East San Jose mural honors community legends

For Guadalupe Cruz, the new mural in Alum Rock is impossible to miss. She passes it nearly every day on her way through the neighborhood, just minutes from the home where she has lived for decades.

The mural, unveiled Thursday, honors three figures with deep ties to East San Jose — Heisman Trophy winner and two-time Super Bowl champion Jim Plunkett, longtime educator Roberto Cruz who helped establish the National Hispanic University in East San Jose and Luis Valdez, a playwright and filmmaker. The project is part of a broader effort by District 5 Councilmember Peter Ortiz to invest in public art and economic revitalization in East San Jose.

Ortiz said residents have told him they want more control over how their neighborhood is represented, particularly as the city works to strengthen its commercial corridors.

“We’re sick of other people trying to shape who East San Jose is. (This is) one thing that (the community) wanted to do, given this is Alum Rock Village … the gateway to Alum Rock Park,” Ortiz told San José Spotlight.

Ortiz said the mural is funded in part by money he secured through the city budget for murals throughout East San Jose. The funding is tied to the East San Jose Economic Revitalization Framework, which aims to strengthen commercial corridors and attract investment to an area residents and business owners said have been overlooked.

The mural also reflects the city’s broader use of public art as a way to beautify East San Jose and celebrate its cultural identity. Previous projects have included murals and cultural markers along commercial corridors, while a $100,000 grant secured for the Alum Rock Santa Clara Street Business Association has supported beautification, trash removal and public art.

The mural’s location also reflects the neighborhood’s history, Ortiz said. The artwork incorporates references to Alum Rock Park, including imagery connected to the area’s former Hollywood Alum Rock sign and its equestrian culture.

Cruz’s wife Guadalupe Cruz said seeing her husband, who died in 2002, depicted on the wall was emotional. She was an educator in the Alum Rock area for 30 years and said the family lives close to the mural.

“They captured my husband well,” she told San José Spotlight, noting that the mural depicts him with the black hair and beard he had when he was younger. She said the portrayal will help older residents and younger people recognize him.

Cruz’s son Roberto Cruz II said Ortiz reached out to him and his mother about including his father in the mural. The family was involved throughout the process, he said, and the location was especially meaningful because of their longstanding ties to Alum Rock.

“My dad … lived, worked, played and prayed in this community,” he told San José Spotlight.

Muralist Francisco Ramirez also has deep roots in East San Jose. Born in Mexico and raised in San Jose, Ramirez attended schools in the Alum Rock area, including James Lick High School.

“(The mural) shows that here in this community, the East Side, we can have our heroes,” Ramirez told San José Spotlight.

Ramirez said community engagement was part of the mural process. People who saw him working on the mural would often stop and share personal connections to the figures depicted.

“There was two or three people that would come up and it was like, ‘Oh my God, I grew up with him,’” Ramirez said.

For Plunkett, 78, the mural represents a connection to the city where his story originated. The former Oakland Raiders quarterback said he is proud of San Jose and remembers the city as the place where his success began.

“San Jose, yeah, they’re proud of me. I’m proud of the city,” Plunkett told San José Spotlight.

[email protected] or @CasasPerezRed on X.