dcmuraleslatinos - Tumblr blog

[dcmuraleslatinos]

The purpose of documenting these latino street murals both past and present is to preserve  the history of the important contributions Latino muralists have made to our community. Hola Cultura began work on  murals in 2011 and built the first time lapse map of murals in 2014. The map pictured above includes approximately 30 street murals that were either painted by Latinos or include a Latino theme. About half of the murals in this map have been destroyed or removed. This summer, we’ve identified several additional murals that we plan to add to the map.

Hola Cultura also made a Webumentary in 2012 that is available for watching on the Hola Cultura website.

As part of our murals research this year, we’re also working to create a guided bus tour of these and other Latino street murals in Washington D.C.

Infographic by Miranda Blum

[dcmuraleslatinos]

History

Adams Morgan is historically known as the most famous “Latino barrio” in D.C., when in reality a lot of Latinos lived in the suburbs and came into the city for only work and socializing. They’d gravitate to Adams Morgan, where some of the city’s first Latin American stores and restaurants established themselves. What made it known as “el barrio latino” were these early establishments, as well as the Ontario Theatre on Columbia Road NW, and “la capilla” (chapel) at La Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón ( Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church) on 16th Street NW, nearby in Columbia Heights.

In 1970′s there was a wave of Chilean, Argentinian, Bolivian, and Nicaraguan immigrants as well as immigrants from other Latin American countries. They were often escaping political and economical difficulties, such as the 1973 military coup in Chile and the Argentine Dirty War that sent refugees fleeing northward.

Latino artists began creating street murals in the 1970s according to Perry Frank of D.C. Murals.  It became a way for this minority group to not only express themselves but also feel represented. In general muralists have come out of a lot different traditions--from classically-trained artists to graffiti writers.

[dcmuraleslatinos]

Latino street murals have a variety of influences including music, dance, hope, posterity, nostalgia, world events, and immigrant struggles.

The picture above was a part of a Temporary Columbia Heights Metro Mural, installed during construction of the shopping mall where Target is located today. Lead artist Cheryl Foster worked with D.C. community members on this mural, which depicted Latino musical rhythms.

Photos by Nancy Shia

[dcmuraleslatinos]

Community Involvement

It usually takes a community effort to create a street mural.

Latin American Youth Center was founded in 1968 in an effort to empower low-income youth. Many of the community based murals on our map such as #’s 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 11, 13, 14, 18, 19, 26 & 30 were painted in collaboration with  LAYC youth. The mural pictured, “After the Comet,” was painted in 1985 by Jorge Somarriba and LAYC youth.

El Centro de Arte began in the 1970’s and is no longer around but was a community organization that orchestrated many arts and cultural projects. Many community members received their first training in the arts through this center.

Besides LAYC and el Centro de Arte, other institutions that have supported Latino mural-making in D.C. include CentroNía, a bilingual school in Columbia Heights; the National Zoo; the Smithsonian Latino Center; the D.C. Mayor’s Office on Latino Affairs; the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities; and MuralsDC, an organization funded by the D.C. Department of Public Works to create new murals in the city.

[dcmuraleslatinos]

Carlos Salazar

“Un pueblo sin murales es un pueblo desmuralizado” (A people without murals is a demoralized people), painted in the late 1970′s in a community effort led by Carlos “Caco” Salazar. This specific mural took about 4 days to execute.

In an interview we conducted with Salazar, he mentioned: “Hay varios iconos, uno al lado del otro. Que llamo yo icono, es como una esencia que revela todo un aspecto importante de nuestra cultura.”  Some of the icons he mentioned include the dancing couple and “los hombrecitos” -in the top right corner- which represent developers speculating on real estate in the neighborhood.

[dcmuraleslatinos]

“America se descubre” (America discovers itself), designed by Carlos Arrien, was created in 1991 with help from LAYC. It was once located on a side wall of what was the Former Wilson Center (today it is in Next Step Public Charter School) on 15th Street NW in Columbia Heights. Arrien is responsible for murals #’s 2 and 3  on our map.

In an interview we conducted with Arrien he mentioned how connected and intertwined the Latino community was in D.C. in the late 70′s, early 80′s.

Photo provided by Carlos Arrien

[dcmuraleslatinos]

Luis del Valle

Originally from Nicaragua him and his family emigrated to the US during the civil war in Nicaragua in 1985. His first experience with art was through graffiti and unfortunately most of his street murals have been destroyed. In an interview we conducted with Luis he mentioned some of his inspirations to be family, friends and the loss he has seen throughout his lifetime.

[dcmuraleslatinos]

New artists in the community

As previously mentioned we are in the process of adding new murals to the map and are working closely with D.C. murals in order to do this. Some of the new artists we will include are Ernesto Zelaya, Gean Martinez, Adam Trejo, Freddy Castillo, Flor Rivas, John Silva and Melvin Flores.

[dcmuraleslatinos]

We’d also like to thank our partners and collaborators with this project.

If anyone has been involved in creating street murals or if you have photos, videos, or memories to share, please let us know. You are welcome to talk to us tonight or email us at holacultura@gmail.com.

[dcmuraleslatinos]

Call to action

Tour: Our goal is to have the mural tour available by Spring 2018 and with this we are recruiting volunteer tour guides from the community. We will be hosting a training sometime next year. More information will be available as it nears.  

If you are interested in becoming tour guides or are interested in donating to this project please reach out to us after the presentation or email us at holacultura@gmail.com

                                                          Gracias!!!