East Los Angeles is an unincorporated community in central Los Angeles County, occupying about 7.4 square miles immediately east of downtown Los Angeles and the Los Angeles River. It is the largest census-designated place in California, with a population of roughly 119,000, and it stands as one of the most significant centers of Mexican American life in the United States, with about 96 percent of residents identifying as Latino. Because it is unincorporated, the community receives municipal services from Los Angeles County rather than a city government. The community's cultural heart is Whittier Boulevard, the east-west corridor that became the epicenter of the Chicano movement a half-century ago and remains a symbol of Mexican American identity, cruising, and lowrider culture. The boulevard's street vendors, murals, and landmarks such as the El Arco arch reflect the community's pride and history, and its commercial life anchors the surrounding residential neighborhoods. East Los Angeles also played a defining role in the 1968 East L.A. walkouts, when students from five local high schools, including Garfield High School, protested educational inequality in a movement that reshaped Chicano activism and schooling in the region. Garfield High School, part of the Los Angeles Unified School District, remains one of the community's central institutions. Dense single-family neighborhoods, small apartment buildings, and a busy network of commercial strips give East Los Angeles an urban, walkable character. The Metro E Line light rail runs between East Los Angeles and Santa Monica, and the community is framed by the San Bernardino, Pomona, Golden State, and Long Beach freeways, providing fast access to downtown Los Angeles and the broader region.