History is Evergreen to him

Shmuel Gonzales has deep roots in the city, and lives to tell its untold stories.

- CERYS DAVIES

A WALKING TOUR through Evergreen Cemetery in Boyle Heights showcases Los Angeles' diversity.

Photographs by ERIC THAYER Los Angeles Times

A tour in Los Angeles usually entails riding around the city in an open-air vehicle, as a tour guide points out celebrity homes, scenic photo ops and famous movie locations.

But in Boyle Heights, local historian and tour guide Shmuel Gonzales takes a more personal approach. The community organizer, who goes by the name "Barrio Boychik," tells the lesser-known stories of the historically multicultural neighborhood.

"We want our history told correctly, and for it to represent the stories of the working-class immigrants who live here. We needed someone from the community to be able to do it," said Gonzales, who sat by the main gates of the Evergreen Cemetery, ready to begin his walking tour. "I had to step up."

It was a cloudy Sunday morning, and the cemetery was uncharacteristically green after L.A.'s recent spout of rain. Ten visitors gathered around Gonzales, eager to begin the history lesson.

With slicked-back hair and a thick binder in hand, he kept an eye out for potential stragglers. Roughly a week before Día de los Muertos, Gonzales focused the tour on the significance of the Evergreen Cemetery in L.A. and its role in the city's first Día de los Muertos event.

With endless rows of moss-ridden, uneven headstones and towering postmortem monuments, the Evergreen Cemetery isn't hard to miss. Most Boyle Heights residents encounter it daily, as it's bordered by several of the neighborhood's main streets: Cesar Chavez Avenue, Lorena Street, Evergreen Avenue and 1st Street.