ENTRY 001: The Introduction

Here goes nothin’… This project has sat on my mind, heart, and soul for over a year now. I drove around the city this past year capturing photos of the people, places, and things that make the City of Angels what it is. Throughout 2023, I manifested and meditated on what I’d like my legacy and contribution to the world to be. As I reflected on my life, there was one thing that was always at the center… my roots. I am a Chicana, Mexican-American (4th and 2nd generation), the granddaughter of immigrants, and a born + bred Angeleno. Still waters run deep. 

To understand what The Angeleno Marketplace is and will become, you must understand who I am:

Hello, my name is Alyssa Justine Maciel and I was born and raised in the inner cities of Los Angeles to teen parents. My identity is a fusion of the migrant experience in the United States and the Chicanx struggle + survival in the hood and in the system. The statistics were not in my favor. According to them, I wasn’t really supposed to make it past high school. That said, I was the first person from my mother’s side, in 18 years, to graduate high school. By 2020, I would become a first-generation college graduate, graduating with a B.A. International Studies and the first to study overseas in Venice, Italy.

Pause.

As I am writing this in ink and reflecting on my life… I’m fortunate to have had the privilege that I grew up with; a privilege that many of my family members and peers did not have. College was fundamental to the person I am today. It gave me the opportunity to step out of the matrix and gave me perspective to break it. It taught me that my lived experiences weren’t just generational, but systematic. It taught me about the complex experiences that black and brown people go through on a daily, where someone that looks like me does not experience firsthand. It taught me how important global community is - to seek to understand, to learn, and to immerse yourself with cultures from all over the world. Most importantly, it taught me that if I do anything in life, I want it be community-focused, service-focused, and purpose-focused. Pay it forward.

The Angeleno Marketplace is a love child with the city that raised me. My hopes and dreams for this project are limitless.

It can be everything and anything. All of it. No limits. No glass ceilings. The limit does not exist.

The meaning behind the name is to highlight Angelenos throughout each neighborhood. Marketplace was the only word that could depict what I’d like this to be. I want it to be a marketplace of ideas, people, cultures, creatives, minds, entrepreneurs, communities, languages, and so much more. I want this to be a platform you can come to to be inspired by your neighbors and to put  your  money into the right places. The importance behind this project is to give back to the communities in L.A. that are often overlooked by the transplant diaspora. 

And if you are one reading this, all love. Respectfully, if you love this city, you gotta love all of its people.

There will be two segments that we will highlight to start this off: the Community Cultivators and the Small Business.

Our Community Cultivators are the ones on the ground improving our communities and breaking the systematic chains that have been placed on inner cities for decades. Our Small Businesses are the ones who are creating local economies and generational wealth for their families. My goal for each entry is to give Angelenos a platform to be recognized and honored, whilst providing them with content creation and access to a larger audience. 

Access. Opportunity. Equity.

As you’ve read through this entry, you’ve seen my photos that I’ve shot on 35 mm B&W film. These photos were captured to showcase the adoration I have for all the barrios, the people, and the history that makes this city so beautiful.

If you’ve read this far, I greatly appreciate your time and support. I have so much faith behind what this could become, it’s almost scary. There’s always that fear of failure, but anything done in purpose will never fail.

I want this to be community oriented. I’d like to hear from you, the reader.

Who’s doing work in your community? What’s a small business you can’t stop talking about?

Please feel free to nominate your favorite small business’ and community cultivators. Let’s see what we can create together.

Con todo mi amor,

Alyssa Justine Maciel