History of Filipino Mural with Candy Chuateco Community Garden (1994-2007)

Mural wall in 1994

Painting began on February 24,1995

Original vision for mural was much more denser. Approved design was simplified to allow 4-month completion.

The other finalist for the mural.

Over 50 student volunteers helped complete the project.

Dedication with a child offering gifts to our ancestors.

SIPA Youth and Kultura Dance Troupe provided the cultural dances for the mural unveiling.

Completed Mural on June 24,1995 with names and events underneath as mural guide.

Community Garden Clean up.

Graffitti attack on Mural 2001-2002

Graffitti was painted over by City of LA, but sacrificed integrity of mural. Mural guide was not reclaimed.

Mural covered while park was being built. The circular space will be the future Cordillera Dap-Ay Space, the first built outside the Philippines and is connected to the community garden which makes the garden Filipino.

Mural after Park Unveiling September 8,2007 (Delano Grape Strike Anniversary)

October-December 2007 partial Mural Restoration/enhancements by neighborhood kids guided by artist. The wall created a larger space underneath after the park was designed to slope downhill at the furthermost right end of the park to allow for the inclusion of the terraced community garden. An additional pattern reflecting the colors of the park and the mural allows for better transition between the mural and the park.

The more vibrant colored parts are results of the 2007 restoration, the faded parts were the 2002 restoration which did not replicate accurately the portraits as well as the anatomy of the figures. The local neighborhood participated in painting the mural during the course of the 3-month restoration in 2007.

Our youngest artist with his father overlooking. His father proudly shared with me that her oldest sister was the same age she was when she likewise volunteered to help paint our mural back in 1995 (12 years earlier). Her oldest sister now works as an art teacher in LA Unifies School District and the father said the mural had a positive impact on her growing up in the neighborhood with the mural. Its now his youngest daughters turn.

I had all our volunteers name listed somewhere but unable to locate it. This family lived within the neighbrhood, I hope we can locate them so they can be documented in the mural/parks history as well, and perhaps join us in the mural unveiling.

The mural has been featured by the Smithsonian and visited by Gov. Benjamin Cayetano of Hawaii, whos also in the mural.

After receiving a generous grant from LANLT (Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust) and Eric Garcettis Office in 2011, Prof. Carol Ojeda Kimbrough proposed to have her students help in the mural campaign. Each student was credited after 25 hours of mural services, with over 30 students participating.

Estrada Court murals are undergoing mural restorations as well. As can be seen from the before and after shots, the muralist not only restored but also enhanced or added other elements to the original. These murals are seeds for the Chicano Movement.

Organic Stimulus by Ernesto De La Loza, legendary master muralist based in Echo Park.

CSUF students posing for additions to the mural.

Part of the mural enhancements is this historical event that happened March 1902. Clemencia Lopez became the first Filipino to enter the White House, when she was granted an audience with Theodore Roosevelt to plead for US Recognition of Philippine Independence. The article on the right was the follow-up testimony with the US Senate, May of the same year.

Other forthcoming images. This entire project should cost $25,000, but we are volunteering to do the additional images at minimum cost.