Thais in Los Angeles

by Martorell, Chanchanit; Morlan, Beatrice

• ISBN13: 9780738581842
• ISBN10: 0738581844
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-03-21
• Publisher: Arcadia Pub

Summary

Los Angeles is home to the largest Thai population outside of Thailand. With a relatively recent history of immigration to the United States dating to 1965, reports estimate that 80,000 Thais make their home in Southern California. In spite of its brief history in the United States, the Thai community in Los Angeles has already left its mark on the city. While the proliferation of Thai-owned businesses and shops has converted East Hollywood and some San Fernando Valley neighborhoods to destinations for cultural tourism, the Thai community in Los Angeles County reverberates still from global attention over the 1995 El Monte human trafficking case. The great popularity of Thai cuisine, textiles, and cultural festivals continues to preserve, enrich, and showcase one of Asia's most distinctive cultures.

Author Biography

Chanchanit Martorell is the executive director of the Thai Community Development Center (CDC), which led the successful campaign to designate a section of East Hollywood as "Thai Town," the only municipally recognized Thai district in the nation. Beatrice Morlan also works with Thai CDC as an urban-planning student from the University of Southern California. These evocative photographs were collated from the collections of the Thai CDC and other Thai organizations and from throughout the Los Angeles Thai community.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. 6
Foreword	p. 7
Introduction	p. 8
Arrival in Los Angeles	p. 9
Hello to Hollywood	p. 15
A Matter of Survival: Struggling for a Voice and Rights	p. 25
Creation of a Thai Middle Class	p. 37
The Importance of Worship and Cultural Maintenance	p. 47
Community Arts and Culture	p. 61
Festivals and Celebrations	p. 71
Institution Building	p. 85
Thai Town	p. 93
Civic Engagement: The Road to Political Empowerment	p. 109
Bibliography	p. 127
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