Chicano Murals Gilroy_Stephanie Echeveste - 2.jpeg

Earlier this year Armando Franco, an artist and organizer, led a mural tour of three historic Chicano murals in Gilroy, California. Armando has been working with a El Calendario Azteca de Tecolote, Ray Romo, a group of Jovenes Nobles (Noble Youth), and Community Agency for Resources Advocacy & Services (C.A.R.A.S.) to raise funds to restore these three historic murals. I interviewed Armando via email about his relationship to the murals, the importance of community-based murals and public art, and the restoration project.

I met Armando in the National Art Strategies Creative Community Fellows program and was not only really impressed by his work and his artwork, but also his sense of self. As a Chicana myself, I have struggled with knowing how and where I fit in -- I'm not accepted by white culture nor by many Latinx communities for not being white enough or Mexican enough or Latinx enough. Armando's joy and confidence in being Chicano has re-inspired me to dig deeper into my own family history and think about how I want to exercise my culture in my own community and for my future descendants.

Being forced to assimilate into and value white culture above all else, as my grandparents and probably their parents were even if they are not aware of it, creates an erasure of cultural history that causes pain for generations. This is in addition to the actual pain that Black and Brown people endure daily in the United States. This is why restoring the public art that celebrates one's culture, particularly a culture that has been or is being erased by white supremacy, is vital.

While it is great to commission new public artwork, we also need to restore and protect the work done by those before us, particularly when their artwork is culturally significant. Chicano history, like other Black, Indigenous, and people of color histories, has been erased from history books (I grew up in Arizona, I know). A mural alone cannot redo that kind of erasure, but it is a start.

This interview really inspired me and has given me hope during this time. Armando's words and his ongoing efforts are an example of what we can all be doing right now -- contributing to our local community, educating youth about our past, and helping everyone envision a better future.

Restored mural at South Valley Middle School, Gilroy, CA

S: What is your relationship with these murals?

A: On the surface my relationship with these murals serve as a reminder that I am home. They confirm that I am present in the physical world and that I belong to a community with a rich culture and deeply rooted history. These murals also reassure that my individual story is connected to a much larger story…the story of human beings experiencing space and time.

Just recently, I watched a short video called “The Evolution of Art: and how it shaped the modern world”( ; it mentions the Bronze Age and how, “humans were creating art to honor their ancestors, as well as to invoke and reinforce the belief in something greater than themselves!”

I strongly and wholeheartedly believe we (our community) have been doing the same with these mural restoration projects; so on a deeper level these murals also connect me to the human spirit. They connect me to the original muralists (El Calendario Azteca de Tecolote & Ray Romo) and they connect me to my ancestors and relatives from the past, present, and future. For decades these murals have served our community as vessels for our subconscious thoughts. So I guess you can say my relationship with these murals can be described as very personal in terms of identity and community. I also believe that my relationship to these murals can be described as transformational. Transformational because of their physical appearance and because of how the power of these murals can ignite transformational change within an often neglected neighborhood.

“I am the atoms, molecules, blood, and dust of my ancestors-not as a history but as a continuing people. We describe our culture as a circle, by which we mean that it is an integrated whole.” -Judith Baca ‘Whose Monument Where? Public Art in a Many-Cultured Society.’

Artist Guillermo with Calendario Azteca | Photo by Tecolote provided by Armando Franco — Artist Guillermo with Calendario Azteca | Photo by Tecolote provided by Armando Franco

Help Fund the restoration of the Aztec Calendar Mural

S: What is your first memory seeing one of the murals?

A: The house I was born into is located adjacent to the Aztec Calendar mural and all of the other murals are within walking distance. The building where the mural is located used to be a restaurant called “La Reyna”, which was owned by my uncle’s mother-in-law prior to me being born. However, my first memory of that mural and that building is when it was a card room back in the late 80’s-early 90’s. My dad loved to drink, gamble and sing songs by his favorite artist Vicente Fernandez at that place. He used to take me all of the time and I would just sit there and watch. Lol.

Gigantes pre-restoration. Photo by Tecolote provided by Armando Franco.

S: How did you get involved in the restoration project?

A: Back in spring 2011 after graduating from CSU-Monterey Bay I made a commitment to myself and to the region I grew up in. Instead of going directly into a master’s program I wanted to take the knowledge, skills, and experiences I gained in college and bring it back to my community. Since then, my goal has been to collaborate with local non-profit organizations and government agencies to support their artistic projects and goals.

Whether it had to do with leading a workshop, mural projects, creating flyers/digital graphics, etc., I wanted to align my creative skills with their vision. Fast forward to 2014, I was simply online looking for mural projects in the Santa Clara County area and it just so happened to be that Community Agency for Resources, Advocacy, & Services (C.A.R.A.S) and Chicano muralist Guillermo Aranda (my mentor) were looking for interns to help restore the handball courts/Gigantes mural at San Ysidro park. The “Gigantes” restoration was organized by C.A.R.A.S. and the city of Gilroy and since then I kind of just stuck around as a volunteer and as their “in-house” artist. After the 1st restoration project was completed C.A.R.A.S. received a grant from Silicon Valley DeBug. They offered me a job to help facilitate Participatory Defense which is a community organizing model to help families navigate through the criminal and/or immigration court processes. While we were doing that work we also had the other two historic Chicano murals in mind and began campaigning for their restorations as well.

Aztec Calendar (original) | Photo by Tecolote provided by Armando Franco. Fund the restoration of this mural here.

S: When did you learn the significance of the murals? What do they mean to you?

A: I learned about the significance of these murals at a very early age when I used to go to

MACSA (Youth Recreation Center), which unfortunately is no longer around. I remember all of the O.G.’s and elders talking about how important it is to know your history and to be rooted to your Mexican heritage. MACSA always had cultural events that celebrated these murals so these murals always played a pivotal role in community gatherings.

“Someone once said that the purpose of a monument is to bring the past into the
present to inspire the future.” -Judith Baca.

What do they mean to me? Why have we put forth so much time and energy into these murals?

Personally, they mean the world to me because I know that in some way shape or form they have helped develop my own identity as a young Chicano. They helped me by providing a space for sanctuary during the times I felt alone, uncertain, afraid and confused. More importantly, I have always understood that I am not the only one who has felt connected to these murals. I think of the people who have been connected to these murals long before I was even born, I think of my peers, I think of the original artists and I also think about the new generation of youth and how they are being impacted by these murals right now.

Let's be real…the public education system in this country is fucking terrible and it needs to be at the top of our nation’s priorities along with affordable healthcare and housing. So in response to the lack of quality education in our communities, historically, we have always turned to public art in order to educate the masses. It is imperative that we continue to educate ourselves; our elders were segregated in the classroom, my generation was lied to in the classroom, and now this new wave of minds in the public education system are being completely neglected.

It is our responsibility to teach the next generation of youth the truth about history in the United States. From a Chicano perspective, we have to show them that we are proud Mexican-Americans who want to contribute to a society that is struggling tremendously with its own identity. It is important to note that not only do these murals solidify our people’s place in history, but they also portray our true contributions to mankind while simultaneously eliminating false narratives and stereotypes.

“The foundation of every state is the education of its youth.” -Diogenes The Cynic

Mural at South Valley Middle School pre-restoration | Photo provided by Armando Franco

Mural at South Valley Middle School restored | Photo provided by Armando Franco

S: What do you envision for future mural or mural restoration projects in your community? In the world?

A: The public art scene is really starting to develop in Gilroy and I've seen a rise in the number of artists getting to work and putting their art out there for the public domain to experience. This is happening all over the central coast including both smaller, agricultural towns (Gilroy, Salinas, Watsonville, etc.) and also in bigger, more recognized cities such as San Jose and Santa Cruz.

I also used to be on the Gilroy Public Art Committee and I'm confident that they will do incredible work for future mural projects. They actually provided us with a letter of support for the Aztec Calendar Project-grant proposal we submitted to the county of Santa Clara. Upon completion of the restoration we would like our youth to carry on and pass down the traditions of muralism. We want them to continue developing mural projects that are open to the public and provide a safe space for all.

As for the future of mural restorations, people are starting to recognize the importance of establishing such projects within their respective communities to preserve the history of their culture and neighborhoods. There’s a group of young leaders in San Jose, CA who call themselves “El Comite” and they are also focusing on preserving historic Chicano murals. SPARC (Social and Public Art Resource Center) in L.A. is an organization founded by mural goddess Judith Baca and they have been the front runners of mural restorations in CA. There’s also a dude in the Bay Area who calls himself the mural doctor; you can just search “mural doctor” on Instagram and you’ll find him easily.

I also want to recognize the homies at Pow! Wow! San Jose because the mural work they are doing is phenomenal. They bring in a number of muralists to create murals throughout the city simultaneously. There’s also Pow! Wow! Hawaii, Pow! Wow! DC, Pow! Wow! Worldwide, and many more. When I think about it, there are so many creatives out in the world doing great work, these are just a few that I follow personally.

Lastly, Raza in San Diego are also doing amazing work with Chicano Park and with hosting Chicano Park Day on an annual basis for the past 50 years. I just wanted to recognize the Chicano Park Steering Committee for their dedication to preserving and creating more murals at Chicano Park and within the city of San Diego. I highly recommend you attend Chicano Park Day once the government allows large events/festivals to take place. Fun fact: We hired Hector “Mexikota” Villegas (Chicano Park Muralist) to help us with phase one of the Aztec Calendar Restoration Project back in July of 2019.

“These murals have become monuments that serve as a community’s memory. Thousands of public murals in places where people live and work have become tangible public monuments to the shared experience of communities of color.”
-Judith Baca ‘Whose Monument Where? Public Art in a Many-Cultured Society.’

There are so many things happening in the world right now that artists are taking action vs. simply creating within the privacy of their own studio spaces. Truthfully, George Floyd’s death was beyond tragic and should have never happened, but unfortunately that is the reality we are living in today. In response, there has been an explosion of mural art throughout the world and its fucking amazing!

We are witnessing our communities fight for social justice on so many different levels; activist mural art is rapidly becoming the sword and the shield for the Black Lives Matter Movement. Historically, this is nothing new for art to be used as a tool to combat oppression but this time around it's different. This time there’s social media and the internet where these Murals are instantly available to the public. From one region to another the messages and demands of the BLM movement are visible in each and every mural dedicated to those who have lost their lives to police brutality in the United States. Artists are coming together and so are the people who always claim that they don’t have an ounce of creativity in their bodies.

Fortunately, I was lucky enough to witness this in person when @goodmothergallery and @endeavors_oakland organized a street take over of 3 city blocks starting on 15th St at Broadway in downtown Oakland. The result was an immense mural that read “Black Lives Matter” on the black top and required an aerial shot for anyone to see it in its entirety, similar to the street mural that was created in Washington D.C. Protestors are also utilizing mural art to express their frustrations. Phrases like “Fuck the Police” (one of my personal favorites) allows the public to know that the protestors are no longer afraid of authority. They are refusing to to be ignored and it’s in your face everywhere you go!

On the other hand I have seen artists (Such as artists Ryan Stopera and Leslie Barlow) in Minneapolis rebuilding and healing their communities through mural art. Folks are working with local business owners to beautify all of the wooden boards that are covering their windows. These collaborations shed a positive light on the movement versus all of the violence and destruction that gets spat out and twisted in the news. I believe that collectively, humanity has something to say and it's being done right now through mural art all over the globe.

Detail of mural at South Valley Middle School | Photo provided by Armando Franco

“Artists have the unique ability to transcend designated spheres of activity. What represents something deeper and more hopeful about the future of our ethnically and class-divided cities are collaborations that move well beyond the artist and architect to the artist and the historian, scientist, environmentalist, or social service provider. Such collaborations are mandated by the seriousness of the tasks at hand. They bring a range of people into conversations about their visions for their neighborhoods or their nations. Finding a place for those ideas in monuments that are constructed of the soil and spirit of the people is the most challenging task for public artists in this time.”
-Judith Baca ‘Whose Monument Where? Public Art in a Many-Cultured Society.

At the end of the day when I reflect on the timing of our project, it feels as if everything is happening for a reason and we are now more motivated and focused than ever to complete our series of restorations.

Gigantes mural restored | Photo by Armando Franco

S: What advice would you give someone trying to restore murals in their own community?

A: My advice would be to find and organize people who share the same passion and vision as them.

Research, plan, and execute! Then repeat!

Research local laws and building regulations.

Build a community and work with city government commissions and committees.

Work with the original artists and with other local artists/gallerists in the community and create a dialogue.

Invite the public and be transparent with the process.

Be dedicated, relentless, and most importantly be patient.

Don’t take things personal!

Smile but remain focused! :)

“Practice, Practice, Practice, Must Be The Practice Of The Artist!”- Unknown

S: What tips would you give building owners who have historic murals on their buildings?

A: My only advice to building owners who have historic murals on their buildings is to have an open mind and to have conversations with the people that make up that particular neighborhood. If anything the work accomplished together can result in the building’s value increasing. It really does take a collaborative effort from the community organizers/artists, the building owners, the local historical societies, and city officials to make sure all historical monuments including murals are approached with in-depth research and proper maintenance. This is the part that gets really complex and I'm still learning more about it as we push forward with our own projects.

S: How do you suggest a community determine the value of a mural? Does it matter who painted the mural and what it depicts?

A: This is a really great question! To me, there are many different factors when it comes to a community determining the value of a mural and yes, it absolutely does matter who painted the mural and what it depicts. I strongly believe that when communities develop mural projects they should always include local artists and the people who make up the neighborhood where the mural will be created.

From my perspective I believe murals should be a reflection of the community’s identity. They should depict and celebrate the people who help drive the community’s economic, social, and cultural progress. A mural’s content must absolutely include knowledge, creativity and imagination. I can go on for days but I want to conclude with a few more final important factors for creating murals. Space, time, ecosystem and environment.

When I approach a potential space for a mural I reflect on the environment that surrounds it and I ask myself multiple questions. What can I create in the space provided that will “fit” into the environment? Do I even want to make the design “fit in”? What purpose does it serve to the audience? How does it affect the ecosystem? How does the mural reflect on the idea of time? Are we choosing to highlight the past? The Present? Or the Future? Perhaps all 3? Lastly, I do want to mention that murals are a portrayal of human intellect and thoughtfulness.

As gentrification becomes a growing issue within our communities, it is important to voice your opinions at your local government art commissions/committees so the people can choose which pieces of public art they want represented in their neighborhoods.

Armando Franco and one of his murals | Photo and artwork by Armando Franco

S: What type of artwork do you do? How can we find you?

A: I like to create murals and paint but I'm a big fan of mixed media. In the past I have created murals using only blue painter’s tape. Those blue tape murals eventually turned into blue tape sculptures. I've always enjoyed traditional drawing with ballpoint pens, but I also dabble with digital/graphic design. As of late, I have also been learning to film and edit videos. I'm currently in the process of building my website from scratch, but for now I can share my Instagram information along with some other links that I think are relevant.

Restoring Chicano Murals in Gilroy, CA: An interview with Armando Franco

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