Tear down the wall?

Torus Tammer

It could be curtains for a controversial 625-foot mural in the La

Colonia Juarez neighborhood of Fountain Valley.

The mural, depicting the contemporary history of the neighborhood

along with scenes from the Mexican American War, has been part of a

6-foot-high wall on Calle Zaragosa and Calle Madero for 24 years.

However, a survey in June of area residents shows most of them want the

wall demolished and rebuilt, citing the chipped and faded mural as an

eyesore.

Sixty-eight percent of participants in the Calle Zaragosa area and 70%

of participants in the Calle Madero area said they wanted the wall

demolished and rebuilt, and wanted a sidewalk with landscaping around it.

The results troubled artist Sergio O’Cadiz, 65, who painted the mural

in 1976.

“The city promised me that the art would be preserved at a ceremony

held for the mural when it was painted,” O’Cadiz recalled. “I’m not

surprised by the survey results. Obviously, people don’t like decaying

work.”

This is not the first time the mural has been in jeopardy. The first

rumblings started in 1985, when the city started to consider what to do

with the wall, City Planner Ray Kromer said.

Last August, the city surveyed residents about the wall after

examining the history of complaints about the mural. Some La Colonia

residents said the mural, which was covered in gang graffiti, devalued

the neighborhood.

But there was also a faction that considered the mural to be a part of

La Colonia’s history. Those residents were adamant about maintaining it

in its original form.

Last August’s survey shows 81% of the participants voted against

restoring the wall. But the survey only included residents from Calle

Zaragosa. Neighborhood residents complained to the City Council that the

survey did not include everybody in the La Colonia area.

The council decided to bring in a third party to conduct another

survey. However, the cost involved was too high so the city mailed out a

new survey to area residents and had a third party open the envelopes and

tabulate the results, which was completed in June.

The new survey results are expected to be presented to the council

next month, said Chris Corbin, the city’s housing coordinator. The

council will then consider the wall’s fate.

Corbin said the survey was to serve as a litmus test, enabling the

city to know what the people in the neighborhood want.

“The council is the decision-making body, and what they decide is

final,” Corbin said. “But to be honest, I’m not sure what their stance

will be regarding this complex issue.”

Liz Silva, who lives across from the mural, said the city and the

artist are to blame for the work’s decayed state.

“The city and artist didn’t think about prevention. The work was never

sealed or protected in any way,” said Silva, who moved to the

neighborhood in 1988.

Silva said most of the residents who championed the mural’s cause have

now moved. She said she considered supporting the mural’s preservation

but changed her mind.

“It’s not a solely Hispanic community anymore, and because of lack of

finances and sagging community interest, I never pursued the matter,”

Silva said.

The mural’s demolition is far from a done deal. Residents and others

can still voice an opinion on the matter at the September council

meeting.

“We fully understand that it’s an emotional issue and that the

demographics have changed. But we’re just simply trying to resolve the

situation,” Kromer said.

If the mural is demolished, O’Cadiz said he would like to see another

one take its place.

“So they don’t come up as destroyers of art, the best thing the city

could do is hold a competition for residents to submit art,” O’Cadiz

said, “and then let the community decide which art to erect as a

replacement.”