Hundreds of people of different ethnicities gather to enjoy a place rich in history and in Mexican culture.

Exclusive Mexican souvenirs and authentic foods are available on every corner.

In its description this place sounds as if it were thousands of miles away. In reality, this place is right next door; it’s Olvera Street in downtown Los Angeles.

With many events taking place and countless gift shops to visit, Olvera Street may be a place to celebrate this Cinco de Mayo. The Olvera Candle Shop, in particular, is surrounded by a surplus amount of history and features.

Hidden in the corner of this candle shop, on top of an old wooden wine barrel, sits a 70-year-old candle comprised of 100 percent beeswax; it tells a story rich in history, family, tradition and culture.

History and development

In 1930, Ann Goodman and her sister opened the candle shop. It was one of the first shops on Olvera Street.

Susan Phillips, one of the four current owners of the shop, said that “this was the first candle shop on Olvera Street and the first candle shop in L.A.”

“The candle represents the history behind this shop, which actually used to be a candle factory,” Phillips said.

Phillips and her three sisters, Alyce Madrid, Tina Hartnett and Nancy Ally, went into business together in 1986 when they purchased the shop from the Goodman sisters.

“We decided to buy the shop because we all grew up here (Olvera Street),” Phillips said. “Our parents own the leather goods store (Rudy’s Gift Imports) right across the street and we all grew up working there, so it was just natural to buy this place.”

Phillips and her sisters make a constant effort to instill the tradition and culture in their own children in hopes of helping them understand the importance of their heritage.

“Now our children are starting to work here just like we all did when we were young.” Phillips said. “It’s great to see this passed down from generation to generation.”

From candles to figurines

Walking into the store is like stepping into a museum of color fragrances, art and wax. It is a visual kaleidoscope and it is impossible to see everything because there is so much more than just candles.

“One thing we hear a lot of our customers saying is that we have a lot of things that are unique,” Phillips’ sister Nancy Ally said.

The walls of the shop are covered with crucifixes and visions of the Virgin Mary. Statues and figurines of skeletons, common to the Day of the Dead, can be found in every crevice. Books on Chicano folklore, dreams, death and revolutionary Cuban art wall paper the back walls and pieces of captivating images, created by local artists, cover every inch of any open space that remains.

“We’re always looking for something people won’t normally find other places,” Ally said. “We look for things that are authentic and things that are made in Mexico or made by local artists.”

When the Goodman sisters first opened the shop, there were two sections of the store, the front and the back.

The sisters used the back section as a factory where they made the candles they sold.

“We no longer make the candles here in the shop,” Phillips said. “It’s been almost twenty years since candles were actually made here due to building and safety issues.”

Fulfilling customers’ needs

Even though candles aren’t being made in the back of the shop any longer, Phillips said she and her sisters will special order almost any type of candles needed or wanted.

“We do a lot of special orders here and we have a lot of clientele who are repeat customers,” Phillips said.

The 70-year-old candle receives many bids for purchase, but Phillips said it’s the one thing they will never sell.

“We will always keep the candle,” Phillips said. “No matter how much someone might offer to buy it for, we won’t sell; it’s history.”