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CommentsDoors close at L.A.’s La Fonda
Last month maestro Nati Cano and Mariachi Los Camperos dazzled audiences at Mesa Arts Center in a concert performance. Back home in Los Angeles, however, Cano’s La Fonda de Los Camperos, a Wilshire Boulevard restaurant in which he showcased mariachi culture for nearly 40 years, was closed.
In an October Los Angeles Times story it was revealed that Cano and his business had been evicted because the building had been sold. Cano, 74, had fought the eviction in court, but after $80,000 in legal fees, decided to throw in the towel after three years of fighting the new landlord, who is identified in court documents only as 2501 Wilshire Associates.
Los Camperos gave their final performance at La Fonda on Oct. 28. Cano has said he’ll reopen at a new location within a year. According to the L.A. Times story, Cano’s landlord first raised the rent and sued for back rent of $125,000 in 2004. In addition, the group demanded Cano soundproof the building because the mariachi’s music was upsetting new upstairs theater tenants.
Cano’s attorney, J. Randall Faith, say the new owners are forcing out Cano because gentrification of the surrounding area was driving up property values and La Fonda didn’t fit into the landlord’s plans.
