This Los Angeles Times article follows the search for the final resting place of a Jewish Yiddish author named Lamed Shapiro. He is buried at Mount Zion Jewish cemetery in East Los Angeles. This cemetery was a place for poor Jews to be buried and is mostly cement and tombstones. The cemetery is described as being abandoned and vandalized. No one knows who even owns it anymore and it hasn’t had a funeral in over six years. The writings of Shapiro are described as being graphically violent but beautiful. It is interesting that this author whose writings are describe d as being gothic lays to rest in a cemetery of forgotten.
This article is interesting because it shows how important the cemeteries are to the cultural history of East L.A. The article describes East Los Angeles as a type of Ellis Island where many cultural groups have passed and the cemeteries serve as markers of this diverse history. The presence of this cemetery in East L.A. is very abject because it has essentially been cast off by the Jewish community. No one is claiming it and while there is minimal maintenance done to the area it is ultimately destined to become ruins. This article ties back to Their Dogs Came with Them because Turtle sleeps in a cemetery. Turtle, like Mount Zion is a somewhat unclaimed and abandoned character. She has no clear definition of her sexuality or place in the world, just as Mount Zion has no clear owner. While Turtle can claim her affiliation with the McBride boys and Mount Zion can find affiliation with the Jewish community both are still outcasts in those groups as well.
It saddens me to see how little the municipal government cares for the memory of these people. If the property’s owners are unknown then shouldn’t the city take care of the decaying cemetery until this dilemma is solved? They could give authority to the mentioned Jewish foundations to look after the cite.
Although I understand that the Jewish community must invest its funds on more pragmatic and socially relevant programs, it is deeply disturbing to think of this wasteland of the dead that nobody looks after and nobody honors anymore.
I can see a link between Mount Zion and Viramontes’ description of East LA. They both strike me as places ignored by the authorities,a place suspended in time where prosperity and opportunity cannot reach, a place of the abandoned and forgotten.
While reading the article, I noticed that I had a conflict between thinking that it is very shameful how the deceased could be forgotten and understanding that money is the real issue and should be dealt with people who are still alive and need help. It definitely is difficult to reach out and know what to make of this cemetery.
I found this part call out to me:
“This is a cemetery in need most people don’t know exists,” Sanderson said. “It’s a cemetery that no longer really belongs to anyone.”
Turtle really is one who tries to be “one of the boys” and is in need of some type of affection and attention. However being a girl, trying to be part of the McBride boys, causes her to not really belong. This makes her no longer a real girl, and neither is she a real boy.