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Artbound
How Olvera Street Became the Tourist Spot We Know Today
In 1932, socialite Christine Sterling sold the idea of Olvera Street in an effort to boost tourism in the city. With financial support from the wealthy Chandler family, Sterling's romanticized imagination of Mexican culture came to life and would later become the ironic backdrop of muralist David Alfaro Siquieros's provocative mural "América Tropical."
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