"Cactus/Nopal as a symbol (real or imagined) has been a potent concept for denoting "Mexicaness" (a deep sense of place-based identity) in Mexico, but also for Mexican diasporic communities in the US and in particular in Los Angeles."
- Gustavo Leclerc

Although nopales in the Westlake/Pico-Union area may not be as common as in other Mexcican/Chicano areas such as East LA, South Central, or San Fernando, their presence in the neighborhood (physical or representational) may indicate a strong sense of belonging to a new alien pace, in other words, it becomes a symbol of place-based identity. As a marker of the identity of an individual home, a street, or a neighborhood - when they are in the front yard of a house.

The fruit of the nopal cactus, called tuna, represents the heart of Copil, the nephew of the god Huitzilopochtli. The god ordered the people to "build the city in the place of Copil's heart" (Ramírez Codex), where the cactus grew on his land. It also alludes to the human sacrifice customs of the Aztecs.