Community Mural Honors Mexican Heritage
Ashland residents, artists, students, educators, and law enforcement officers gathered last Wednesday, March 2 at the corner of East 14th Street and 165th Avenue to dedicate a new community mural highlighting what Ashland has in common with Mexico City.
The mural, painted by youth artists from the nearby REACH Ashland Youth Center, is on the side of El Riconcito Chilango restaurant at 16496 East 14th St.
Chilango refers to the people of Mexico City, where restaurant owner Maria Villa was born. She has operated the restaurant for 11 years.
After talking to Ms. Villa, the artists came to see Ashland and Mexico City as two communities where people have many different origin stories.
The east side of the mural depicts Mexico City’s famous buildings and waterways. The east side, toward the street, depicts the power of connecting people from different backgrounds through food and sharing meals together.
This is the fifth community mural the REACH Ashland artists have done in partnership with the public arts program of the Alameda County Deputy Sheriff’s Activities League (DSAL) and with the Alameda County Office of Education.
“Art is a human right,” Joaquin Newman, arts program manager at REACH Ashland, told the gathering.
“It is a form of communication that transcends languages and can be a tool to unify our diverse communities,” Newman continued. “Investments in the public arts provide for economic growth, civic unity, and give us a collective sense of belonging.”
“Through arts practices, youth cope better from traumas, find alternatives to more risky behaviors, and express their identities in positive and supportive ways,” Newman added.
The mural was painted by artists Jennifer Valladares, Susana Gonzalez, Greg Duggan, Tiffany King, Terris Ricks, Jasmine Quiroga, Quentin Torres, and Breana Parks, along with other youth artists from REACH Ashland.
Alameda County Sheriff Gregory Ahern told participants that the murals are part of a comprehensive crime prevention strategy for Ashland and other communities in Alameda County. That strategy is called Community Capitals Policing, and it aims to build up several different kinds of capital, or resources to draw on, in communities to make them safer.
The restaurant was chosen for the mural after experiencing graffiti and other problems, the sheriff said. Even while the mural was still being prepared, problems diminished, and foot traffic increased.
“The neighbors say the murals make them feel safer and proud of their community,” Ahern said.
Sheriff Ahern thanked, among others, Capt. Marty Neideffer and his partner, Hilary Bass, who head up the Sheriff’s Office crime prevention efforts in the area.
“Art is a right. Art is a healing. As we shift into the next phase of the pandemic, we need this to help us heal,” Dr. Ingrid Lainez-Roberson, county assistant schools superintendent, told the crowd.
The Alameda County Office of Education runs the art and other educational programs at the REACH Ashland Youth Center.