Location #33:

The Mural
( Scene #9 of the Summer Musical Montage  )


(I.)  1:00:17:  We see a close-up of a colorful Mexican-American mural.
(This is another of those "blink-and-you'll=miss-it shots.)


This was a little tricky to track down, but fortunately, there are a number of good websites out there documenting the many and varied murals of Los Angeles.

It turns out that this mural is entitled "The Wall that Speaks, Sings and Shouts", painted by Paul Botelloo, who was born and raised in East L.A.

You will find it on the west-facing wall of the recreation center at Ruben Salazar Park, at 3864 Whittier Blvd, in East L.A.


Here is a StreetView of the mural as seen from Whittier Blvd.




Painted in 2001, this acrylic-on-stucco mural measures 25 feet x 73 feet.

One of the figures in the mural is holding a scroll which reads
 "Necesito mi Libertad" ("I Need My Freedom")

A bit of history about the park and the mural:

Back in August of 1970, at the height of the Civil Rights movement, during the National Chicano Moratorium March, there was a peaceful anti-Vietnam War protest march to this park (which was known at the time as Laguna Park). It drew over 30,000 people.   Police reportedly overreacted, firing tear gas into the crowd, and turning the peaceful rally into a violent confrontation, where hundreds were arrested and several killed. 

One of the deaths during that event was that of L.A. Times reporter Ruben Salazar.  the first Latino journalist to cover the Chicano community of East L.A. for a major newspaper. He had written critical essays about social/political issues in East L.A.

While covering the protest, Salazar had paused to rest and have a beer in a nearby bar, when police fired a tear gas projectile directly into the bar (at 4945 Whittier Blvd).  The missile struck Salazar in the head, killing him. 

Since this was shortly after the assassinations of John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, it's not surprising that some members of the Latino community suspected that the shooting might have been a political assassination, and Ruben Salazar became a martyr figure to the community.


Laguna Park was renamed after the journalist, a plaque was erected in his honor in the park, and the mural itself contains a small image of him (on the right side).

You can see a larger version of the mural by clicking here.


Here is that very short scene from the montage:






Here is a link to a Google Earth 3-D view
of the mural in the park.






    

Move on to the next movie location seen in "La La Land".

    

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