dotted with native plants and spiraling mosaic sculptures. La Tierra de la Culebra Park was established in the early 90s by guerilla artist Tricia Ward. In the decades since, the neighborhood has transformed massively and a battle has emerged between the founder and the new stewards of the park over who the park is for and how the park should be preserved.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Our event series with Get Lit continues in the new year at the Crawford in Pasadena.
0:05.0	Join us for an evening of spoken word performance featuring some of LA's best young poets.
0:09.9	It's the Proz Bowl, March 21st. Tickets at LAS.com slash events.
0:15.6	This is Larry Mantle.
0:16.7	2025 marks the 40th anniversary of air talk on LAIS 89.3. We've discussed the biggest topics of the day for decades. Thank you for
0:25.9	joining me for the biggest conversation in Southern California for 40 years.
0:36.4	Tucked away amid houses and a block away from coffee shops, yoga studios, and vintage stores,
0:43.3	there's a little sanctuary dotted with native plants and soft light that filters through a canopy of leaves.
0:50.0	It's a tiny park called La Tierra de la Culebra.
0:53.7	On a bright Saturday in October, I walked in to the ethereal sounds of a man playing a synthesizer in harmony with a floutist,
1:02.0	who were both performing under a huge oak tree.
1:05.0	The signature of the park is a large mosaic snake that winds around the property giving it its name,
1:11.1	Tierra de la Culebra, land of the snake.
1:15.1	A couple dozen 20 and 30-year-olds were splayed out over blankets enjoying the music.
1:20.3	It was a diverse crowd, sporting dad hats, high-waisted pants, and sunglasses.
1:25.1	A few toddlers dawdled around.
1:30.2	But just below this idyllic surface,
1:36.5	there is a battle going on here between the past and the present. We're in Highland Park,
1:42.0	a neighborhood in northeast L.A., between downtown and Pasadena, a neighborhood that's basically synonymous with gentrification. A once predominantly Latino
1:45.8	neighborhood, Highland Park started changing drastically in 2003 when a new metro line stop was added.
1:52.3	A city revitalization plan allowed for restaurants to get liquor licenses much quicker.
1:57.2	Fancy bars and restaurants started to pop up on the main drags of the neighborhood,
	...

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