The Bridge to The Future City of La Puente by Ricardo Quintanilla
Located at 1St and Main St at the City of La Puente
This mural was predominately made by FrankyFingers who is mainly a tattoo artist. However, this mural was also a civic engagement project from the city of La Puente. So, Franky had some help from La Puente High School students.
Theme: Cultural Background of La Puente.
The mural represents the city of La Puente and all of their citizens. It shows a progressive city that adapts to change. Many historical and current events are being represented in the mural. These are places that once existed in La Puente. One of them is next to the black and white pictures but the image itself is in color. This is because this place exists and, works to this day. The mural represents how the city of La Puente is not scared of change but rather, they embrace it.
Located at Stimson Ave and Central ave, City of La Puente
The mural called “Weaving All Ways” was made by Miotto Mosaic Art Studios.
Theme: Cultural Background of La Puente.
It represents Native Americans. It was commissioned by Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture. The mural is a reminder of the traditions of Rancho La Puente, honoring the traditions of the tribes who's land we occupied today. The mural “Weaving All Ways” represents the indigenist and many plants that have been used as traditional dyes and basket weaving. This mural honors the city of La Puente but also many other indigenist that were here before Rancho La Puente. The mural helps us remember how far we have come, and it is a way for us to not forget about the past as we embrace the future.
Located right outside La Puente City Hall
The memorial was dedicated on March 20, 2015 to detective Jack Williams and all other law enforcement that pay the ultimate price to serve and protect our community.
Theme: Memorial, remembering the law enforcement that served the community.
The memorial represents law enforcement that have given their life to serving the community. This memorial has a logo that represents the City of La Puente from 1841 to 1956.
Located on North Unruh ave and Giordano St, right outside Sparks Middle School.
The mural was made by Jay Garfinkle. This was part of a civic engagement project that Spark Middle School put out. While most of the work was done by Jay Garfinkle, the students got to help and learned from him.
Theme: Mural promoting education.
The target audience of this mural is the youth. The mural shows that creativity leads to success. The placement of this mural is important because it is in front of Sparks Middle School but, also because N Unruh ave, gets constantly tagged with gang graffiti. This mural serves as a true inspiration for the kids. It teaches them to stay in school and to be creative.
Located at La Puente Park
Artist: Unknown
Theme: Park Decoration
The purpose of this canyon is for decoration. But, it is cool to see that someone saw, some old metal parts and, in their mind, they decided to build a
Located on North Unruh ave and Hacienda Blvd.
The mural was completed by many participants. The name of the organization is call "East Side Of The River" the website is www.eastsideoftheriver.org
Theme: Cultural Background of La Puente.
The mural represents the Mexican American community and the immigrant community. There are three types of Latinos represented in this mural. On the far left we have the ones who choose education and pursuit of a professional career. On the middle we see, a hard but accurate depiction of Latinos working some of the hardest jobs in America: construction, handyman, housekeeping and farm field work. Towards the middle and the right side of the mural, the artist have depicted the roots of the Mexican American community. The artwork serves to remember not only the community of La Puente but also the tribes that were here many years before Rancho La Puente was a place on the map. It represents from where we have come, where some of our communities are currently at, and the possibilities of the youth.
Why the City of La Puente
La Puente is the city where I grew up, it's a small city despite being one of the first places to get its name on the map. Rancho La Puente was divided into different cities as the years when by. A lot of hard working Latinos live here, we are a community primarily made by Mexican American and other communities from central America. As a kid I spent a lot of time in the streets, just exploring around, I never got into too much trouble. I spent a good part of my teenager years going to La Puente park, riding around in my bicycle and buying fast food in local shops. When I was a kid, La Puente did not had any of the murals shown above. The city had gray or, white walls and often the walls were tagged up. I am glad that now we at least have a few murals that represent the best of our history and culture. It is nice to see your city represented in such nice and vibrant colors. The murals bring a bit of life to the previously doll city walls.
Critical analysis
The mural called “Bridge Town” represents the community of La Puente, from 1841 to the present. From the left side of the mural, we see iconic land marks the made Rancho La Puente for what it was, and, on the right, we see the modern landmarks that make La Puente as we know it today. Rancho La Puente was known for its livestock and walnut plantation. One of the landmarks on the mural was a movie theater that was abandoned for many years. Until it was demolished a few years ago. The gray fading into color photo, is a landmark that has been with us for years, and it is still functional to this day. Donut Hole is a family own donut shop drive through. You drive your car across a giant donut and pick out from a variety of donuts. Rancho La Puente was a primarily Mexican community. La Puente to this day is well known for their Chicano community and their lowriders. At the middle, a bridge symbolizes where the past meets the future. In the right of the mural, we see all the iconic events in vivid colors that represent La Puente today. Rather than being a deep dive into all the historical places and events of La Puente. It serves as a collage of memories that make La Puente what it is today without forgetting where we have come from. La Puente is not afraid of change, rather it is one of the few cities that embrace change, for the best or the worst.
This mural was a collaboration with the city of La Puente and La Puente High School. Students got to learn from a professional and even help him with the mural. This mural is very important to the city of La Puente and its visitors because it is a snapshot of all the things that make our community. Similarly, “Weaving All Ways” represents the indigenist and many plants that have been used as traditional dyes and basket weaving. This mural honors the city of La Puente but also many other indigenist that were here before Rancho La Puente. The mural helps us remember how far we have come, and it is a way for us to not forget about the past as we embrace the future.
The other mural located on North Unruh ave and Giordano St, right outside Sparks Middle School, targets the young promoting the idea of creativity and school. In the City of La Puente most of the artwork represent our history and culture, primarily of the Latino and Chicano community. Our past, future, and present are captured in these murals. The murals are allowed with the collaboration of the City of La Puente and, they are often funded by the artist, the city or, by a public organization. La Puente being such a small town, it has many open spaces for mural and public art to exist, so no art is replaced.
The artworks remain in good condition despite all the environmental factors. The message of artworks is legible, and it does not take too long to understand the message. However, La Puente is a city where transportation is heavily dependent on cars. Public transportation is a last resort. While the city has its own bus line, it is not reliable. Most of the public artwork at La Puente is best appreciated by walking and taking time to appreciate the work. Foot traffic in La Puente is very little and if so, for short distances. Not a lot of people, nor visitors, can appreciate the art to its fullest because of the location and the way that transportation works in La Puente. However, for those few that have the opportunity to appreciate the artwork, it is nice to see that our community is being represented, not only for the youth to embrace their culture but, also for other visitors to see our culture.
Proposal
The city of La Puente has a few murals that represent our history and the roots of our community. The mural by FrankyFingers at Main St is full of historical details and there is a lot of history to tell from the places that are no longer present. I enjoy the idea of looking at a collage of pictures and taking the time to see from where our city has come and where it is now. The best part is that with a bit of civic engagement we are the ones that can lead our city to the future. The mural at North Unruh ave and Hacienda Blvd is another great artwork, where you need to just stand there and think about our community. While the mural honors the people of La Puente, it is also a statement that Latinos are working on some of the hardest jobs in America that are often not paid well. The artwork shows Latinos working as handyman, farm field workers and a lady working housekeeping. This are works that the Latinos have been doing in for years, they are physically demanding and are not well paid. Often this type of work takes a wear in the human body as it is performed for many years. The mural shows that we are a hardworking community however, it makes the case that not all Latinos have the opportunity to have a higher education and a better job. As it also shows the ones that can pursuit a higher education and the pursuit of a better job and lifestyle.
While there are few art works in La Puente. They are impactful and full of history. However, it would be better if the city commissioned more artists to make murals and perhaps even sculptures. The City of La Puente dejectedly has the money to invest into public artworks; they are always building something new in LP, and it's time to step up the public artworks. I would not replace none of the artworks present at La Puente, there is plenty of space for more.
Our city is small, there are plenty of canvases(walls) that need to be used. Murals bring life and joy to our streets, it is much prefer to see any type of artwork on the streets, then to see a boring gray, white, orange or, tagged up walls. Elected officials have made La Puente a great community to live and visit in the last few years. There are many programs that serve our community and public spaces feel safe to walk on. It is time for the city to shine some light into street art and commission public works of art. They don't have to be related to the City of La Puente or, our history, they can be whatever the artist chooses to. La Puente needs art, a lot more.
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