Barrioization

Over time, barrio began to refer to areas of cities in Mexico where working class lived, especially as this was the primary role Indigenous peoples played in the colonial system.

The community was exploited for their labor and was a center for poverty, crime, and illness in the city, yet also existed as a place where Spanish-speaking residents could "feel at home and abandon the masks they wore in the Anglo world.

The city was divided into rich and poor areas, and most recent Mexican immigrants lived in poorer districts, the largest of which was Sonoratown.

Conversely, wealthy Californios lived in richer areas and moved away from the central plaza as Sonoratown expanded outward.

[4] Today, the area of southeastern Los Angeles County is "home to one of the largest and highest concentrations of Latinos in Southern California," according to geographer James R. Curtis, who is commonly attributed to coining the term in AP Human Geography.