Chicano Park in Barrio Logan artfully exhibits beautiful murals and mosaics depicting Chicano history and culture. I was struck by the vibrant colors and powerful messages illustrated in these paintings. Many incorporated a plea for park preservation including words to “Save Barrio Logan” or “Maintain Chicano Park”. Unfortunately the neighborhood and park have a turbulent history with the city including wartime construction, unfulfilled promises and presently an unsuccessful campaign to build the park “All the Way to the Bay”. This quote is prominently featured on a large concrete pillar in a heavily photographed area of the park. 

In the sixties, California’s Department of Transportation was given permission to build the I-5 interstate thought this once beachside area. Following the building of I-5, the community was promised a neighborhood park, but in 1970 construction began for a Highway Patrol Station in the designated park area.  Protests were led by the Chicano Park Steering Committee and eventually negotiations were settled. The Patrol Station would not be built and the area would be reserved to build a park. An artist named Salvador Torres led the park transformation into the Mexican Mural Movement. 

Most of the art in the park illustrates a pointed message involving resentment over development and its subsequent impact on community. One mythological mural of Atlas, a titan sentenced to hold up the heavens for the rest of time, depicts the titan holding up the Coronado Bridge instead of the heavens, representing developmental projects that need to be “held up” in order for the park to survive.  While murals in the park elevate some questionable ethical leaders, Chicano culture does this because they admire the strength required of these infamous figures to “stare down” more powerful opponents. Perhaps if we continue to raise up the Chicano culture to a place of equality and fulfilled promises, the murals in the park would not glorify dictators, but people of strength and commitment coupled with high moral character. 

In the more recent past, leaders have taken steps in the right direction concerning the preservation of the park. In 2017, Chicano Park was named a National Historic Landmark and eligible for funding to preserve the area’s history and cultural significance. I hope leaders who see this video are inspired to preserve this cultural center for the San Diego and International community.