A visit to el Parque Chicano brings a class project to life

On Friday, fellow Spanish instructor, Rosalina, and I walked to el Parque Chicano in San Diego to see the murals. After working with my students this semester on a Chicano poetry project, I just had to see these murals in person. 

The murals, located under the San Diego-Coronado Bridge, were painted in the 1970s after residents of the Barrio Logan took back their neighborhood after the freeway cut through and destroyed many of their homes.

For a thorough recount of the park's history, check out the website for the Chicano Park Historical Documentation Project at San Diego State University.

Looking through these murals, we can see images to reference many of the ideas also found in Chicano poetry. The strong sense of pride, the struggle for identity and acceptance, the deep connection to family and historical roots...all are seen in the murals.