East L.A., 96% Latino, want city to call their own

Unincorporated area is called 'epicenter of Latino culture'

By Christina Hoag
ASSOCIATED PRESS

October 5, 2008

LOS ANGELES – East L.A. – birthplace of the lowrider, Los Lobos and Oscar de la Hoya – is to Mexican-Americans what Harlem is to the black community.

Now, it wants to become its own city.

Commonly mistaken for a part of Los Angeles, East L.A. is an unincorporated section of Los Angeles County, with more than 130,000 people – 96 percent of them Latino – packed into 7.4 square miles.

Cityhood proponents complain that East L.A. is treated as an afterthought by the county Board of Supervisors, and they want the community to take charge of its destiny.

“We're a nationally branded area,â€