Iconic Chicano mural to be restored; history preserved
One of Colorado's largest and most iconic murals was painted over, whitewashed at the height of its influence.
Now - thanks to advances in technology and a boost from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Chicano mural called "Urban Dope, Rural Hope" is in the early stages of being restored.
"Urban Dope, Rural Hope will be the oldest mural that we resurrect, " said Lucha Martinez de Luna, the founder of the Chicano Murals of Colorado Project. "And what's so significant about that is the community is no longer there so this is going to be a remembrance of that community." The Denver Housing Authority's Sun Valley Homes were demolished last year to make way for new development.
In 1977 the families of Sun Valley helped create a large and stunning piece of public art. The film "Mirrors" or "Espejos" - made by Millie Paul Films in the late 1980s - captured images of the mural's place in the community.
A resident said at the time, "I think the mural has made this immediate community, it beautifies the area itself. It makes me feel like living here really isn't that bad."
Muralist Carlos Sandoval said in the film, "I think that was the highlight of the whole thing - is really just seeing people get into the mural and liking it."
The mural's creator, artist Emanuel Martinez, told CBS News Colorado, "The community was definitely devastated as well as myself to see that it was painted over."
The mural was whitewashed by the city in the 1990s after it was vandalized with graffiti, or tagged - even though Martinez was already at the time an internationally acclaimed artist.
Martinez de Luna said, "We started losing our murals really early on where they were considered disposable. So I saw how it impacted the artists and the community."
But the whitewashing of Chicano murals continued. The mural Huitzilopochtli was painted over in 2020. In May, the National Trust for Historic Preservation declared that Colorado's Chicano murals were important historical monuments and included them in its Eleven Most Endangered Places list. It said that losing the murals meant the significant contributions of Chicanos and Mexican Americans to Colorado were at risk of being erased.
The artist behind the creation of Huitzilopochtli, David Ocelotl said of the work, "Really it belongs to the community and the community sees themselves here."
The process of removing the whitewash has to be done with care. It entails applying a special solution with a paintbrush, then using a power washer to remove the paint, all without destroying the original art. "I was so excited to see it come back to life as they were cleaning it," Ocelotl said. "It was something I never imagined could happen."
Cultural treasures now also telling the story of communites priced out by gentrification. Martinez de Luna said, "Especially now with displacement. It really becomes the last identifier of who lived in these communities."
The Greenway Foundation backed the creation of the original "Urban Dope, Rural Hope" in 1977 and now is championing its restoration. Jeff Shoemaker's father Joe led the philanthropic effort in the 1970's and today Jeff is carrying on that legacy. Shoemaker said, Martinez " is the consummate gentleman, artist and a true community leader. Each of his projects engages nearby Denver youth in that project's creation thus binding the adjacent community to the mural and its continued care and protection. I am thrilled that the incredible sadness involved with the loss of Urban Dope/Rural Hope will soon be yesterday's sadness as its 'rebirth' begins to take place."
