The Los Angeles City Council has decided to protect a stuffed donkey that has become a landmark of downtown LA’s famous Olvera Street.
“El Burro,” or the donkey, has drawn countless people to Richard Hernandez’s business, La Carreta.
“It became an icon. It became a landmark here,” Hernandez said.
La Carreta was founded in 1968 and for years visitors came to take photos with the family’s real donkey, Cirila. In the 1980s the donkey was replaced by the life-size stuffed donkey named Jorge.
“The donkey has been here for as long as I can remember,” said resident Christina Mora. “I have a picture of my daughter…she was little and my husband was on the donkey.”
Hernandez hopes the donkey and its business will remain here for generations to come. His family recently had problems with their lease and was on the verge of eviction.
“My mother came to the office in 2019 to make sure my sister, brother and I had the new contracts,” Hernandez said. “She officially filed the paperwork for some reason, but management neglected to involve mine and my other sister in this company.”
So when his mother died unexpectedly in April, Hernandez says five days later, he was told by the executive director of the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument Authority board of directors that he had to leave.
“But I said, ‘Wait a minute, my mom filed the paperwork,’” Hernandez said. “He said he went to the city attorney’s office and said I don’t have a case, I don’t have a contract, you need to leave.”
Hernandez turned to Councilman Kevin de Leon for help.
“The fact that he was deported is so crazy,” De Leon said.
On Friday, the city council unanimously approved a motion by de Leon. It asks the board to immediately reconsider the lease and add the names of Hernandez and his sister to the lease.
“I have the full support of the City Council,” Hernandez said. “I think I have a fighting chance.”
The authority’s general director, Arturo Chavez, said he had no comment and declined to answer our questions.
“This is my life’s passion, it really is,” Hernandez said. “I love it. It doesn’t make me rich, but it does enrich my life.”
