A mural meant to inspire and relate with local residents is coming soon to West Long Beach, paying homage to the area’s work ethic, families, faith and student success.<\/p>\n
Long Beach artist Jos\u00e9 Loza, who\u2019s worked on more than 20 murals, including the “Wanderer<\/a>” and “Presencia de lo invisible<\/a>” in North Long Beach, designed the concept, pulling input from Centro CHA, the nonprofit that organized the project, as well as the Long Beach Economic Partnership and other local business leaders.<\/p>\n Poised with this difficult task, Loza needed to balance three themes that would live within the mural.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s always challenging for me because I\u2019m always trying to find the connections,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n For starters, organizers wanted the Virgin Mary in there, so Loza made her the foreground at the top of the mural. Residents \u201clook to her for protection and prayer,\u201d said Jessica Quintana, executive director of Centro CHA. \u00a0There\u2019s also a large Filipino population in the area, a demographic that\u2019s also largely Catholic\u2014something that she said she kept in mind. It\u2019s also notable that Loza took a non-traditional approach of illustrating the Virgin Mary horizontally, making space for the other elements.<\/p>\n Quintana, who grew up on the westside, said that many residents are gardeners, largely from immigrant communities, and organizers wanted to reflect that industry through a depiction of two children planting a glowing rose bush while also surrounded by the desert plants often seen in the neighborhood.<\/p>\n Aside from the \u201cmulti-layered symbolism\u201d of the children planting and representing the future, to him, they are the \u201ccenter of community.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re walking around your neighborhood and hear kids playing in their yards, playing on the streets, it brings a positive feeling to you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Lastly, two people dressed in graduation gowns\u2014one wearing a sarape-patterned sash\u2014look upward, which Quintana said reflects student graduates who were from high school or college,\u00a0 epitomizing \u201chope\u201d for better futures across generations.<\/p>\n While it\u2019s always hard synthesizing a concept with many elements, \u201cyou kind of do the best you can,\u201d Loza said about designing the mural.<\/p>\n Another mural is coming to West Long Beach at this business at 2000 Santa Fe Ave. this winter. I spoke with the leaders of this project, and they gave me a sneak peak of the mural. \ud83d\ude4c\ud83c\udffc Stay tuned this week for an upcoming story about this project! \ud83d\udd8c\ufe0f\ud83c\udfa8 @theHiLoLBP<\/a> @LongBeachPost<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/TPbvBAX9IP<\/a><\/p>\n — Crystal Niebla (@crystalniebla) December 8, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n