SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — We all know Solana Beach as a quiet coastal town. But before that, it was home to farmworkers brought in to harvest crops. They formed a close-knit community called La Colonia that still exists today.
As part of ABC 10News' Hispanic Heritage Month coverage, Jim Avila takes us there for an in-depth look at the community's history.
There are three distinct sounds that filled the streets of La Colonia de Eden Gardens, now part of Solana Beach in the North County: The mission bell on Sunday morning, the distinctively sharp Eden Gardens, or EG, whistle that called teenagers to the street to meet friends and the roosters who used to awaken the farmworkers who lived on these blocks.
The farmworkers and roosters are both gone now, but the families, restaurants, and churches are still here.
“We have a long history. We are the first neighborhood of Solana Beach," says Lisa Montes of the Solana Beach Civic and Historical Society.
There were no homes here at that time and there was no irrigation. So, people had to live in tents.
"We had what was called Tent City way back when. and that's how they had to live. And we had outhouses in those days," says Montes.
The neighborhood goes back to the turn of the 20th century, when Mexican Americans recruited to pick produce in the area were not allowed to live near the beach or the ranches to the east in Rancho Santa Fe. Instead, they were directed to mostly vacant land, close enough for them to work but not too close to the white family farms.
“This was a racially segregated community for only Mexican-Americans; it was primarily for Mexican-Americans, and they could not live in Rancho Santa Fe," says Montes.
They planted resilient roots in their isolated community, building stores and restaurants that remain today. John's Market, originally called Granados, still operates today and is a La Colonia landmark, as are Tony’s and Fidel’s…, two of the community's well-known Mexican restaurants.
La Colonia had to be self-sufficient. Its residents were not welcome in the rest of Solana Beach, with its big houses, beach views and thriving businesses.
“The kids couldn't go get haircuts there. They were turned away because they were Mexican," says Montes.
A park at the center of La Colonia holds the first house built here. Inside, historic pictures bring one back to days when 90 families built small homes, some of which exist today. These are original, built by the farmworkers and laborers in 1920s.
Joe Villasenor is a fifth generation La Colonia resident. His family was one of the original residents.
“They were told that this was the only place they could live, and so they made the most of it... I think they made a flourishing community," Villasenor says. "They really helped each other. A lot of our family — they helped build a lot of the homes here.”
Those families are honored on a mural in the area: A tree of life in La Colonia.
"So, this is dedicated to the first families of La Colonia," says Montes.
“This is always home. This is something we have deep roots in," says Villasenor. "We do our best to take good care of it, and, you know, be, good leaders and, you know, help each other out.”
Solana Beach’s little know first community is still alive as a monument to the workers who helped feed us all.
