Barrio Logan artists, business owners, and community members gathered in Chicano Park Wednesday to clean up a historic mural that was defaced by anti-Mexican graffiti overnight.
The Historical Mural, located on Logan Avenue, is one of Chicano Park’s oldest and most prominent murals. It was painted in 1973 by Toltecas en Aztlán, a collective of Chicano artists and cultural activists. The mural depicts a timeline of contributions by Mexican, Mexican-American, and other prominent figures across Latin America in Chicano history.
It was defaced with the words “F—- Mexicans,” the latest in a string of racist and hate-related graffiti incidents in San Diego.
Neighbors and residents woke up to find the explicit-laden graffiti scrawled across the mural in white lettering. By noon, half a dozen volunteers — and a handful of onlookers — had arrived at the mural to remove it.
Volunteers equipped with flat mops, brushes, microfiber towels, and pressure washers braved the heat, as temperatures in San Diego approached 90 degrees. Community members brought water, iced coffees, paletas, hamburgers, and tacos for the volunteers scrubbing and power-washing the mural.
The incident continues a rash of recent racist or hate-related graffiti throughout found in San Diego. Last month, a teenager was arrested for suspicions of vandalizing several residences in Imperial Beach with Nazi, white power, and other antisemitic messages. Last week, a twenty-year-old man was arrested for spray-painting racist and antisemitic symbols on fences, vehicles and other property across several blocks of a San Carlos neighborhood. Chicano Park has faced occasional acts of racially motivated vandalism and graffiti targeting its historic murals over the years.
Chicano Park is no stranger to more overt targeted attacks either. Over the years, the park’s imagery and history have repeatedly been the target of the far-right. In September 2017, and again in February 2018, hundreds of community members mobilized to counter planned rallies by white nationalists and far-right groups, who opposed the park’s depiction of figures like Che Guevara and Fidel Castro, and of its deployment of Indigenous symbols throughout the park.
Jesse Zamudio, a local artist and muralist, said he was on his way to do cleanup for another mural project when he saw the graffiti.
“I stopped and decided to call some of the original artists and ask them if it was okay if I tried to take it off,” Zamudio said. After getting permission from the artists and the Chicano Park Steering Committee (CPSC), the governing organization that oversees the park, Zamudio began cleanup along with other volunteers. Zamudio had served as the project manager for the Chicano Park Mural Restoration Project, specializing as a surface preparation manager and polytab installer.
“When I saw it, it was like a stab to the heart,” Zamudio said. “I felt the pain, and I’m pretty sure everyone else did. That’s why we’re all here.”
John Monreal, a Barrio Logan resident who helped clean up the murals, said this latest round of targeting wasn’t surprising.
“I was furious and upset, but not surprised given everything’s going on around the country and the city,” Monreal said. “It’s been an ongoing issue, especially here at the park. I think right now it’s elevated even more, but it’s always been there.”
By 2 PM Wednesday, volunteers had completely removed the graffiti and power-washed the mural and adjacent sidewalk. “The damage was not severe, it could have been worse had it stayed a little longer,” Zamudio said. “The longer it sits, the spray paint will tend to bond like glue”.
Monreal said the response was a testament to the community’s character.
“I’m just proud that the community came together, stopped what they’re doing throughout their day, and came to help out,” he said. “Ultimately, that’s what the park represents, community and unity.”
Zamudio agreed.
“This is very important because this is one of our first murals here, and it’s a sacred park,” he said. “We have to take care of our land. It’s the longest fight, and we don’t know when it’s going to stop.”
