The idea of how to show off his mostly Hispanic East End neighborhood came to Julio del Carpio when he thought back on the divisive presidential campaign. He recalled someone talking about a taco truck on every corner.

"So we decided to do that," del Carpio said recently.

Though they won't be spread across every block, between six and nine taco trucks are planned along with local vendors and merchants at del Carpio's Marbella Banquet Hall facility at Harrisburg and Cesar Chavez. The hope - at least this Super Bowl LI weekend - is to tap into the crush of tourists and begin reviving a neighborhood that's taken more hits lately than a poorly-protected quarterback, after years of waiting for a light rail line that just recently opened in front of Marbella.

Del Carpio has even grander plans for luring tourists beyond this action-packed weekend. He envisions an entire block-long plaza including historical displays, restaurants and even an alley modeled on Spanish and Italian streets with complementing balconies from which lovers can share a kiss. He said he plans to convert the banquet hall facility - now known more for weddings and parties - into a development centerpiece in August or September.

What's uncertain, despite del Carpio's optimism, is if the East End can lure visitors or even other Houstonians.

"My wife ask me if people will come," he said. "I say 'well, we're going to be introducing a unique product and something new.' I believe they will come."

More then seven years of street work related to Metropolitan Transit Authority's Green Line light rail ended in early January. The trains, which a decade ago were meant to help the community, ended up hurting it during construction.

"We lost ten businesses on this side," del Carpio said, noting other merchants west of a contentious overpass near Hughes also suffered.

Metro officials have acknowledged the construction wreaked havoc on homes and businesses along Harrisburg, and numerous delays deteriorated the goodwill of the community.

But the street work isn't the only thing working against del Carpio and the neighborhood. It lacks the wealth of other affluent Houston neighborhoods that have fancy restaurants and bars and can attract visitors. Though steeped in history - Santa Ana burned the original town of Harrisburg which acted as the de facto capital of Texas until Houston was platted and became the new republic's headquarters - it doesn't have a unifying artifact or building upon which to build a "Latino Kemah," as del Carpio describes it.

Thursday in downtown Houston, as newly arrived football fans lined up outside bars spotted with pop-up canopies, none of the travelers had even heard of Harrisburg or Houston's East Side.

"Is that EaDo," Mitch Moore, 39, of Providence asked. "My brother said to check out EaDo."

Houston natives enjoying the gorgeous weather also seemed skeptical.

"It's not a place I'd consider going," said Ed Phelps, 44, who lives near Memorial Park, saying he was "totally unaware" of any history to the East End.

Changing that image, del Carpio admitted, is challenging, as the early hours of his planned Super Bowl party proved. Despite distributing 10,000 business cards downtown advertising the event and hanging banners for the party, set to start at 10 a.m. Thursday, by noon no one showed. Even the taco trucks said they'd come later since the party runs through Sunday, a decision made Wednesday when they worried it would rain.

As modern Latin music blared through outdoor speakers and his neighbors worked to ready a table stand of enchiladas, del Carpio was less concerned with the people were not showing up, with making plans for the ones who one day would come. The restaurants he would like to see line Harrisburg, along with a coffee shop that merges Hispanic traditions with inspiration from New Orleans' Cafe du Monde.

"I went to San Antonio in the 60s and the Alamo was something small," del Carpio said. "Now you go and they have, what, 9 million visitors to the Alamo and Riverwalk. I know it will take people to get used to it, but what will sell it is the tourists, if we show them a nice time."