In a city where embellishment and glamorization are hardly unfamiliar, it is only natural that the tale of the Los Angeles' beginnings in September 1781 were written about in ways befitting Cecil B. DeMille, a latter-day resident who knew something about sprucing up a story.

Thus --- as recounted by Msgr. Francis Weber, archdiocesan archivist, in a 1990 Tidings report --- there have been any number of tales depicting the settlement of Los Angeles as a most splendid spectacle, with military and religious dignitaries marching proudly, attired in their finest (no doubt ready for a red carpet, had there been one waiting on the banks of the Rio Porciuncula), followed by the settlers-to-be, eager to begin establishing El Pueblo de Los Angeles of Alta California.

Among the descriptions:

"A procession was formed, headed by Governor de Neve, with a detachment of soldiers carrying the banner of Spain…"

"The civil and military officers were grand in their uniforms…"

"…Probably the most impressive ceremony ever held over the founding of an American city…"

Indeed, the mind's eye envisions a parade from Mission San Gabriel almost as grand as those that would take place many decades later a few miles away in Pasadena. All that was missing, one surmises, were TV cameras, trombones, twirling batons, and Bob and Stephanie.

Alas, had TV, Bob and Stephanie been around, they and their viewers likely would have tired quickly and looked around in vain for a football game. For the "spectacle" was this: a small group of 44 men, women and children of various ages and assorted ethnicities (22 claimed African heritage as descendants of slaves), escorted by four soldiers (a corporal was the highest ranking among them), trudging along a dusty trail to a spot alongside a river nine miles away (and we know how glamorous that river is today, don't we?).

The 11 families - who had been recruited for the task by Gov. Felipe de Neve - stopped, set up camp, and began trying to farm the land (hoping to produce food for the soldiers and mission residents), though not all, evidently, were actual farmers (at least one was a tailor, another a mason).

It was not only humble; it was all quite secular, with not a single padre from the mission present - again, contrary to some reports which had priests, Indian acolytes, a banner of the Virgin Mary and Mass as part of the occasion (and certainly refuting the account that noted, "Prayers and a benediction from the padres concluded the ceremony.").

In fact, Msgr. Weber wrote, "One must remember that Franciscans were opposed in principle to the founding of Los Angeles. Fray Junipero Serra and other friars felt that the establishment of Spanish towns was still premature. He worried, and rightly so, that they would prove prejudicial to Indian and Mexican rights."

Some left within a few months (or, by some accounts, were "expelled" as "useless") to either return to Mexico or to settle in other parts of Alta California. But others stuck it out. One, Jose Maria Vanegas, became the young pueblo's first known alcalde (mayor) of Los Angeles (1786-88 and again in 1796).

Eventually, others came along to join them, the city boundaries expanded, roads were improved, and, 225 years later, there are 4 million strong in L.A. City (and several times that in the greater metropolitan region).

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And among the millions are at least a few who can name the original Pobladores, the 11 families and the four soldiers involved in that first, rather nondescript journey. These are the members of Los Pobladores 200, the group comprised of descendants of those founding families, and established on 1981 on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the city's beginning.

Each year since 1981, Los Pobladores members have gathered together each Sept. 4 to recreate the historic nine-mile trek, as humbly (though perhaps not as lonely) as their ancestors.

"Now we've got police escorts," laughs Paul Guzman of East Los Angeles, the current president of Los Pobladores 200, who has participated each year - although not always as a walker. "Some of us are getting up there in age, you know? So we ride in back of the people who walk, but it's still a special feeling, to remind ourselves of what our ancestors went through."

Those original families had walked (or ridden horseback) from Mexico through the desert into San Diego, stopping to rest at Missions San Diego de Alcala and San Juan Capistrano before arriving in August at San Gabriel. There they rested a few days and got their instructions from Gov. de Neve before walking the final nine miles.

"Imagine walking in that summer heat through that region," Guzman says in awe. "For some, they traveled over 1,000 miles like that. So they must have been pretty tough. I think about that, and going nine miles doesn't seem so bad."

As befitting an organization rooted in family histories, Los Pobladores' members have become worthy genealogists. Guzman, who attends St. Alphonsus in East L.A., is descended from four of the founding families (Moreno, Rodriguez, Rosas and Rosas). Another Los Pobladores member, Robert Lopez of Westchester, has roots traceable to the families of Private Roque Jacinto de Cota and settler Luis Manuel Quintero.

"You must remember," says Lopez, who attends St. Anastasia Church, "that there were marriages among the families in succeeding generations. So it's not uncommon for a Pobladores member to have connections to several founding families."

Lopez, now 86, says with a smile that he will be walking this year - part of the distance, at least. "There are a group of us who will meet at Union Station and join the assembly from San Gabriel for the last part of the journey (from the train station across the street to El Pueblo de los Angeles Monument)."

Once they arrive at their destination next Monday, the descendants and their fellow travelers (the walk is open to all) will enjoy entertainment and food quite, a celebration unlike that experienced by their ancestors. But the first settlers will clearly be on their minds nonetheless.

"Our ancestors," says Guzman," were humble people with a job to do, and they did it. That is a great source of pride and humility for us all."

Los Angeles' founders
The four soldier escorts, accompanied by their families: Corporal Jose Vicente Feliz (originally of Sonora, Mexico), and Privates Pablo Antonio de Cota, Roque Jacinto de Cota and Francisco Salvador de Lugo (all of Sinaloa, Mexico). The heads of families: Jose Fernando de Velasco y Lara (of Cadiz, Spain), Jose Cesario Moreno (of Sinaloa, Mexico), Jose Antonio Navarro (Sinaloa), Luis Manuel Quintero (Jalisco), Pablo Rodriguez (Sinaloa), Jose Antonio Basilio Rosas (Durango, Mexico), Jose Maria Vanegas (Jalisco), Antonio Clemente Feliz Villavicencio (Chihuahua), Jose Alejandro Rosas (Sinaloa), Manuel Camero (Nayarit) and Antonio Mesa (Sonora).