Season 29 of “Dancing with the Stars” was packed with all the usual flashy delights — show-stopping routines, emotional eliminations and, of course, plenty of fake tans and sequins. This year’s line-up definitely didn’t disappoint.
- A successful Latino lawyer has forgotten his roots until he encounters a fiery and sexy activist who brings about a cultural awakening. Featuring Steve Grand.
- Dating to the late 1800s, Evergreen Cemetery is a testament to the multi-ethnic history of Boyle Heights but it comes with a caveat. Segregation existed in cemeteries across the United States.
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On Monday, Nov. 23, former “Bachelorette” Kaitlyn Bristowe, rapper Nelly, TV host Nev Schulman and actress Justina Machado hit the ballroom with their pro partners for a stunning finale. They each gave it their all, but it was Bristowe and her partner Artem Chigvintsev who lifted the mirrorball trophy at the end of the night, receiving full marks from judges Derek Hough, Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba.
The show may be over for another season, but we still want to know more about the cast’s personal lives. Who are “Dancing with the Stars” cast and competitors dating or married to?
A.J. McLean
Backstreet Boys star A.J. McLean and “DWTS” favorite Cheryl Burke were eliminated the week before the semi-finals, which Burke didn’t see coming.
“I already had his other two routines choreographed for the semi-finals,” Burke told ET. “Normally I’m not that confident going in, but I was like, ‘For sure, there’s no way [we’ll get eliminated].'”
A.J. McLean Is Married
McLean married his wife Rochelle in 2011, two years after they met in a bar, and they now have two daughters, Ava and Lyric. His family was a huge support throughout his “DWTS” journey.
“How sweet I walked in from a 16 hour rehearsal day to this amazing display of love and encouragement from my family. Let’s go #teamgetdown,” McLean wrote on Instagram alongside pictures of a room full of handwritten posters and gold, silver and mirrorball balloons.
Cheryl Burke
Burke was the first female professional dancer to win the show (in season two with partner Nick Lachey) and the first professional to win twice and consecutively — she also took the winning spot in season three with football player Emmitt Smith. After she and McLean were eliminated this season, Burke revealed some of her frustrations with the show.
“People are asking if I’m retiring and, for me, it’s not about the show or me getting older as much as it is this frustration AJ has mentioned,” Burke said on her Pretty Messed Up podcast. “Is the show still the show I signed up for? I’m strictly a ballroom dancer. I never went to a performing arts school… I didn’t learn jazz or ballet. I don’t sing. Within the ballroom world, and how the show was for the first decade, it was about ballroom — strictly ballroom.”
Cheryl Burke Is Married To Matthew Lawrence
Burke has been married to “Boy Meets World” star Matthew Lawrence since May 2019, after a year-long engagement. The dancing pro, who has been sober for more than two years, is grateful to have her husband backing her all the way — both on the show and in her sobriety journey.
“He is just my rock,” Burke told “Good Morning America.” “I don’t know where I would be without him.”
Jeannie Mai
Before TV personality Jeannie Mai was forced to withdraw from “DWTS” due to health concerns, she was paired with Brandon Armstrong. The pro dancer posted a message of support for Mai when she made her early exit.
“JEANNIE! I’m so sorry this happened to you!” Armstrong wrote on Instagram. “You don’t deserve it!” Alongside a photo of himself and Mai from a past episode, he continued his message. “Your journey on this show was so special so unique and so inspiring!”
Jeannie Mai Is Engaged To Jeezy
Mai’s fiancé, rapper Jeezy (real name Jay Wayne Jenkins), gave fans an update on her condition after she had emergency surgery for epiglottitis, a potentially life-threatening condition caused when the small cartilage lid that covers the windpipe swells, blocking the flow of air into the lungs.
“She’s at about 180%,” Jeezy told People. “She’s very strong. She’s fearless.”
“I saw how much she put into it, and it was real for her,” he continued. “We had a real talk and I had to tell her, ‘Your life comes first.’ She’s not a quitter — she’s a winner. I’m glad she’s on my team because she does not quit. I’m just happy she’s back in full force and ready to take the world once again.”
Kaitlyn Bristowe
During the finale competition, former “Bachelorette” star Kaitlyn Bristowe and her professional dance partner Artem Chigvintsev pulled out all the stops. They performed a repeat of their Argentine tango to “Toxic” by Britney Spears and a freestyle dance to “Sparkling Diamonds” from “Moulin Rouge,” both of which earned top scores of 30/30 from the judges.
“My dream came true,” Bristowe wrote on Instagram alongside photos of the couple reacting to the results. “And all of you were a part of it.”
Kaitlyn Bristowe Is Loved Up With Jason Tartick
Boyle Heights Dating Now Images
In late 2018, Bristowe split from Shawn Booth, whom she met and got engaged to in 2015 during season 11 of “The Bachelorette.” A few months later, Bristowe started dating Jason Tartick, another member of Bachelor Nation, after meeting during an interview for Bristowe’s “Off the Vine” podcast. In June 2020, Bristowe confirmed that the couple had picked out an engagement ring.
Artem Chigvintsev
After four seasons on “Strictly Come Dancing,” the U.K. version of the show, pro dancer Artem Chigvintsev jumped at an offer from the producers of “Dancing with the Stars.” He moved to Los Angeles in 2014 and quickly became a “DWTS” favorite. His previous show partners include actress Lea Thompson and singer Patti LaBelle.
Artem Chigvintsev Has A Baby With Nikki Bella
Chigvintsev had a few high-profile relationships — including one with actress Kara Tointon, one of his dance partners on “Strictly Come Dancing,” the U.K. version of “DWTS” — before he settled down with Nikki Bella.
Chigvintsev and Bella welcomed their first child together, son Matteo Artemovich Chigvintsev, in July 2020. The couple announced their engagement in January 2020, but have had to put plans on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Peta Murgatroyd
Former NFL star Vernon Davis and pro dancer Peta Murgatroyd said goodbye to “DWTS” after the dance competition’s Top 11 Night, when they performed the cha-cha.
“Life is all about the unexpected. But I had a great journey,” Davis told ET. “I am definitely down. I will shed some tears. Like, I haven’t gotten used to this young lady [Peta] here. Going in [rehearsals] every day with her, we became attached … I feel like I lost somebody else, it is crazy. I feel that emotion inside but I am holding myself together.”
Peta Murgatroyd Is In A Relationship With Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Murgatroyd has been dating fellow dancing pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy on and off since 2012. Today, they live together in Los Angeles with their son, Shai, and it seems they might soon be expanding their family.
“We definitely want to have a baby and it will be very, very soon,” Murgatroyd told Us Weekly in July. “[Shai is] getting older, and I want him to grow up within his childhood with other siblings.”
Sharna Burgess
Actor Jesse Metcalfe was paired with Sharna Burgess for the dancing competition — and the chemistry between them was obvious from the start. Following their elimination after performing the tango on ’80s Night, they both revealed that they weren’t ready to leave.
“I think the journey was cut short a bit but everything that’s meant to be will be and this was the end of the road for me,” Metcalfe told ET. “Overall it was just such an amazing experience. It was very challenging but incredibly rewarding.”
Sharna Burgess Is Single
Unlike her married and coupled-up “DTWS” colleagues, Burgess is happily single … although she’s open to the possibility of finding love. The pro, who’s also a judge on “Dancing with the Stars Australia,” confirmed earlier this year that she was approached to be the next Aussie Bachelorette, but turned it down.
Monica Aldama
Monica Aldama, the tough cheerleading coach of the Netflix docuseries “Cheer,” was partnered with Val Chmerkovskiy until they were knocked out of the competition after Villains Night. Aldama had nothing but praise for her pro partner.
“He’s incredible, and he’s taught me way more than just dance. I’ll miss him,” she told ET. “It’ll definitely feel a little weird tomorrow when I get up and I won’t be going to meet Val for rehearsals.”
Monica Is Married With Kids
Squad ♥️ pic.twitter.com/US04a859cM
— Monica Aldama (@monicaaldama) July 23, 2020
Aldama has been married to husband Chris, a director of probation at Navarro County Community Supervision and Corrections Department, for about 30 years. They have two children — 24-year-old son Austin and 20-year-old daughter Ally. In July, Aldama shared a sweet family photo on Twitter with the caption “Squad.”
Val Chmerkovskiy
In season 20 — his eighth on the show — Val Chmerkovskiy won the mirrorball trophy with Rumer Willis. He won again in season 23 with Laurie Hernandez, and he has made the finals an impressive seven times. After he and Aldama were eliminated, Chmerkovskiy acknowledged that “it doesn’t always go according to plan.”
“This season’s been a lot of fun, and any time it ends on this type of note it’s gonna sting. But it’s a great thing because we had a great performance,” he told ET.
Val Chmerkovskiy Is Married To Jenna Johnson
Chmerkovskiy tied the knot with fellow dance pro Jenna Johnson in April 2019, after an on-off relationship. They dated briefly in 2015 before going their separate ways, but got back together in 2017. The couple visited their wedding venue on Nov. 1, seven months after their anniversary in April.
“Finally got to go back to our wedding venue and celebrate our ‘1 Year Wedding Anniversary’ a couple (7) months late,” Johnson wrote on Instagram alongside a series of photos. “Standing in the exact spot we said ‘I Do’ gave me butterflies all over again.”
Anne Heche
The Oct. 5 episode of “DWTS” made the news for all the wrong reasons, and actress Anne Heche and her pro partner, Keo Motsepe, were at the center of it. Announcing the couples that were up for elimination, host Tyra Banks said Vernon Davis and Peta Murgatroyd were at risk of going home, along with Anne Heche and Keo Motsepe. But Banks later corrected herself and said it would be Monica Aldama and Val Chmerkovskiy facing Heche and Motsepe in the dance-off. Ultimately, it was Heche and Motsepe who were sent home.
Revealing how proud he was of Heche, saying she “came out strong” and “delivered” during the dance, Motsepe was philosophical about the elimination error.
“It’s 2020. Happy 2020. Anything can happen,” he told “Good Morning America.” “Still, it’s live television. So, yeah, that’s it. Happy 2020. You never know what’s going to happen any day.”
Anne Heche Is Dating Thomas Jane
Heche’s most high-profile relationship was with Ellen DeGeneres in the late ’90s, but she’s now dating actor Thomas Jane, who also starred alongside her in the HBO series “Hung.” Heche said she didn’t have feelings for Jane during the filming of the show, where they played a divorced couple.
“I actually thought he didn’t like me because he would grumble during the breaks, and we never really spoke outside of shooting our scenes,” Heche told German website Bunte, as reported by People. “Now that I know him, I understand how he works.”
Justina Machado
Justina Machado, who is best known for her roles on “Six Feet Under,” “Jane the Virgin” and “One Day at a Time,” said ahead of the finale that she hoped her “authenticity” would help her win alongside her partner, Sasha Farber.
“I think [fans] can see that I’m trying,” she told ET. “I’m not a professional dancer, I’m out of my comfort zone. And also, I am who I am, you know? The authenticity is there. I don’t know how to be anything else. So I think maybe that’s what’s so relatable.”
Justina Machado Is Dating Emanuel Gironi
Racking up on smiles and memories with my honey, @JustinaMachado. pic.twitter.com/BbsChGGGs5
— Emanuel Gironi (@EmanuelGironi1) December 29, 2017
Boyle Heights Dating Now Youtube
Machado likes to keep her love life under wraps, but she’s believed to be in a relationship with actor/writer/director/producer Emanuel Gironi, who has photos of himself with his “honey” (Machado) on his Twitter account. Gironi has worked on numerous films and TV shows, appearing on the Telemundo telenovelas “Tres Destinos,” “Cadeno Braga” and “Marielena,” in the ’90s. According to Your Tango, he has also guest-starred on “Encounters,” “One Day At A Time,” “Bless This Mess,” “S.W.A.T.” and “Boyle Heights.”
Sasha Farber
Machado and Farber were lucky to get to the “DTWS” finale — Farber suffered a lower back injury during the semi-finals dress rehearsal and was temporarily out of commission.
“That was a close call. I’ve never done that before and we didn’t do a dress run because I was lying here with my back,” Farber told ET. “But these numbers are the numbers that would get her to the finale, and I wanted to make sure we did it together and the last nine weeks weren’t just for nothing. It was tough, I’m not going to lie, but we got through it.”
Sasha Farber Is Dating Emma Slater
Farber and his girlfriend, fellow pro dancer Emma Slater, had to live apart for the duration of the show to comply with COVID-19 safety rules.
“Everybody needs this right now,” Slater told ET. “It’s such an uplifting show and we’re so incredibly proud to be part of it. But it’s so funny. When our amazing producers told us, ‘OK, so we have some news for you, you’re going to have to be quarantined separately,’ I laughed. I was nervous, so I just started laughing.”
“But it’s really important to do these things and it’s great that producers thought of this,” Farber continued. “There’s lots of things happening — masks, social distancing — and this is one way of making sure that everyone’s safe, strong and the show goes on. Because we need this show!”
Nelly
Nelly (real name Cornell Iral Haynes Jr.) made it to the finale with “DWTS” newcomer Daniella Karagach, and told ET that the outcome was “bittersweet.”
“Of course you want to win,” he said. “You’ve been doing this for three months, you’ve been putting yourself through training that you’ve never had a day in your life, you’re trying to go against people who basically studied this in college.” He pointed out that Nev Schulman and Kaitlyn Bristowe, two of his competitors in the finale, had previous dance experience.
Nelly’s Longtime Girlfriend Is Shantel Jackson
Nelly has been with girlfriend Shantel Jackson since 2014, after they met through a mutual friend. A model and aspiring actress, Jackson starred on Nelly’s reality TV show “Nellysville” and her own show “The Platinum Life.” She also invented the Shoe Gummi, an outer sole patch to help women wear high heels for long periods of time.
Daniella Karagach
Previously, Karagach was a troupe member in season 28 alongside Keo Motsepe. This season, she took to Instagram to thank her celebrity partner, Nelly.
“It’s been one heck of a journey and I couldn’t have imagined my first season as a pro with anyone else,” Karagach wrote. She also described Nelly as “the most annoying older brother I’ve never had” and revealed that she felt “lucky to have you as part of my family forever.”
Daniella Karagach Is With Pasha Pashkov
My everything 🖤 @pashapashkov86pic.twitter.com/xOy1c0Gp7J
— Daniella Karagach (@DKaragach) November 12, 2020
Karagach has been with Pasha Pashkov, another pro “DWTS” dancer, since she was a teenager. They were paired together in dance class when Karagach was 15 and Pashkov was 23, and they went on to win the United States 10-Dance Champions and Latin Champions seven times. Karagach recently shared a sweet picture of the couple on Twitter with the caption, “My everything.”
Nev Schulman
Pro dancer Jenna Johnson was delighted to be paired with Nev Schulman, whom she’d watched as the host of MTV’s “Catfish.”
“He is a full-on character in the best way,” Johnson told Woman’s Day. “The person that you see on ‘Catfish’ is, I think, the most contained and professional Nev that there is because when he walks into the rehearsal room he is just a burst of energy, of light, of creativity.”
Nev Schulman Is Married To Laura Perlongo
Schulman has been married to Laura Perlongo since 2017, following a 14-month-long engagement. The pair has two kids, 4-year-old daughter Cleo James and son Beau Bobby Bruce who will turn 2 in January. When Beau arrived in January 2019, Schulman shared an adorable video on Instagram of himself holding his newborn in his arms while The Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” played in the background.
“A little perfect ray of son-shine,” the TV host wrote in the caption. “Beau & Laura are all giggles and snuggles and we couldn’t be happier.”
Chrishell Strause And Gleb Savchenko
Chrishell Strause, star of Netflix’s “Selling Sunset,” was paired with Gleb Savchenko — and this is the couple that has perhaps attracted the most attention out of the ballroom. They’re both recently single, after Strause’s divorce from husband Justin Hartley (Kevin in “This Is Us”) and Savchenko’s split from his wife of 14 years, Elena Samodanova.
Despite chemistry on stage, Strause and Savchenko deny being romantically involved while competing on the show.
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By the early 20th century, Boyle Heights had become a multi-ethnic enclave. World events had led to an influx of immigrants from Mexico, Russia and other parts of the United States. But the neighborhood's development wasn't simply due to population growth. Racist and xenophobic practices dictated life in Los Angeles, everything from where you could live to what jobs you were likely to get to where you could be buried. For people of color and recent immigrants, this meant that not every neighborhood was hospitable or even open to them.
The Japanese American National Museum notes that back when the Los Angeles Cable Railway opened in 1889, a banner in Boyle Heights read, 'East Side Greeting, We Welcome All.' As the new century took shape, that became a motto of sorts for the neighborhood.
Close to downtown and accessible by public transportation, Boyle Heights became home to a multitude of ethnic and religious groups: Latino, Jewish, Japanese, Russian, Armenian, African-American and more. Over the years, small businesses, houses of worship and organizations that helped with immigration services to medical care would reflect this diversity.
Still, Boyle Heights wasn't immune to the pressures of the outside world. The neighborhood was 'redlined' by banks and local officials, meaning it was deemed 'hazardous' to investors. Notes from a 1940 Home Owners Loan Corporation map described the neighborhood as:
'a 'melting pot' area and is literally honeycombed with diverse and subversive racial elements. It is seriously doubted whether is a single block in the area which does not contain detrimental racial elements, and there are very few districts are not hopelessly heterogeneous in type of improvement and quality of maintenance.'
The diversity of Boyle Heights was considered dangerous and that had long-standing ramifications for the neighborhood and the people who lived there.
In the documentary East L.A. Interchange, USC professor George J. Sanchez points out that this made leaving the neighborhood a more affordable option for some residents when they were planning to buy homes.
In 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, leading to the mass incarceration of Japanese-Americans. This had a devastating effect on Boyle Heights, which had been home to a significant Japanese community. In East L.A. Interchange, it's estimated that 1/3 of the senior class at Roosevelt High School was incarcerated. Following World War II, the freeway boom led to displacement for many Boyle Heights residents. While the community tried to fight the multiple freeways that now twist together in the neighborhood, their efforts were mostly unsuccessful. Between 1944 and 1972, 15,000 Boyle Heights residents were displaced, according to the documentary.
Activism has always been intertwined with the history of Boyle Heights, from the Jewish bakers who formed their own union in the 1920s to the Mexican-American students at Roosevelt who walked out of class in 1968 to protest education inequality. More recently, the neighborhood has been at the center of the struggle against gentrification.
Boyle Heights Dating Now 2017
Today, Boyle Heights is a primarily Latino neighborhood. According to the Los Angeles Times'Mapping L.A. project, a little more than half of the residents were born outside of the U.S. and it is considered a low income neighborhood by both the city and county of L.A. The arrival of new art galleries and coffee houses combined with rising rents has triggered a backlash. Groups like Defend Boyle Heights have launched protest campaigns that highlight 'artwashing,' when galleries act as the vanguard of gentrification that ultimately leads to the displacement of locals.
These six landmarks help tell the story of Boyle Heights, its many communities and the struggles that have shaped the neighborhood.
Mariachi Plaza
In 1998, a grand stone kiosk was dedicated near the corner of 1st Street and Boyle Avenue, marking the spot where L.A.'s mariachi musicians have congregated to find work. It was also a harbinger, foreshadowing the neighborhood's struggle with rising rents. More than a decade would pass between the Mariachi Plaza dedication and the opening of the Gold Line station in the same location. But locals had concerns about the future of Boyle Heights before that. Fears of new development and higher rents came to a head when rent at a nearby apartment building on 2nd Street, home to a number of mariachi musicians, skyrocketed, sparking a rent strike that lasted from April 2017 to February 2018. It finally ended with a deal for less severe increases over the next few years.
Boyle Heights Dating Now Pictures
Canter's Brothers Delicatessen
When most Angelenos think of Canter's, they think of the deli on Fairfax Avenue but the famed late-night restaurant debuted in Boyle Heights in 1931 as Canter's Brothers Delicatessen. Boyle Heights was once home to so many Jewish immigrants it was known as Los Angeles's Lower East Side, Caroline Luce notes in the book Jews in the Los Angeles Mosaic. The population boomed in the 1920s and that was reflected in the local food culture. Luce also notes that many of the new residents in Boyle Heights had first lived in other U.S. cities. The Canter brothers had operated a deli in Jersey City, which went bust after the 1929 stock market crash. They relocated to Los Angeles and opened up shop on Brooklyn Avenue (now Cesar Chavez Avenue). Canter's didn't stay in Boyle Heights for long. The original location shuttered in 1948 and moved westward, following its client base. The old building remains at 2323 Cesar Chavez, where it's home to a dentist's office.
Boyle Heights Dating Now Pictures
Japanese Hospital
Today, the building at the corner of Fickett and First streets is a nursing home, Infinity Care of East Los Angeles. Decades ago, it was the site of the Japanese Hospital. According to a report recommending the building for historical-cultural monument status, it opened in 1929 after a legal battle that lasted several years. Prior to World War II, Boyle Heights was home to a large Japanese community. At the time, Japanese and Japanese-Americans in L.A. had difficulty securing adequate health care because of racist medical staff and institutions. With that in mind, several Japanese doctors joined forces to lease property and establish a hospital. They had the funds but the process was halted when California's Secretary of State said they couldn't incorporate or lease land because they were Japanese citizens. People born in Japan wouldn't be allowed to become U.S. citizens until after World War II. The ensuing case went all the way to the Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of the doctors in 1928.
The institution's struggles didn't end after it opened. During World War II, 117,000 Japanese and Japanese-American residents of the U.S. were locked away in internment camps. In many cases, their property was also seized. That didn't happen with the Japanese Hospital. Instead, as the application for Historical Cultural Monument Status notes, White Memorial Hospital leased the space until the war's end. After the war, it again became the Japanese Hospital, which operated in Boyle Heights until the early 1960s. In November 2016, the building was designated Historical Cultural Monument #1131. Los Angeles's Japanese community newspaper, Rafu Shimpo, notes that it is the seventh such monument that reflects the history of Japanese-Americans in L.A.
International Institute of Los Angeles
On Boyle Street near 4th, you'll spot a rambling, two-story, white building with a tile roof and a small sign that reads 'International Institute' hanging from its arched entrance. Welcome to the International Institute of Los Angeles. Providing services for recent immigrants, it dates back to 1914, when the program was launched by the YWCA to help women who had recently arrived in the U.S.
The organization moved into the Boyle Avenue property in 1924. The Institute offered job placement and financial support. It also hosted cultural events. A Los Angeles Times article from 1937 recapped a 'feast' put together by young women from the Russian Molokan community, a Christian sect. Another Times article, from 1938, noted that the organization served as a clubhouse for many different ethnic communities and that it had built up an ample library for local youth, run with help from 'Polish, Armenian, Russian, Mexican, French and Chinese girls.' Today, the institute offers services that range from legal assistance to programs for children and it continues to support of migrants, including refugees and unaccompanied minors.
Evergreen Cemetery
Dating to the late 1800s, Evergreen Cemetery is a testament to the multi-ethnic history of Boyle Heights but it comes with a caveat. Segregation existed in cemeteries across the United States, and Los Angeles was no different. Evergreen didn't completely exclude people by race but not all the dead were treated equally. Early Chinese migrants were buried in the potter's field for a fee, which wouldn't have been required for anyone else buried in that area. Some of their remains were discovered during construction of the Gold Line, which lead to a monument that was erected here in 2010. Elsewhere, you'll find sections of the cemetery that are distinguishable by the ethnicity of the deceased. Near the entrance is the Japanese section, which features a monument to Japanese-American soldiers who died fighting in World War II or the Korean War.
Boyle Heights Dating Now Meme
There's also a small section of headstones with Armenian last names. I only know this because two of my great-grandparents are buried there. This enclave points to the early and often overlooked history of Armenian Angelenos. In 1925, a USC graduate student named Aram Yeretzian documented the local Armenian community of his era. His paper notes that Armenians had been settling in various parts of Los Angeles and surrounding cities for a few decades. Boyle Heights was home to a community of about 800 'Russian-Armenians,' people from regions that were under Russian control in the early 1900s. That area includes parts of present-day Turkey and Armenia. At that time, Boyle Heights was also home to an Armenian school and an Armenian branch of the YMCA. The Armenians who came to Boyle Heights were among an early wave of Armenians who settled in Los Angeles during the early 20th century. It would be a few more decades before the community swelled in the greater L.A. area.
El Mercado de Los Angeles
Known as a hub for Mexican food and goods, El Mercado de Los Angeles opened in 1968 as an international market. The multi-level complex, with an entrance situated against a side-street parking lot, welcomes you into a maze of stalls where vendors sell everything from spices to t-shirts. There are plenty of food options from icy, fruity raspados to hearty seafood cocktails to sweet baked goods. For a more leisurely, sit-down meal, head to the mariachi restaurants on the top floor where you can catch live music on weekday evenings as well as weekend afternoons and evenings. El Mercadito, as its known, gets busy, especially on weekends
The exterior of the building was redesigned by artist Jose Luis Gonzalez of Goez Art Studios in 1991. An important figure in the Chicano Art movement, Gonzalez has painted a number of well-known murals in the region and opened his studio in nearby East L.A. His work on the building's facade includes mosaics featuring Mayan temples and figures from Mayan mythology. There's been talk that El Mercadito is going to be developed but so far, that hasn't happened.