Boyle Heights, CA is East of Downtown Los Angeles and is home to a large Mexican and Mexican-American community. The area has thrived recently with bars and arts events on almost any given night. My coworker and I drive down 6th Street on our way to work every morning, passing along numerous taco stands, street vendors, ranchera blaring from speakers and at least two major murals of La Virgen de Guadalupe. There is no mistaking that the area’s population comes from Latino-descent. But right off of 4th St and Boyle Avenue is the Keiro Senior Healthcare Center – a Japanese and Japanese-American center. My coworker and I spent an entire recording conversations of the Japanese community in their lovely facility, right in the heart of Mexican-American Boyle Heights.

The shot above is the center’s pond – a beautiful reminder of Los Angeles’ abundance of cultures.