Chicano Park is a national landmark located in Barrio Logan, San Diego.  It possesses more Chicano murals per acre than anywhere in the world.  It is nestled under two major stretches of roadway; Interstate 5 and the Coronado Bridge.  To the north-west is a developing commercial district which is home to new breweries, coffee shops, and restaurants.  The land to the south is home to various industrial businesses and a marine terminal.  Intermingled throughout numerous industrial buildings is San Diego’s oldest Mexican-American neighborhood.

Frida Kahlo is quoted with saying, “My painting carries with it the message of pain.”  She was a Mexican painter known for producing works which were inspired largely by identity, culture, and other issues during her life.  Paintings of Frida can be seen in various parts of Chicano Park.

The murals in Barrio Logan tell stories of pain, love, spirituality, and hardships.  Many paintings call out local issues that the Chicano community is facing in San Diego.

One of the most prevalent issues depicted in the murals is that of pollution.  Some murals show images of skeletons spraying poison on the local residents.  These figures are often labeled by some of the local industries which border this community.

Barrio Logan is currently in mixed zoning where industrial businesses are intertwined with residential buildings.  Rail carts and semis pass by schools and houses on a daily basis.  During peak traffic hours, the exhausts from thousands of cars from the interstate settle on the rooftops of houses.  It has become well known that the air quality in Barrio Logan is among the worst in San Diego.  For years prior to a 1997 legal settlement, shipments of fruit arriving to the marine terminal were fumigated with pesticides, resulting in the residents being exposed to these toxic chemicals.

No words can express the emotions delivered by these murals.  They provide a more effective way of communicating the pain, cultural, and political issues which this community is currently facing.  It’s a form of communication that society needs to value.