Community wants its mural back.
SAN JOSE >> In the wake of community outrage stemming from the painting-over of a longstanding Chicano mural, dozens of people gathered in East San Jose on Sunday to demand its restoration and protection, and to call for greater promotion of Chicano culture across the city’s public spaces and in schools.
The demonstration took place on Mexican Independence Day in the parking lot of the former Payless Shoe Source store near King and Story roads where the artwork, “Mural de la Raza,” had been visible on the building’s wall since 1985.
While Mexicans around the globe on Sunday honored the 1810 sparking of that nation’s organized revolt against Spanish colonizers, San Jose locals said they were organizing against the erasure of their history and culture in the city.
“There’s been a chain, a pattern of Chicano murals getting painted over in our city for the past 15 years,” Jose Valle, a resident of East San Jose and a member of the social justice group Silicon Valley De-Bug said in an interview.
The mural, painted by artist Jose Meza Velasquez, along with 15 youth volunteers and other artists, featured images of cultural icons including Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, Luis Valdez and other inspirational leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and former Oakland Raiders quarterback Jim Plunkett, a native of the area.
It was quietly painted over in a flat shade of gray in the earlymorning hours of Aug. 29, to the shock of the local residents. The property owner was legally required to notify the artist before painting over the work of art, which is one of the oldest surviving murals in San Jose.
The building was previously owned by Peter Ajlouny and
managed by the firm CBRE, which Valle said he had reached out to over a year ago to ask about preservation of the art after the shoe business shut down. Valle said he never heard back.
However, Ajlouny previously told this news organization he signed over ownership of the property to another owner just one day before the mural was painted over. Whether the mural lying under the coat of gray paint can be restored without damaging it is still unclear, organizers said.
“Growing up, they never taught us about our history in schools. … This wall represented our history and our culture. This was one of our very few forms of access to that culture and history,” Valle said.
“I grew up right here,” he told the crowd at the event.
“I hit the bus on Story and King. I cruised Story and King. I got my Dickies on Story and King. I got beat down by cops on Story and King,” Valle said.
“But no matter what, that wall was always here. … That mural was always here.”
During the gathering Sunday, many residents and members from different community organizations signed onto a petition that will be sent to the city of San Jose and the Santa Clara County Office of Education.
The document, called “El Plan de Nuestro Mural de la Raza,” demands the mural be restored and protected from being painted over again, and that other remaining Chicano murals
be protected.
It also says the city should fund creation of other murals, and to require Chicano studies in all public schools in the county, which Valle noted was the most significant element in
his view.
“I don’t mean Chicano studies as an elective. I don’t mean Chicano studies as an after-school program or a nonprofit organization, or anything like that. I mean Chicano history is U.S. history, is world history,” he said.
Jose Meza Velasquez, the artist behind the mural, said people loved the mural because it was created by the community, for the community.
“I’m very happy for this moment,” he said of the turnout in support of restoring the mural. “This moment is very important to me. Many people worked on the mural. More than 15 young people,” he said.
His wife, Juanita Meza Velasquez, who organized the creation of the mural in 1985, said the artwork was more than just imagery.
“In East San Jose, I’d say this was more of a cultural monument to people, a resemblance of who that you are,” she said.
David Madrid, who lives in Tracy but grew up in East San Jose, said it was “heartwarming” to see all the support for the mural that reminded him of his culture’s place in the city and the country.
“In today’s society, as the generations are moving on, it almost feels like this cultura, the culture is being lost.”
He said he was heartbroken when he heard of the mural being painted over.
“As a Chicano, it’s almost as if we’re not Americans, especially in this era of Trump. And people need to realize that we’re American, too. Chicano culture is American culture. Like it or not, we’re a part of the fabric of America,” he said.
“Just to see when our gente is in need, our community is in need, to have a big show of support, I’m proud. I’m just proud to be a Chicano,” Madrid said.