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MAKING POLITICAL HISTORY IN LOS ANGELES
Written by Maria Elena Salinas   
Tuesday, July 12 2005
 
LOS ANGELES -- There's nothing that can shake the feeling of having witnessed history in the making. It's a sense of exhilaration that stays embedded in your memory for many years to come. If I felt that way on July 1, watching Antonio Villaraigosa take the oath of office as mayor of Los Angeles, I can only imagine how he felt. With a huge smile on his face and his wife, Corina, standing by his side, Villaraigosa raised one hand and, with the other on the Bible, swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States and to be mayor for "all the people" of Los Angeles. It was a proud moment for Villaraigosa and his family, and for all those who have been waiting more than a century for a Latino to become mayor of a city where nearly half of the population is of Hispanic heritage. Since his first bid for mayor in 2001, Villaraigosa stayed away from running a "brown" campaign, downplaying his ethnicity and affirming that "the Latino agenda is the American agenda." But on that Friday morning, regardless of the diversity of those who participated in the inauguration and the inclusiveness he stressed in his very eloquent speech, there was no doubt about his ethnic pride. In front of thousands who gathered in front of City Hall to witness the moment -- some of whom carried Mexican flags and images of the Virgin of Guadalupe -- Villaraigosa said, "I will never forget where I came from." And I'm sure he is very much aware of where he is headed. As the new mayor of the second-largest city in the country, and the first Latino to hold that office since 1872, he is already an international political star. Never before had a local swearing-in ceremony attracted so much international press and so many dignitaries from up and down the state of California, across the country and around the world. On stage, you could see the likes of former Vice President Al Gore, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and former Govs. Pete Wilson and Jerry Brown. And in the audience, right there in the front row, were the mayors of New York, Atlanta and Washington, D.C., almost the entire consular corps, as well as representatives from the governments of El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico. "Why are you here?" I asked the governor of the Mexican state of Jalisco. "Because our blood has made it to such a high position," he replied. But listening to Villaraigosa's speech, it was evident that his vision goes way beyond ethnic politics. He urged the people of Los Angeles to "think big," reminding them of the already important role the city plays on the world stage. "For more than a century, Los Angeles has been synonymous with big dreams," he said. "Los Angeles is not only the one city that best embodies bold dreams, it is the destination of people's imaginations, all around the world, whether or not they ever set foot here." It's a good thing he wants to think big, because the challenges ahead are a tall order. He's not only expected to live up to his campaign promises, reduce the crime rate, improve the quality of education and alleviate the traffic nightmares, but he is expected to lift the morale of a city that's disenchanted with city government. As if that isn't enough, Latinos in the rest of the country and south of the border are looking to him for leadership. On a personal note, watching the events of July 1 unfold before my eyes gave me a tremendous sense of pride. As a native-born Angelena, I relished the moment. My joy was not only for Villaraigosa and the other elected officials sworn in that day, but also for the many Latino faces I saw in the crowd. They are part of a community that for so many years felt disenfranchised. I remember being a local L.A. TV reporter covering city hall and not seeing a single Latino elected official, and interviewing Hispanics who were eligible to vote but never bothered because they felt their votes would not make a difference. More than two decades later, they not only made a difference, but they were able witness history unfolding on the steps of City Hall.