(from 2005)
By Marizsa Bravo-Casillas
Who is the most significant person in Venice History, you ask? This question is easy for me to answer. It would be my Great-Great Grandmother Secundina Roman Villa (my Nana), my Great-Grandmother Guadalupe Francisca Villa, and my Grandmother Irene Vasquez. The reason is simple, because they are the only women who are able to share the truth about how it was to live in Venice as Mexican women.
A story that I can connect with. What was it like to live in Venice, you ask? My Great-Grandmother Lupe has told me stories about how she searched for work to support her family and children, but no one wanted to hire a “dirty Mexican.” She almost got a job at the Pioneer Bakery, but the other women working there at the time, refused to work with her, so she was let go.
My grandmothers often recall the most difficult times of living through the depression. They explain with pride how they survived during those times, boiling beans, making tortillas by hand, cooking nopales (cactus), and gathering yerbas (herbs and greens) from areas in the city that are now populated by condos and businesses.
My grandmothers often recall the most difficult times of living through the depression. They explain with pride how they survived during those times, boiling beans, making tortillas by hand, cooking nopales (cactus), and gathering yerbas (herbs and greens) from areas in the city that are now populated by condos and businesses.
It was my Uncle Magie who shared with me that celery use to grow along Culver Blvd., a story told to him by my Great-Grandfather Santiago Bravo, who fathered 8 children and also lived in Venice. Along Olympic Blvd., my Nana and Grandmas use to go into the fields to gather yerbas, and shared how corn use to grow where SMC now stands.
To live off the land, as our ancestors before had done, is one of the most precious gifts that has been passed down. That is how my Great Grandparents survived during the Depression. The strength and determination in these women, this is what runs through my body, mind and soul. I come from strong roots. Strong roots in family, culture, and of Venice running through my veins.
My grandmother Irene, shares stories of dances at OPP (Ocean Park Pier) where she met my Grandfather Jimmy Bravo and where Zoot Suit riots took place. She also shared how she would walk in the sand from Sunset Ave. to the Pier, during her first pregnancy with my Uncle Frankie, so that he would come out. A story that my mother also recalls as her own, in the same way that I can say… I have made that walk myself.
Venice is where, my grandparents lived, on both sides of my family. Members of the Bravo Family, and the Villa Family still do. This is where my father ran the streets with all his cousins and friends. He shared stories of playing in the boat, outside of what is now Washington Mutual bank, on Lincoln Blvd. I loved going to Venice Boardwalk with him, where he knew almost everyone there. From the handball courts, the performers, even the “winos” (before they were called homeless.) He knew them all, and everyone knew him. Mousie, they called him because of his ears.
Venice is where, my grandparents lived, on both sides of my family. Members of the Bravo Family, and the Villa Family still do. This is where my father ran the streets with all his cousins and friends.
Even today, when I put on my Rollerskates and dance down in Venice to the music, I stare out into the ocean, and am grateful to have been blessed with the stories and memories of my
family living in Venice way back when. Back when we knew are neighbors, when all of my family could afford to live in Venice, even back when the Pitbulls use to roam the streets of Venice.
I am blessed to be able to say, “My Great Grandfather and my Great-Great Grandmother have been living in Venice since the early 1900s.” Not too many people living in Venice can say that. This is where the spirits of my father, Tia Linda, Uncle Frankie, Nana, Uncle Berna, and so many more relatives, come to visit us. My Great-Great Grandmother Lupe Villa who is currently 96 years old, is STILL living in Venice.
This is her home, this is our home.