Boyle Heights Public Art - Kaylee Acosta



Boyle Heights: The Sight


 I was born and raised in Boyle Heights, a majority Mexican-American community in Los Angeles. Growing up in Boyle Heights I always noticed the plethora of murals on my walk to school. My community has great pride for their murals and it was easy for me to decide to choose Boyle Heights to concentrate my project on. Boyle Heights has a rich history of Chicano culture, activism, and community. Roosevelt High School, in Boyle Heights, was at the center of the East L.A. walkouts, where chicano students protested against prejudice and injustice in the education system. Murals emerged in Boyle Heights in the 70’s, focusing on Mexican-American history and injustice.



Field Work



Nuestra Vida
John Zander, 2019
Public Mural
Acrylic on exterior stucco mall
2401 4th St., Los Angeles, CA.

Nuestra Vida by John Zander, proudly displays Chicano history, culture, education, and family. The mural celebrates Latino achievements and encourages hope for the community. The mural was sponsored by Creative Solutions, an art program that involved local children to participate in painting the mural. The mural includes depictions of real community members and emphasizes education and culture. Today, the mural is covered everyday by the owner of the store the mural is located on. The store changes owners in recent years and the new owner blocks the mural with his products. The local gangs also often go back and forth tagging the mural for representation. 




The Greatest love, 1992
Paul Botello
Public Mural
Acrylic, 13’ x 50’
2403 E. Cesar E. Chavez Avenue, Los Angeles, CA.

The mural was commissioned by Eddie Ramirez in 1992, the owner of Famarcia Ramirez, where the mural is located. Ramirez commissioned the mural as a gift to Boyle Heights after the Los Angeles uprisings in 1992. The mural represents love, peace, religion and humanity. The mural focuses on showing chicano experiences, healing and the importance of unity during times of injustice. The mural is meant to give representation to Chicanos and only includes people of Latino descent. The owners of the pharmacy have worked hard to keep the mural restored, constantly painting over grafiti. Today the mural is covered in grafiti. In the past the community has tried to repaint over the grafiti but as of late, graffiti has completely almost covered the mural.






Songs My Father Taught Me
Robert Vargas, 2026
Public Mural
Acrylic on an exterior wall
2426 E. 4th St., Los Angeles, CA.

Songs My Father Taught Me by Robert Vargas depicts the impact of deportation on children. The mural depicts a mariachi musician of Latin descent being handcuffed in front of his son. Vargas sponsored in mural in light of the recent deportation raids disproportionally affecting Latinos. The mural was highly anticipated by the community and was celebrated at its unveiling. The unveiling was televised on local news stations. 





El Corrido de Boyle Heights
East Los Streetscapers, 1983
Public Mural
Acrylic, 17’ x 80’
245 N. Soto St., Los Angeles, CA.

El Corrido de Boyle Heights was created by the East Los Streetscapers to celebrate Boyle Heights history, culture and music. The mural depicts Chicano identity and the community sees the mural as a symbol of Boyle Heights. People often use the mural as a point of reference when giving directions. Today the mural is covered in grafiti. In the past, the community has tried to repaint over the grafiti, but as of late, graffiti has almost completely covered the mural.


Analysis

Boyle Heights is a predominantly Mexican-American community and the public murals in the neighborhood represent the people. Boyle Heights’ plethora of public murals all share a commonality, they reflect the Latino community of Boyle Heights. They depict Chicano history, identity, resilience, traditions, struggles, and love. A common theme represented in the murals is activism, while also emphasizing peace and love. They highlight the importance of community, family and hope for our future as Latinos in the United States. All of the murals were sponsored by local business owners, non-profit organizations, schools, or the community rather than large private corporations. They are for the people by the people.   



Proposal

While capturing these murals in my community I noticed that many of the murals that are meant to represent us, are not being taking care of. Many of them are covered by tags and grafiti. They are often restored, but it is sad to see when they are tagged on again after restoration, it is a never ending cycle. In despite of this, I love the murals in my community. They represent me, my family, friends, and neighbors. I believe where they are placed is very important and I wouldn’t change it. Many of them have even become landmarks in our community. Boyle Heights is known for having a lot of murals and I believe that the district should have allocated funds for continuous restoration of our murals. The upkeep of our beautiful murals is important and necessary to support our community. 



 



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