Mariachi Plaza, Cultural plaza in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, US.
Mariachi Plaza is a public square in Boyle Heights where musicians dressed in traditional charro suits gather to find work for events and celebrations throughout Los Angeles. The space includes a stone kiosk gifted by the state of Jalisco and a monument honoring Lucha Reyes, a prominent ranchera singer.
Musicians gathered informally between Boyle Avenue and Bailey Street as early as the 1930s. In the 1950s the mariachi Juan Gonzalez Muñiz, called "El Cochero" and fundador of "La Boyle", found rooms for rent at $7 per week near the corner gas station and urged his friends to join him. Groundbreaking for the new Plaza del Mariachi de Los Angeles took place on November 22, 1992, the feast day of Saint Cecilia; it was designed by Frank Villalobos of Barrio Planners Incorporated. In 1998 Jalisco governor Alberto Cardenas-Jimenez funded a Cantera stone kiosk carved and assembled by Guadalajaran artisan Juan Pablo Salas.
Mariachi musicians have gathered here since the 1950s hoping to be hired for a full band, trio or solo singer, and the plaza is modelled on Mexico City's Plaza Garibaldi. Each November, on the feast day of Santa Cecilia, patron saint of musicians, a procession of mariachis fills the square. The bronze figure on the stone pedestal depicts the ranchera singer Lucha Reyes.
The plaza sits between E. 1st Street, N. Boyle Avenue and Pleasant Avenue, next to the East Los Angeles Interchange of Interstates 5, 10 and 101. Mariachi Plaza Station, opened in 2009 beneath the square, is served by the E Line since the Regional Connector opened on June 16, 2023, giving a direct ride to Downtown. The station entrance lies under the scalloped canopy with diamond-shaped glass cutouts.
A nearby street was renamed Vicente Fernandez Street in 2022 to honor the legendary ranchera singer. This tribute marks the importance of this musician to the local community and the broader Mexican music scene in the city.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,629 contributors worldwide.