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“My dreams are in my head, not in any particular country,” she said, seated on a bunk bed in one of La Casita’s two bedrooms while Chappell Roan’s hit “Pink Pony Club” played from someone’s phone in the living room.

We coalesced, making our way through L.A.; having drinks at Casita in Sherman Oaks; or going on morning bike rides through Griffith Park.

Sparrow Italia and La Casita at Driftwood, two other dining establishments at the famed hotel that were shuttered in February, were not included in the agreement and remain closed.

Six days later, hospitality operator Noble 33 announced it would close Sparrow Italia, Café Fig, Bar Magnolia, the Cafeteria and La Casita at Driftwood at the famed hotel, a historic building in downtown L.A. that for the last two decades built a following for its Mediterranean-inspired space and stylish dining rooms.

We were eating lunch at the elegant La Casita Mexicana in Bell with Ana Maria and their son, Miguel A. Santana, former chief administrative officer of Los Angeles and now head of the California Community Foundation.