Archive for Sunday, June 03,=20
2001
A Mural Hangs in Limbo
When artist Judith Hernandez went to West Los Angeles in 1976 to = help=20 unite a community torn by gang violence, she never imagined = that her mural=20 would be controversial decades later.
A debate has erupted over the future of the = Latino-themed painting that=20 celebrated cooperation between residents and the Sotel gang. = Although some=20 feel that the colorful depiction of the Virgin of Guadalupe with = her arms=20 outstretched over gang members is an important piece of history, = others say=20 it=92s simply a stinging reminder of the community=92s = darker past.
City officials say that the recreation center on which the = mural is=20 painted is crumbling and must be renovated, and that there is no = easy way=20 to save the painting.
For the last year, they have been planning a $2.2-million = project for=20 Stoner Park that will include two new swimming pools and = the renovated=20 recreation center. A new artist has been commissioned to = create metal=20 turtles playing with balls for the pool room, officials said, = but there are=20 no plans for a new mural.
Residents are divided over the issue.
=93People here have this attitude like = =91Gee, wouldn=92t=20 it be really terrible if they destroyed it?=92 But there=92s this = sense=20 of powerlessness about it,=94 said Janet Canterbury, who has lived = in the=20 area for two years and jogs past the mural with her beagle=20 every day.
On the other hand, Raymond Cano, a 50-year resident who = has always=20 opposed the mural, was relieved to hear that what he called = the =93source of=20 pride for gang members=94 is going to be removed.
Taking their name from the surrounding Sawtelle area, the = Sotel gang=20 once dominated Stoner Park, spending afternoons hanging out = and covering=20 any available space with graffiti. It got so bad, = Hernandez recalled, that=20 the park=92s modest recreation building was covered in spray paint. = When the=20 menacing letters started to spread to nearby garage doors, city = officials=20 recruited Hernandez.
Gang members and residents were given a role in coming up = with the theme=20 of the mural and helping to paint it. In return, the two dozen = Sotel=20 members agreed to stop spray-painting the area. =93Those who once = destroyed=20 would help rebuild,=94 said Hernandez, who now lives = in Chicago.
It wasn=92t easy. Gang members in their khaki pants = and suspenders=20 contrasted with the more straight-laced adults both in dress=20 and mural proposals.
=93The kids wanted guns and cops getting = shot, and the=20 residents wanted sunshine and little international faces,=94 = Hernandez said.=20 =93They were light-years apart.=94
But an unusual relationship unfolded. And when the controversial = project=20 was unveiled amid the protests of a few officials who complained = that it=20 glorified gangs, some community members passionately stood behind = the=20 teenagers, Hernandez said.
The final artwork was an =93idealized version of who these = kids were, with=20 the Virgin of Guadalupe surrounding and protecting them.=94
Since then, the area once known as a working-class = Latino neighborhood=20 has become gentrified. Over the years, the one-story = Spanish-style homes=20 have been replaced by high-priced condos and luxury apartments.
Stoner Park, the community=92s linchpin, has also changed. On = any given=20 day there are kids playing basketball next to the Japanese = gardens, young=20 parents lulling babies in strollers and retired veterans engaging = in tai=20 chi under the cherry trees.
=93The mural just sits and looks over all = of us with=20 this beautiful Mexican spiritual flavor,=94 Canterbury said. = =93Without it, it=20 will be a completely different experience going to = the park.=94
The history of the mural has been forgotten by many people, who=20 generally remember something vague about the police and gang = members when=20 asked about its significance.
Some older residents who lived through the experience, = however, say it=92s=20 time to let go of the past.
=93You have to contribute to a community to = be a=20 member,=94 said one elderly man. =93They didn=92t go to war, go = through the=20 Depression, or pay taxes. A picture of Cesar Chavez would have=20 been better.=94
Although city officials have tried to save the mural, the = center=92s new=20 architect says that will be impossible because of the cracked = stucco it is=20 painted on.
They have held meetings and discussed the expensive prospect of = removing=20 the mural in blocks, the legal implications of reproducing it and = the=20 possibility of taking a life-size photograph of the artwork to = mount inside=20 the new building.
Supporters are running out of time.
=93We thought the giant-sized poster of the = mural would=20 be a solution,=94 said Stoner Park recreation coordinator Jason = Liss, =93but at=20 the very next meeting, the same people were there repeating, =91How = can we=20 save the mural?=92 =94
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