Across the country, our communities are being displaced because of high rent hikes and job insecurity. As this displacement continues, our culture is also being wiped away. 

“Mural de La Raza,” was created in 1985 in San José, California by a group of artists as a way to empower grafiteros and young people in the neighborhood… 

…It was painted over in 2018. 

“Multi-Cultural,” in Santa Fe will soon be replaced by part of the New Mexico Museum of Art.  

It was created in 1980 by a collective of artists led by Gilberto Guzman. 

This mural, painted in 1970 by Ray Patlan and local youth, was located outside “Casa Aztlán” in Pilsen, Chicago… 

…and disintegrated by a developer in 2017. 

This earlier example of cultural destruction was painted around 1974 by Roberto Chavez on the East Los Angeles College Auditorium… 

…and white-washed just 4 years later by college administrators. 

The film series “Murals and Street Chicano Park”, Mujeres Rebeldes Exhibition and “Calisphere” seek to archive these important artworks.   

These are historical treasures worth preserving.

Author

Luna Olavarría Gallegos (she/her/hers) is a Content Writer for Pulso. She's a storyteller working at the intersections of culture and global politics, and has been published in The Guardian, The FADER and Remezcla. Based in New York, she’s originally from a bicultural home in New Mexico. 📧: [email protected]