These murals under a freeway in San Diego, California, are more than just art. They’re symbols of a community’s pride in its Mexican heritage.
When the freeway was built in the 1960s, it split a thriving Mexican-American neighborhood in two. The city promised to put a park underneath it. But in April 1970, officials started to build a parking lot there instead. Furious, hundreds of residents turned out to block the construction. After 12 days of protest, the city backed down—and Chicano Park was born.
Over the next few years, local artists painted dozens of huge, colorful murals in the park, most reflecting Mexican-American culture. Now a National Historic Landmark, Chicano Park is also a popular gathering place, with picnic areas, playgrounds, basketball courts, and performance spaces.