The legend is that Christine Sterling, who originally envisioned Olvera Street and sold the idea to the city of Los Angeles so that they could bring in more tourism.

What's this silhouette of a crucifix?

Olvera Street here, 150 years ago, the city of Los Angeles was founded, and known as El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de... She's looking for the Spanish Mexican romance.

She's looking for that caballero singing.

She said the damas with their mantillas.

And she goes to Olvera Street, which at that time was a paved alleyway.

Plaza was in some ways largely forgotten by the new white population, the new growing white population.

So it became a space that was clearly defined as a Mexican space.

And it was in that way kind of treated as something else, something surviving from a time that was no longer there.

So it was a space that was largely forgotten by the general population.

She attracted the financial interests of the Chandlers.

It's probably the first attempt to do these kind of ethnic thematic park.

...baked hard in the broiling sun.

Mm hmm.

Further charming proof of Mexican fascination.

You may meet this little fellow with the soulful eyes manana, but he's going now.

Her idea was to create a Mexican marketplace where people could interact with Mexicans but not have to go to Mexico.

You had to be costumed in order to have a puesto there.

It's very much kind of like going into Disneyland, that part of Pirates of the Caribbean where they're running around.

-Which becomes the pulse of the Mexican sensibility as interpreted by Christine Sterling.