The preservation of Ellwood Mesa’s creek, fields, bluffs, coastline, and, of course, monarch butterflies roused community forces during the 1990s, and Lola Nava Guerra threw her heart, soul, and sewing machine into the effort, wowing Solstice Parade crowds and elevating the visibility of mere insects. Lola committed herself to ethical undertakings throughout her life, from avoiding lettuce and grapes during the United Farm Workers struggle to teaching immigrant Goleta schoolchildren the importance of bilingual skills.
She lived and practiced the values she spoke of, an integrity she learned growing up in a Boyle Heights neighborhood filled with Mexican, Italian, Russian, Armenian, and Japanese families all trying to live the American Dream. Born February 20, 1925, to Mexican immigrants, Julian and Refugio Nava, from the state of Zacatecas, Lola was the fourth of eight children. She was active in athletics and student government at Roosevelt High School, which she likened to the United Nations, proud to help shape that environment.
It was at Roosevelt High that she noticed Jesus “Jess” Guerra, whom she would later marry and enjoy 60 years and six children with. They weren’t friends in high school, but they took stock of each other — she saw a quiet boy, always wearing a tie and carrying a black case, and he remembers Lola, very often the last one to algebra class. She would be with a group of students laughing, and he could always hear Lola’s happy, loud voice over all others.
