Painting a brighter future for Lodi
Mural project kicks off Love Lodi efforts early
Jose Gomez cuts a relaxed figure, brushing his hair —- dark brown with the remnants of bleach-blonde streaks — out of his face in the springtime wind as he leans on the long wooden shaft of a paint roller.
He’s waiting on a delivery of primer so that he can begin preparations for a large mural, commissioned by the Lodi Chamber of Commerce as part of the third Love Lodi, an annual celebration bringing Lodi residents together to beautify their community. Festivities include street and park cleanings, building repairs and garden planting as well as neighborhood parties to commemorate the community’s accomplishments.
Gomez’s mural project, which will occupy the wall adjacent to the empty lot on Main and Elm streets, is a collaborative effort between members of the Gang Reduction Intervention Program (GRIP) and the Breakers, both youth groups working to keep Lodi’s youth out of trouble by providing positive outlets for their energy and allowing them to showcase their creative talent.
According to Gomez, the mural is a celebration of Lodi’s diversity, featuring part of the various ethnicities and cultures that make up the city’s population. While this is Gomez’s first project of this magnitude, he has headed up smaller projects for GRIP in the past.
The 17-year-old was introduced to GRIP by Ruben Guardiola, a youth outreach counselor determined to keep Gomez and other youth in Lodi away from gang affiliation and its negative consequences. Since joining GRIP, Gomez has built upon his love for art, specializing in lettering and calligraphy with a paint brush. Although only a junior at Lodi High School, Gomez hopes to work on diesel engines in Stockton for a few years before pursuing both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in airplane technology at Spartan College in Oklahoma.
Gomez credits GRIP with helping him find the motivation to explore his career options after graduation that would not be available to him had he continued down the path of crime and gang life, stating: “When you’re involved with the bad stuff like that, you’re not paying attention to opportunities there for you.”
When he’s not painting or doing homework, Gomez plays center forward and right wing on the Lodi High varsity soccer team.
The much-awaited primer arrives at 5 p.m., delivered by Fernando Gallo of Greening Lodi, a nonprofit organization that uses community gardens and alley cleanups to bring Lodi resident together with a special focus on involving youth.
“The Eastside needs love in this town,” remarks Gallo, speaking of his hometown and the neighborhood in which he owns his home, and where Greening Lodi concentrates a large portion of their efforts.
The garden-focused nonprofit was born out of the Lodi Chamber of Commerce’s Asset Based Community Development (ABCD), a free training workshop open to all Lodi citizens with a desire to beautify and improve their city.
Along with Jose Gomez and Jose Rodriguez, the senior youth organizer with Breakers, Gallo pours primer into trays before applying the first base coat to the weather-worn bricks, beginning the long process of improving their community and their lives.
Although such a task may seem daunting to some, the three young men, along with a few other Lodi locals, laugh and chat in a unique blend of English and Spanish commonly heard in Lodi, as well as the rest of California.