La Placita development will be a game-changer for East San Jose

A few years ago, I had a conversation with the late Chris Esparza about La Placita, an expansion of the Mexican Heritage Plaza that had become his passion project. As an event producer, he knew that each time an awesome event was held at the East San Jose venue, the specter of gentrification creeped in a little more.

It was important, he told me, to make sure that events and future development helped the people in the Alum Rock neighborhood instead of pushing them out.

He would have...