I interviewed Paul at the Avila Adobe, built in 1818 and known today as the oldest standing house in Los Angeles. Previously, he had taken me on a tour of the area where we visited La Placita Cemetery, La Plaza de Cultura y Artes and Olvera Street. Paul was born in 1945 and is a direct descendant of four of the original eleven families that founded Los Angeles: Pablo and Rosaria Rodríguez, Jose and Guadalupe Moreno, Basilio and Manuela Rosas, and Alejandro and Juana Rosas.

Two of his ancestors married local ‘‘Gabrieleño’’ Indians, so Paul proudly identifies himself as a ‘‘Gabrieleño,’’ a term that refers to the native people associated with San Gabriel Mission. He also considers himself a ‘‘Californio,’’ a descendant of the Spanish or Mexican families that were in Alta California prior to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed in 1848.