Chicano Park

Our Visit to Chicano Park, Lincoln Park

For our midterm, we were instructed to take a field day at Lincoln Park where we would discuss the murals that reside there. These murals are some that I see in my daily commute,  but I never made the time to stop and admire them in all their glory. During our class, I had the opportunity to walk around the park and take pictures of the murals. After coming home and doing some research on the murals, I learned that the park celebrated its 15 year anniversary in September and that unfortunately, because of the city construction, 15 murals had to be demolished and 30 still remain. While we were at the park, I kept seeing the author's name in the murals and when I came home I wanted to learn more about him. Gabriel S. Gaytan, a famed Chicano Visionary Artist, is the father of many of the murals at Lincoln Park. 

Mr. Gaytan poured his heart and culture into these paintings and it shows. Although each mural has its own story, interpreting the murals differently is the wonder of art. When walking around the park and snapping pictures, there was a mural that caught my eye and kept me staring for longer. 

However, this mural was not made by Gabriel Gaytan, but another artist named Jesus "Cimi" Alvarado.

The mural is called

"Pachuca Blood"

At first look, I assumed this mural was simply about women who live in two cultures. After doing some digging, I learned this mural was actually painted during the height of the violence in Ciudad Juárez and dedicated to the women affected by it (2010). 

When asked why he painted this, Cimi replied:

"I felt like there was not a lot of talk any more about the women that disappeared and the mothers that were losing their sons or were losing their husbands within that war, so we wanted to make something more representative of that, he said describing the image which is set in the middle of the river dividing the two cities."

I found pictures of Cimi painting the mural:

                

Cimi describes a Pachuca as: 

 "The Pachuca is a strong border woman. She is resilient. She is beautiful. She lives in two worlds. She speaks calo. She is a survivor. She is street smart. She is educated. She can hold her own. She can survive in diverse worlds. She can be your mother. She can be your sister. She can be your grandmother. She can be your girlfriend. The Pachuca is self determined, she is independent, and she is a free thinker...The Pachuca embraces the Pachuco lifestyle. After all, the Pachuco is born out of the Pachuca. Every Pachuco has Pachuca blood."

As a person appreciating the art, it is very meaningful that a male found it important to showcase women suffering. The murders in that occurred in Ciudad Juarez due to the Narcos affected thousands of Americans, many of them fleeding to the U.S. for safety. Many mothers, wives, sisters lost their loved ones and this mural plays homage to them.