The socioeconomic hierarchy was even evident in the colorful, entertaining Olvera Street through how the Mexicans were seen as a separate group of people who were either labeled as “yesterday” or as a temporary workforce. The Spanish fantasy past was not only seen through Olvera Street, but was demonstrated in the romanticism in Santa Barbara. Olvera Street’s Spanish fantasy past was what the Anglos viewed as “Mexicanness,” whereas the emergence of mission-like architecture and the popularity of the Spanish Past romanticism arose due to Americans wanting to identify with the “holy and pious Spaniards” and not the “lazy” downfall of the Mexican presence (Sagarena, 2002). Although these two reasons of why the Spanish Fantasy Past and Spanish Romanticism gained popularity contrasts, they both depict the racial discrimination towards the Mexican community, whether by denying their history or selectively creating a past for
The socioeconomic hierarchy was even evident in the colorful, entertaining Olvera Street through how the Mexicans were seen as a separate group of people who were either labeled as “yesterday” or as a temporary workforce. The Spanish fantasy past was not only seen through Olvera Street, but was demonstrated in the romanticism in Santa Barbara. Olvera Street’s Spanish fantasy past was what the Anglos viewed as “Mexicanness,” whereas the emergence of mission-like architecture and the popularity of the Spanish Past romanticism arose due to Americans wanting to identify with the “holy and pious Spaniards” and not the “lazy” downfall of the Mexican presence (Sagarena, 2002). Although these two reasons of why the Spanish Fantasy Past and Spanish Romanticism gained popularity contrasts, they both depict the racial discrimination towards the Mexican community, whether by denying their history or selectively creating a past for