VALLEY'S MEXICAN POPULATION BOOMING.

Byline: Beth Barrett Staff Writer

People of Mexican ancestry flocked to the San Fernando Valley during the 1990s at a rate seven times higher than the rest of the city in pursuit of better education, housing, jobs and their ancestral roots, new U.S. Census Bureau data show.

While the rest of Los Angeles' Mexican population grew less than 3 percent during the decade, the Valley's grew by more than 57 percent to just over 370,000 people of Mexican ancestry. That's just over 27 percent of the Valley's population, according to the census.

Mexicans now make up about 65 percent of the Valley's Hispanic population.

Los Angeles overall has a slightly higher percentage of Hispanics: 46.5 percent to 42.1 percent in the Valley. Much of the city's Hispanic growth historically has been among Central and South Americans.

Census data released earlier this year showed Hispanics slightly outnumbering non-Hispanic whites in the Valley for the first time, but did not provide great detail. Mexican ancestry includes people born in Mexico, as well as those born in the U.S. with Mexican ancestors.

Irene Tovar, chief executive officer for the Latin American Civic Association and a first generation Mexican-American, said the Valley is the historic home to many families whose ancestors immigrated to work in agriculture.

Until recently, though, many of those families were ``physically or psychologically invisible'' as largely white, middle-class suburbs dominated the landscape.

``Where it was considered white, middle class, that's no longer the case,'' Tovar said. ``I lived here all my life, and there used to be two valleys: the West Valley, which was culturally, economically and socially different from the East Valley, which was more minority, working poor, lower middle class. Now, the lines of demarcation are not as clear. Our presence is everywhere.''

Tovar and others said the shift in demographics is both an opportunity and a challenge for the region, with a larger work force, more diverse cultural opportunities and an infusion of people determined to make a better life. But they also said tensions are practically inevitable.

``The discomfort zone is coming,'' said Tovar, who heads the oldest Latino nonprofit in the San Fernando Valley.

``The challenge will be, do we intensify negative feelings about Hispanics, which are transferred in a more sophisticated way to talking about immigrants and more crime? Or do we start working very hard in the schools and in every segment of society to understand how to co-exist? It's a very real issue. We're being challenged. How can we get along?''

Lizette Sanchez, a 17-year-old Valley resident beginning criminology studies at California State University, Northridge, said her parents immigrated from Mexico to Pacoima to start their family.

When it was time to send their teens to high school, they bought a home in Reseda to be be nearer better schools, she said.

Sanchez said she can see effects of the growing Mexican population on the Valley in many ways, some of which directly affected her family.

``Soccer is a main point,'' she said. ``My dad put my older brother in baseball, because there wasn't a lot of soccer. My little brother only played soccer.''

Sanchez says one of her best friends immigrated from Mexico and is now also in college.

``She says there's a lot more opportunities here, but it's up to people to take advantage of them,'' said Sanchez, who's taking a summer class at Pierce College.

At Pierce, Carlos Basulto, 22, said he's studying to be a teacher. The son of Mexican immigrants, Basulto said he hopes others of Mexican ancestry share his family's experience.

``It was good for my parents, so why not for them?'' said Basulto, who lives in Northridge.

Chris Williamson, associate professor at the University of Southern California, said Mexicans are attracted to the Valley for common reasons: affordable housing, good schools, job opportunities, and less crime.

Because the region is home to many Mexicans already, it is an easier transition for newcomers, he said. ``Recent immigrants start out on the south side of the (Santa Monica) mountains then move to the north where families can get bigger houses for less money.''

The latest census figures, which also provide age and housing information, showed the average Valley household contains 3.2 persons, compared with 2.8 persons for Los Angeles as a whole.

Valley residents also on average are older - at 33.5 years, compared with 31.6 years for L.A.

The shift in population, accelerated by more than 128,000 non-Hispanic whites leaving the Valley during the 1990s, has been felt in politics, too.

Joel Kotkin, senior fellow at Pepperdine University's Davenport University, said that in City Council President Alex Padilla, and other Valley politicians, the region is beginning to carve out its own Latino political identity.

``The center of Latino politics has been the Eastside (of L.A.), and now it's starting to become the Valley,'' Kotkin said.

Kotkin said Valley Latino politicians seem more interested in ``mainstream'' issues like safe streets, trash collection, and good schools, rather than the more radical ``Chicano'' politics that grew up in the 1960s around East Los Angeles.

``It's a different kind of politics,'' Kotkin said, representing a constituency that's in search of a better lifestyle.

``They're not moving to L.A.,'' Kotkin said. ``They may be stuck in Pico Union for a while, but that's not where they want to end up.''

Padilla said the census basically describes, ``my family.''

His parents moved from Mexico to Pacoima, where he emerged as a top student, before going to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Padilla said he is grateful for the generations of Latino politicians who preceded him, yet has his own vision.

``Mine are the politics of potholes, public safety, opportunities for kids, quality jobs and additional housing to address the shortage,'' he said.