Saracho was relatively unfamiliar with L.A. “We try for the images, the sounds to be true to life as much as TV can get true to life.” “I’m building this world with a lot of respect, with a lot of admiration,” Saracho said. She said the person reached out to several community organizations, including Defend Boyle Heights, to create an open dialogue. In a May interview with The Times, Saracho said she works with a community liaison to help ease any tension. “Don’t rest easy, we got eyes on ya.”Ī Starz publicist declined to comment on the protests Friday and said Saracho would not be speaking on the matter.Īfter an earlier protest while “Vida” was filming at Mariachi Plaza, Saracho and the crew left the area out of respect for the protesters. The post also mentioned “Vida’s” showrunner, Tanya Saracho. The group later posted blurry photos on Instagram showing members of the film crew eating during an apparent break.
“We have a longstanding boycott against the L.A. But by then, the film crew was packing up and no major protest materialized.Īs crew members trickled into the Evergreen Cemetery and filled its roads with production trailers and trucks, two young women - one wearing a T-shirt with an anti-gentrification phrase and the other who identified herself as a Defend Boyle Heights member - sat at a bus station across the street from the original filming location, appearing to monitor the scene.Ī Defend Boyle Heights member, who would not give her name, declined to comment on the group’s future plans, saying a reporter should check the group’s social media feed. The group told members to show up at 6 p.m. They also say the show pokes fun at them and stole the image of the Ovarian Psycos Bicycle Brigade, a grass-roots group of female activists who lead bike rides in Boyle Heights to combat gentrification and other social issues.īut Defend Boyle Heights’ planned demonstration didn’t quite work out as desired.
Their biggest complaint is that those involved are profiting off the struggles of those trying to stay in their homes. The activists said they have long been concerned about the show, now in its second season, and the how it portrays the community. The protests over the filming mark a new ironic twist, because producers of the Starz show said they were simply trying to honestly portray the debate about gentrification. Police Department investigated three acts of vandalism targeting art galleries, including graffiti at one gallery that read “(Expletive) white art,” as possible hate crimes. The protests themselves have been polarizing, with some residents saying the activists go too far and even demonize white people. Activists have protested the opening of art galleries and even an independent coffeehouse, saying they are doing harm to the community. Some residents have welcomed the changes, especially homeowners who have seen real estate prices rise and the shopping variety improve.īut others fear the immigrant working-class residents who for generations called Boyle Heights home will be pushed out, along with the Mexican American culture for which the district is famous. that in recent years has seen an influx of artists, hipster retailers and new development moving in. It’s the latest in a series of battles over the future of Boyle Heights, the barrio east of downtown L.A.
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