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52-504: Díaz was taken by ambulance to Los Angeles County General Hospital , where he died shortly afterwards without regaining consciousness. The hospital's autopsy showed that he was inebriated from the party and had a fracture at the base of his skull. This might have been caused by repeated falls or an automobile accident . The cause of Díaz's death remains disputed to this day. However, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)

104-812: A counterculture that emerged in El Paso, Texas , in the late 1930s. Pachucos are associated with zoot suit fashion, jump blues , jazz and swing music , a distinct dialect known as caló , and self-empowerment in rejecting assimilation into Anglo-American society. The pachuco counterculture flourished among Chicano boys and men in the 1940s as a symbol of rebellion, especially in Los Angeles . It spread to women who became known as pachucas and were perceived as unruly, masculine, and un-American. Some pachucos adopted strong attitudes of social defiance, engaging in behavior seen as deviant by white/Anglo-American society, such as marijuana smoking, gang activity, and

156-455: A "stylized power" of rebellious resistance and spectacular excess. The origin of the word "pachuco" is uncertain, but one theory connects it to the city of El Paso, Texas, which was sometimes referred to as "Chuco Town" or "El Chuco". People migrating to El Paso from Ciudad Juarez would say, in Spanish, that they were going " pa' El Chuco ". Some say "pa El Chuco" comes from the words Shoe Co. ,

208-513: A Mexican American zoot suiter, Mexican comedian and film actor German Valdés better-known by his artistic name "Tin-Tan" is Mexico's most famous and celebrated pachuco. Pachuco culture in America was at its height during World War II . The Wartime Productions Board in 1942 thought it necessary to cut back on fabric consumption, so they enacted regulations on the amount of fabric used for suits. This enactment targeted Pachucos in particular because of

260-405: A cause of death. Despite the unclear cause of death, 20-year-old Henry Leyvas and 24 members of what the media termed "the 38th Street gang " were arrested for allegedly murdering Díaz. They suspected that rival Pachuco gang fights were the cause of Díaz's death. In response to the alleged murder, the media began a campaign calling for action against "zoot suiters". On August 10, police conducted

312-511: A community had a "blood-thirst" and a "biological predisposition" to crime and killing, citing the culture of human sacrifice practiced by their Aztec ancestors. The Sleepy Lagoon Defense Committee (SLDC) was a community organization made up of Los Angeles community members and activists who came together to support the defendants. The SLDC was also known as The Citizens' Committee for the Defense of Mexican-American Youth. These activists criticized

364-508: A cool jive of half-English, half-Spanish rhythms ... Out of the zoot-suiter experience came lowrider cars and culture, clothes, music, tag names, and, again, its own graffiti language." Pachucos were perceived as alien to both Mexican and Anglo-American culture–a distinctly Chicano figure. In Mexico, the pachuco was understood "as a caricature of the American", while in the United States he

416-429: A larger number of intensive care beds to handle patients in the aftermath of disasters. The new facility was ready by 2010, and on July 23 of that year, the new hospital was opened. Transfer of all inpatients from Women's and Children's Hospital and the 1200 State Street building made the retirement of the original hospital complex official. The old building at 1200 State Street still stands. The Wellness Center, on

468-521: A name resembling its original name, due to confusion with the privately operated Keck Hospital of USC located a half mile away. Los Angeles General Medical Center is one of the largest public hospitals and medical training centers in the United States , and the largest single provider of healthcare in Los Angeles County . It provides healthcare services for the region's medically underserved,

520-457: A red colored lipstick. The preferred colors of clothing were black and gray. Some pachucas wore the traditionally male zoot suit, albeit with modifications to fit the female form. Sometimes, she donned the standard heavy gold pocket chain. Another variation involved a sweater or coat - often a variant on the male zoot-suit finger-tip jacket - over knee-length skirts , plus fishnet stockings or bobby socks and platform shoes . In Costa Rica

572-527: A reservoir beside the Los Angeles River that was frequented by Mexican-Americans. Its name came from the popular song "Sleepy Lagoon" , which was recorded in 1942 by big band leader and trumpeter Harry James . The reservoir was located near the city of Maywood at approximately what is now 5400 Lindbergh Lane in Bell . The current address has also been given as approximately 5500 Slauson Avenue . Beginning in

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624-487: A roundup of 600 Latinos who were charged with suspicion of assault, armed robbery, and related offenses; 175 were eventually held for various crimes. Due to this round-up of "Zoot Suiters", many families in the community began putting curfews in place to protect those that they cared about from the increasing police presence. The resulting criminal trial is now generally viewed as lacking in the fundamental requirements of due process . Seventeen Latino youths were indicted on

676-496: A shoe company that was located in El Paso in the 1940s during the war. The majority of Mexican migrants would cross the border in order to work for this famous shoe company in El Paso. Throughout the years the term "pa El Chuco" was used when Mexican immigrants were heading to El Paso looking for a job. In order to cross the American border with success the migrants would have to dress nice and look nice other wise they would get rejected at

728-454: A symbol of cultural pride among Mexican-Americans. It didn't all end well, however, as this also led to rising tension between Pachucos and other Americans, playing a part in the start of the 1943 Zoot Suit Riots . The pachuco subculture declined in the 1960s, evolving into the Chicano style. This style preserved some of the pachuco slang while adding a strong political element characteristic of

780-506: A turbulent night life . Although concentrated among a relatively small group of Mexican Americans , the pachuco counterculture became iconic among Chicanos and a predecessor for the cholo subculture which emerged among Chicano youth in the 1980s. Pachucos emerged in Los Angeles, California , among a group of it may have roots in Pachuca, Hidalgo , Mexico , where loose-fitting clothing

832-670: Is a Level I trauma center and treats over 28 percent of the region's trauma victims (2005). It provides care for half of all sickle-cell anemia patients and those people living with AIDS in Southern California . Los Angeles General Medical Center provides a full spectrum of emergency , inpatient and outpatient services to all including indigent and Medi-Cal only recipients. These include medical, surgical , emergency/trauma, obstetrical , gynecological and pediatric services as well as psychiatric services for adults, adolescents and children. Los Angeles General Medical Center

884-575: Is also the home of the Los Angeles County College of Nursing and Allied Health, which has prepared registered nurses for professional practice since its founding in 1895. Los Angeles General Medical Center also serves as the host facility for the Navy Trauma Training Center, allowing uniformed medical professionals valuable exposure to trauma cases during 30 day clinical rotations that prepare them to treat battlefield injury on

936-626: Is one of the busiest public hospitals in the Western United States , with nearly 39,000 inpatients discharged, and one million ambulatory care patient visits each year. The Emergency Department is one of the world's busiest, with more than 150,000 visits per year. LA General operates one of only three burn centers in Los Angeles County and one of the few Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Southern California. LA General

988-680: The USC Keck School of Medicine , USC School of Pharmacy, Keck Hospital of USC , and the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Hospital. The LA General Medical Center station on the El Monte Busway for the Metro J Line and Foothill Transit Silver Streak is located within walking distance from LA General. Additionally, Metro lines 78, 106, 251, 605 serve the hospital. Pachuco Pachucos are male members of

1040-607: The Zoot Suit Riots . From 1943 through 1944, the state anti-Communist Tenney Committee subpoenaed and investigated the members of the Defense Committee in an attempt to uncover Communist ties. In October 1944, the state Court of Appeals unanimously decided the evidence was not sufficient to sustain a guilty verdict. It reversed the 12 defendants' convictions in People v Zammora 66 Cal.App.2d 166. The appeals court also criticized

1092-459: The 1200 State Street building out of compliance of earthquake and fire safety codes. To address the problem, a new modern facility was proposed and constructed nearby, at 2051 Marengo Street. Designed by a joint venture of HOK and LBL Associated Architects, the new $ 1 billion hospital consists of three linked buildings: a clinic tower, a diagnostic and treatment tower, and an inpatient tower, in total supporting 600 patient beds. The new facility has

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1144-652: The Japanese-American internment and the anti-Mexican response in the Sleepy Lagoon case. By the time that the defendants began serving their convictions, there was already an uproar in how young Mexican Americans were being perceived. Rumors later began to circulate that gang members had attacked many US Navy men. As a result many went around raiding Latino communities and began attacking them in retribution. People who were attacked were people of color or people who wore zoot suits .  These attacks later became known as

1196-503: The Pachuco phenomenon paralleled the zazou subculture in World War II -era Paris in style of clothing, music favored ( jazz , swing , and jump blues ), and attitudes. Although there was no known link between the two subcultures, they both are most certainly derivative localized blends of American pop culture in the United States. While he was not the first Mexican comedian to perform as

1248-737: The U.S. government interned Japanese Americans from the West Coast , after classifying them as security threats following the United States' entry into World War II . As society mobilized for war, thousands of Mexican citizens under the Bracero program arrived to Los Angeles for agricultural jobs, as did hundreds of thousands of Black southerners during the Second Great Migration to the city for defense-related jobs such as munitions factories and shipyards. The rapid influx of laborers from Mexico and defense workers of ethnic backgrounds from all across

1300-674: The abbreviation LAC+USC ) is a 600-bed public teaching hospital located at 2051 Marengo Street in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles , California , and one of the largest academic medical centers in the United States . The hospital facility is owned by Los Angeles County and operated by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services . Doctors are faculty of the Keck School of Medicine of USC , who oversee more than 1,000 medical residents being trained by

1352-430: The basis that they were racially motivated due to media portrayal of not only the defendants, but all people of color and Latinos as criminals.   The courtroom was small and the defendants were not allowed to sit near or communicate with their attorneys during the trial. None of those charged were permitted to change their clothes during the trial, by order of Judge Fricke. The district attorney requested this order on

1404-517: The border. These migrants became known as pachucos. "Pachuco" could also have derived from the name of the city of Pachuca , Hidalgo , Mexico, as the majority of Mexican migration to the United States came from the Central Plateau region, of which Hidalgo is a part. Connections have also been found between "Pachucos" and mixed civilians who lived near the Mexican–American border during

1456-491: The boring and somber slum lifestyle by using bright, eccentric, and flamboyant colors. At the time, this style was harshly attacked for excessive use of fabric, which many Americans claimed was meant to be rationed out for the war effort. The morning of August 2, 1942, José Gallardo Díaz was found unconscious and later died in the hospital. The autopsy revealed that Díaz was intoxicated and had blunt head trauma as well as multiple stab wounds, but ultimately they could not determine

1508-407: The coalition of architects Allied Architects Association , its Art-Deco construction earned it the nickname the "Great Stone Mother" and had 3,000 patient beds. The 1994 Northridge earthquake on January 17, 1994, renewed concerns about building safety codes, and specifically those for hospitals. The California Hospital Seismic Safety Law was signed into law on September 21, 1994. The new law took

1560-545: The country into Los Angeles heightened racial tensions in the city. A grand jury, headed by E. Duran Ayres, was appointed by the Los Angeles City Council to investigate an alleged "Mexican crime wave". At this time, the Zoot Suit was becoming a large trend for Mexican-American women as a sign of new-wave feminism, as a way to express themselves, to break out of the normal clothing styles of the time and to fight against

1612-534: The early 1930s and exacerbated by the Great Depression , approximately one million Mexican immigrants and native-born Americans of Mexican descent were forced to leave the United States for Mexico during Mexican Repatriation . Repatriation occurred across many different states, with an estimated 75,000 people forced from Southern California to Mexico during this period. An estimated 60% of them were U.S. citizen minors due to birthright citizenship . In February 1942,

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1664-647: The efforts of the SLDC and time in order for the government to finally reverse the initial convictions. The SLDC constantly pushed the idea that the government was an attack on young Mexican Americans and emphasized that these injustices could be fought. Not only did they do this, but they also did what they could in order to try and reverse the views that people had on young Mexican Americans. LAC%2BUSC Medical Center Los Angeles General Medical Center (also known as LA General and formerly known as Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center , County/USC , County General or by

1716-511: The eggs" they had been given by a mother of one of the accused defendants during a time of poverty. He enlisted the help of Orson Welles and Eleanor Roosevelt, and was branded a communist as a result of his activities, which almost cost him his career. Some SLDC members included: Alice McGrath , Josefina Fierro de Bright , Josefa Fierro, Maria Alvez, Luisa Moreno , Dorothy Healey , LaRue McCormick, Lupe Leyvas, Henry Leyvas, Doc Johnson, Frank Lopez, Bert Corona , and Gray Bemis. The SLDC's mission

1768-410: The excess fabric used in their zoot suits. Pachucos boldly chose not to follow these regulations, demonstrating rebellious attitudes and pride in their culture. Pachucos continued to flaunt zoot suits, now attained through bootleg tailors. As a result, these flashy zoot suits were seen as unpatriotic by other Americans. This controversial series of events helped shape Pachuco culture, and zoot suits became

1820-465: The faculty. Additionally, the United States Navy sends doctors , nurses and corpsmen to train at the hospital, working alongside staff in the trauma center. The facility is one of two adult Level I trauma centers (providing the highest level of surgical care to trauma patients) operated by Los Angeles County; the other is Harbor–UCLA Medical Center . The hospital was renamed in 2023 to

1872-498: The first floor of the old building, was opened in 2014. It is open to the public and includes offices for nonprofit organizations, community outreach and classes for wellness activities, a dance studio, a small YMCA on State Street, and extensive new landscaping. While this building no longer meets the California Hospital Seismic Safety Law, it does meet current seismic standards for non-hospital use. In 2020,

1924-643: The front lines with the United States Marine Corps, at sea with the United States Navy, or ashore at Fleet Hospitals and Shock Trauma Platoons. In 2013, American Cancer Society awarded Los Angeles General Medical Center with the Harold P. Freeman Award in recognition of the hospital's achievements to reduce cancer disparities among medically underserved populations. The original hospital, located at 1200 North State Street, opened in 1933. Designed by

1976-595: The grounds that the jury should see the defendants in the zoot suits that were "obviously" worn only by "hoodlums". Every time a defendant's name was mentioned by a witness or the district attorney, regardless of how damning the statement was, the named defendant was required to stand up. Judge Fricke also permitted the chief of the Foreign Relations Bureau of the Los Angeles Sheriff's office, E. Duran Ayres, to testify as an "expert witness" that Mexicans as

2028-405: The late 1960s American life. The "Pachuca," the female counterpart of the Pachuco, had an aesthetic sensibility as strong as the male zoot suiter. The Pachuca's hairstyle tended to be a high "coif" or bouffant , with the hair put up in some way (a more pronounced version of the typical hair style of the time) by ratting their hair or affixing hair rats. Their makeup was heavy, particularly using

2080-401: The murder charges and placed on trial. The seventeen defendants were to be subject to a verdict regarding the death of Jose Diaz. Twelve of these people were declared guilty for the murder of Diaz and the other five were found guilty of assault. Ysmael Parra was one of the seventeen people who were convicted for the death of Jose Diaz. Parra was sentenced to serve five years to life in prison and

2132-511: The original pediatrics and obstetrics ward was torn down in order to be replaced by affordable housing. The Los Angeles County Hospital and the University of Southern California Medical School were first affiliated in 1885, five years after USC was founded. It was originally established as a 100-bed hospital with 47 patients. The present-day LA General complex is adjacent to the University of Southern California Health Sciences Campus, which includes

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2184-415: The pachuco look. The unique speech of pachucos was a very important element of their defined style. Consisting of creative phrases and some English words, Caló was a very popular form of speech among pachucos. Pachucos were seen as gangsters in the eyes of conservative Americans with ethnic prejudices. The Mexican Nobel laureate Octavio Paz writes in the essay, "The Pachuco and Other Extremes" that

2236-527: The supervision of Judge Charles W. Fricke. Twelve of the defendants were convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to serve time in San Quentin Prison . The rest were charged with lesser offenses and incarcerated in the Los Angeles County Jail . The convictions were reversed on appeal in 1944. The case is considered a precursor to the Zoot Suit Riots later in 1943. Sleepy Lagoon was

2288-502: The trial judge for his bias in and mishandling of the case. After the Zoot Suit Riots, the convictions of the seventeen people were overturned. There was a lack of evidence to convict the defendants to begin with and it was Diaz's autopsy report that showed that he was highly inebriated and received trauma to the head, which likely could have been caused by his own doing. However, the convictions did not immediately get overturned. It took

2340-528: The turn of the century, and between "Pachucos" and the poor soldiers who fought in the Mexican Revolution in the armies of Pancho Villa . Pachuco style was a dominating trend among Mexican-American youth in the 1930s-40s. Pachucos became known for their distinguished look, dialogue, and actions. Pachucos dressed in recognizable Zoot suits , and often styled their hair into ducktails . Things like decorative chains and tattoos were also sometimes part of

2392-479: The way that Judge Fricke went about the case as a result of the manner in which the case was handled, gaining support for the defendants. The committee was labeled a Communist front organization by the California state legislature's Joint Fact-Finding Committee on Un-American Activities chaired by Jack Tenney . Actor Anthony Quinn wrote that he began raising money for the defense after his mother urged him to "remember

2444-415: Was convicted with intent to commit murder. Along with Parra, Henry Ynostroza, Gus Zammora, Jack Melendez, Victor Thompson,  Manuel Reyes, Angel Padilla, Robert Telles, Manuel Delgado and John Matuz all received a five to life in prison after their conviction. Ruiz, Leyvas, and Telles were immediately sentenced to life in prison for first degree murder. Several of the accused challenged these convictions on

2496-566: Was outraged and several attorneys challenged Judge Fricke's decisions: George Shibley, Robert Kenny , Clore Ware, Ben Margolis, John McTernan, Carey McWilliams , and several others. Together they hoped to remind the European American society that minorities had the right to testify in court and have impartial jury trials. McWilliams noted that a few months earlier over 120,000 Japanese Americans were detained and interned in detention camps , and later argued that there were common links between

2548-472: Was perceived as so-called "proof of Mexican degeneracy." Mexican critics such as Octavio Paz denounced the pachuco as a man who had "lost his whole inheritance: language, religion, customs, belief." In response, Chicanos heavily criticized Paz and embraced the oppositional position of the pachuco as an embodied representation of resistance to Anglo-American cultural hegemony . To Chicanos, the pachuco had acquired and emanated self-empowerment and agency through

2600-528: Was popular among men. It later spread throughout the Southwest into Los Angeles, where it developed further. In the border areas of California and Texas , a distinct youth culture known as pachuquismo developed in the 1940s and has been credited as an influence to Chicanismo . In LA, Chicano zoot suiters developed their own cultural identity, "with their hair done in big pompadours , and 'draped' in tailor-made suits ... They spoke caló , their own language,

2652-426: Was quick to arrest seventeen Mexican-American youths–Jack Melendez, Victor Thompson, Angel Padilla, John Y. Matuz, Ysmael Parra (Smiles), Henry Leyvas, Gus Zamora, Manuel Reyes, Robert Telles, Manuel Delgado, Jose Ruiz (Chepe), Victor Segobia, and Henry Ynostroza–as suspects. Despite insufficient evidence, the young men were held in jail, without bail , on charges of murder. The trial ended on January 13, 1943, under

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2704-574: Was to mount a civil rights crusade so that these 12 Mexican-American defendants could have an unbiased trial. The SLDC utilized their contacts with influential community members to promote their cause and for fund-raising purposes to be able to support their cause. After Judge Fricke's verdict in January, the Mexican-American youths were imprisoned without evidence and because they were "Mexican and dangerous", ipso facto . The Mexican American community

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