La Cuatro — as the downtown stretch in Santa Ana is fondly called by locals — is usually a busy destination.
Families shop for quinceañera dresses, others check out El Vaquero, known for its cowboy boots. Street vendors serve up cold agua frescas or fruit cups loaded with lime and Tajín. Everywhere you look, Latin culture is front and central in this mostly Latino city.
But, now with the federal government stepping up immigration enforcement, the mood on La Cuatro has changed. On a recent afternoon when a LAist reporter visited, it was like a ghost town with no foot traffic or street vendors.
It’s like the pandemic all over again, said Jose Rodriguez, known as Mr. Diablito, a fruit vendor who typically sets up shop at the corner of 4th and Bush streets…