Amid ICE raids and neighborhoods still scarred by past fires, immigrants and survivors are finding sanctuary in unexpected places: botánicas. They are more than just shops for purchasing candles, incense, cleansing bundles, and religious statues. These shops offer spaces to grieve, heal and reclaim a sense of control.
Botánicas function as vital community space holders and casual counseling centers, offering a sense of control and justice during turbulent times, Ellie Valdivia tells The LA Local.
“People were and still are, living with the impact of fear and terror throughout our communities”, says Valdivia who founded Earthy Corazon, a botánica in City Terrace.
For the estimated 3.5 million immigrants living in Los Angeles County, changes to federal immigration policy under President Trump have created uncertainty for many.
Changes in immigration status, deportations, concerns of targeted racial profiling by law enforcement and economic challenges have affected many immigrants in Los Angeles County.
Many in the community were already dealing with the losses and displacement from the Eaton and Palisades fires.
With all that pressure, survival is a deeply emotional, spiritual, and mental experience, Valdivia says botánicas are more essential than ever.
These places, she explains, are an offering of community, nourishment, semblances of control and even justice. “This whole place is my ofrenda,” she adds.
A brief history of botánicas
Botánicas and spiritual shops are cultural spaces rooted in Afro-Caribbean, Indigenous and Latin American traditions.
These shops trace their roots to ancient Aztec and African traditions.
Modern storefronts took root in Cuba and Puerto Rico in the 1950s and early 1960s, assisting local communities with herbal medicines and spiritual comforts.
As migration to larger cities in the Americas occurred – including to the United States – migrants brought ceremonial practices and traditions, eventually establishing botánicas as shops that double as community centers.
Today, there are hundreds of botánicas all over Los Angeles County. And they have become essential spaces for countless LA residents, according to Jose Berber, an employee at Botánicas Olokun in Boyle Heights.
He says many people come to botánicas to remain rooted in a mixture of pre-colonial traditions – while also engaging in ongoing assimilationist cultural practices — to maintain a sense of safety, locally and transnationally.
These four botánicas are a haven
From Hollywood to City Terrace, all four of these botánicas are working extra hard to offer sanctuary for the weary traveler seeking spiritual safety.
Under Trump’s immigration crackdown, these botánicas have amped up physical protection, too.
You will often find “Know Your Rights” pamphlets in English and Spanish, informational signs at the entrance and declarations that “this botánicas is a safe space.”
Glitter Moon
Hollywood
5538 1/2 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90038
For communities on the Westside, Glitter Moon has become a go-to haven. They brand themselves as a “small, family-owned modern metaphysical shop.”
Glitter Moon has serviced the community since 2014 and specializes in crystals that offer grounding, incense for cleansing and an array of candles that burn for a “sense of justice.”
Botanica Olokun
Boyle Heights
2011 1st St, Los Angeles, CA 90033
For a lot of immigrants located in Los Angeles, witnessing the wave of deportations that have been aggressive and violent has created a sense of dread. Ceremonies evoking grounding can be a life-giving counter balance to all of that.
The ceremonies, which involve lighting a candle and whispering a prayer, have become a quiet declaration of resistance, according to Berber who works the front desk at Botanica Olokun.
Berber says the ceremonies prove these communities still have strength, autonomy and ultimately, hope.
Botanica Oshun
Boyle Heights
2145 E Cesar E Chavez Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90033
The wave of deportations have also created a new demand for ceremonies functioning as vital, protective practices at Botanica Oshun in Boyle Heights.
The owner, who goes by the mononym Arminda, has been rooted in 35 years of ceremonial, traditional practices.
Some of the protective practices at Botanica Oshun include candles for court cases, spiritual cleanses, safety amulets and candles for opening pathways during tough times.
Earthy Corazon
City Terrace
4015 City Terrace Dr, Los Angeles, CA 9006
Valdivia’s Earthy Corazon has become a pillar for the community in the City Terrace and East LA area.
Even more miraculous from a business perspective, the botánicas has thrived despite opening in the pandemic.
Valdivia, tells The LA Local, that keeping the shop going has been essential during the four years of upheaval that began well before the current ICE raids.
“One of the biggest things has been so much grief and loss,” she says. “But we wanted to continue to hold the space as somewhere people can come and sharethat grief, together.”
