Among the many Latino communities that call Los Angeles home, many Ecuadorian immigrants continue to develop their own tight-knit community to support one another and preserve their culture not only for themselves but for future generations.

However, due to recent concerns about anti-immigrant rhetoric and the threat of mass deportations, these communities find support with one another in community hubs around the city. Whether the space is a restaurant, social club or even convenience store, the Ecuadorian community tries to ensure their residents feel supported through these fearful times.

Casita de Cancún Olé

In Larchmont, the Casita de Cancún Olé is an Ecuadorian restaurant owned by Carmen Platón open on Sundays. Platón runs the restaurant out of her own home where she’s operated it ever since the start of the pandemic. She believes due to the more intimate setting of the restaurant, it allows guests to feel more comfortable with one another.

“They come as if you were in your own home. Everyone puts on music. They put on the game. We’re all Ecuadorians here,” Platón said in Spanish. “We all know each other and if we don’t, we’ll befriend them as well.”

As the Casita shifts from quiet afternoons to boisterous evenings, the restaurant cultivates a space for guests to catch up with one another and share a meal together. The restaurant hosts live performances during the evenings as more guests show up and guests often dance with one another to end off the Sunday evening. However, Platón doesn’t just serve food for the money, but also wants to make sure all her guests are doing well in their lives and offers help when she can.

“If you’re persistent, consistent in achieving your goal, you’ll achieve it. Never say no,” Platón says. “I like helping out the Ecuadorian community a lot and not only on my end but the Ecuadorian consulate has asked me for help for a lot of people.”

Platón has in the past housed immigrants sent by the consulate who had recently arrived in the country. She says she encourages the immigrants she encounters to keep fighting and working to reach their goals and even offers her time to help them find jobs when they stop by the house.

Sara Luzuriaga, a frequent customer at the Casita, says she enjoys her time at the restaurant due to the environment and everyone that comes by.

“I love all the food [Carmen] makes,” Luzuriaga said in Spanish. “We all get along well with each other. We’re like a family.”

Elysian Park

While the Casita is a hotspot for Ecuadorian food on Sundays, several vendors set up shop at Elysian Park on Saturdays. Luzuriaga helps sell food with her friend Dilma Menedes, at a pop-up spot called "La Manaba". Although Menedes sells Ecuadorian food alongside the other vendors in the park, she herself is Salvadorian but has embraced the community in the five years she’s sold at the park.

“I really like the variety of food. It’s not simple, it’s complicated and I think that’s what grabs my interest,” Menedes said in Spanish. “Thankfully, everyone has been supportive of me.”

With the success of “La Manaba”, Menedes said it is important for people to explore and embrace cultures apart from their own. She has clients from all nationalities come visit her spot in Elysian, which she says receives a good reception from them as well as the Ecuadorian community.

“We live in a multicultural country and it’s up to us to learn a lot of things here,” Menedes said. “Just because I’m Salvadorian doesn’t mean I’ll just cook pupusas. It’s up to oneself to learn.”

When visitors come to Elysian Park on Saturdays, not only will they encounter several food vendors, but they can also find recreational activities such as volleyball games and live band performances throughout the day. Volleyball, a popular sport among the Ecuadorian community, will cultivate small crowds as well as the live bands who will perform primarily salsa, another popular genre in the Ecuadorian community.

Issac Paredes, owner of “The Empanada Guy”, is another vendor located in Elysian Park that has been in operation since 2023. Paredes says places such as Elysian Park offer a place for Ecuadorians in Southern California to come and socialize with one another on the weekends. Since many of the Ecuadorians are spread out around the city, a central place such as the park can help bring the community together.

“The guys have been playing volleyball here for over 40 years. This park is a park of Ecuadorians and Ecuadorians at heart,” Paredes said in Spanish. “There are people that are married with other nationalities and that’s why we call them Ecuadorians at heart.”

EcuaWorld Express

In addition to the restaurants and pop-ups of the Ecuadorian community, EcuaWorld Express, located in Historic Filipinotown, offer their courier services as a means to remain connected with the country.

Fabian German, owner of EcuaWorld Express, runs the business alongside his wife which also sells a variety of imported Ecuadorian products such as snacks and cooking ingredients. German did not create EcuaWorld, but instead bought the business from its previous owners who he knew.

“EcuaWorld Express has more than 40 years of service in the community. It’s an icon within the Ecuadorian community in California,” German said in Spanish. “From what I know as to why EcuaWorld started, it was because there was a need to send packages to Ecuador given the community was growing at the time.”

German calls himself lucky when it comes to his arrival to the city in 2013. He attended parties and social gatherings within the Ecuadorian community since his sister had arrived before him and had developed a few social connections by then.

Ancon Club of Los Angeles

One well-known social club within the community is the Ancon Club of Los Angeles. The club focuses on hosting and promoting cultural events for the Ecuadorian community. The club also benefits from having a physical location right outside the city in Gardena. The club started back in 1973 and currently operates under the presidency of Luis Coronel.

“I believe every immigrant has a fundamental belief to not forget about their roots,” Coronel said. “I think it’s an obligation on behalf of every immigrant family.”

However, there are fears about the current political climate in the United States and the current administration’s attitude toward immigrants. Luzuriaga says people are afraid of what may happen to them.

“You see how it is now. Immigration goes around taking people,” Luzuriaga said. “The people here are afraid.”

German agrees with seeing a fear arise among immigrants due to recent rhetoric from the Trump administration. He is concerned about the perception that is starting to build up toward the city’s immigrant population.

“As an immigrant, community member, volunteer, and business owner that lives off the customers in the community in this city, it’s very worrisome what’s going on,” German said. “It’s worrisome that unfortunately that seems to be a search for a certain racial profile.”

Dr. Angie Guan, associate professor of child and adolescent development at California State University, Northridge, says the current social context and rhetoric can bring on feelings of isolation for both immigrants and their children

"Language carries cultural meaning. It carries values. What do we care about as a society?" Guan explains. "When we use rhetoric like that we're saying we don't care about you."

Despite the recent rise in concerns for the Ecuadorians in the community, these community hubs serve as spaces where people can express themselves to the fullest. Whether they are directly from the country, a descendent or even just a friend, they will be able to find community there.