Mexican Entertainment in Downtown San José, WWII-1960

Title

Mexican Entertainment in Downtown San José, WWII-1960

Description

Downtown San José was the regional social hub for Mexican residents. On weekends, locals were joined by farm workers from nearby rural regions of the San Joaquin Valley to eat at a Mexican restaurant, watch a Spanish-language movie, meet friends for a drink, or go dancing.

On Market Street a strip of restaurants and stores catered to a Mexican clientele. After WWII, the Liberty Theater, the Victory, the Lyric, and the José offered first-run movies from México and staged personal appearances from singers and performers. Local ballrooms (see ballroom section) also enlivened the downtown social scene. The proximity of nightclubs, many Mexican restaurants and shops that encouraged their patronage, was a major draw to those who had only limited services in their small communities or the work camps scattered throughout the region.

After WWII El Eccentrico, the local Spanish-language entertainment magazine, established in 1948 (running until 1980), carried ads for shops, grocers, restaurants, and real estate and insurance agents catering to a Mexican clientele. Alongside the ads were announcements of clubs, concerts, and community events.

Additional Online Information

The Bronze Screen: 100 Years of the Latino Image in Hollywood Cinema on Vimeo

"Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" Ethnic Mexicans, Urbanism, Culture, and Politics in Emerging Silicon Valley

Identifier

B4SV Exhibit Topic Four: Slide 016