San Jose Chicano community fights opposition to mural in park

Tempers flared at a recent community meeting when Latino residents in San Jose’s northside neighborhood advocated for design approval of a Chicano-themed mural.

Critics of the proposed mural at Backesto Park, including the members of the 13th Street Neighborhood Advisory Committee, turned out Wednesday evening for a meeting arranged by City Hall officials, hosted by District 3 Councilmember Carl Salas. The committee criticized the proposed mural, saying they already had art planned for the wall at the park’s handball court before the pandemic, even though they had yet to come up with a design.

Project coordinator Ramon Castillo said support from residents, cultural advocates and, most importantly, the San Jose arts community, proved there’s a huge demand for public art representing Northside and its Chicano community.

Castillo said he discussed the mural proposal with city officials starting last year and followed the process expecting the mural design to be approved at the Arts Commission April 1 meeting. It was then met with unexpected opposition at the meeting, delaying a decision until April 21.

“People against the mural said nothing but negative things about it on social media. Things have been heating up over this potential project,” Castillo told San José Spotlight. “I was inspired to do this mural to commemorate the Mexican American culture, something to give back to my community and to my people.”

Weeks-long arguments on social media over the mural spilled into Wednesday’s community meeting when neighborhood critics dismissed the mural for numerous reasons — including lack of communication about the project, disagreement over the mural’s theme and not wanting the mural at all. Shouting matches ensued after a neighbor criticized the mural’s design being exclusively Chicano themed when the neighborhood’s history includes Italian and Asian cultures.

Craig Chivatero, a 13th Street Neighborhood Advisory Committee representative, said they would like to see city officials pump the brakes on the mural proposal to allow the committee more time for creative input on any future project. He said city officials should have contacted the advisory committee as soon as they found out about the mural.

“We don’t want to just be a checkbox that can be ignored once the meeting has been held, and that’s how it feels,” he told San José Spotlight. “We understand the artists and organizations have put in a lot of work, but by excluding us, it makes it seem like they’re trying to get this done before we can even exercise our opinion.”

Artists Analyn Bones, Alfonso Salazar and John Garcia designed the art concept for the mural to be preserved on a handball court wall.

San Jose public art director Michael Ogilvie recommended the Arts Commission approve the mural’s concept and design at the April 21 meeting.

“The mural will incorporate elements of local indigenous culture, the Chicano movement and community life,” Ogilvie said.

Salazar said the mural is meant to highlight the Chicano culture that’s grown in the neighborhood over recent years. San Jose’s lowrider community was among the largest group of supporters for the mural.

As the elder of the three mural artists, Salazar said it was important to express the culture’s history on community members who weren’t around during the early years of San Jose’s Chicano boom.

“I really want to make sure that this mural talks about ourselves, talks about our culture, our past, our present and our future,” he told San José Spotlight. “This is one good place that they can learn in their own neighborhood.”