Your Turn! The Past, Present, and Future

Chicano Park National Historic Landmark

Interpretation of Chicano Park. Illustration by Eva Vazquez.

Can you learn without history books? Yes! Art reflects people’s everyday lives. By looking at art, you learn about people's history.

Archeologists study murals from the past that help us understand the time period when they were painted. Luckily, today we have murals to tell the story of more recent time periods. Murals are tools to understand and learn about recent history and, in this case, Latino heritage.

Chicano Park’s 72 murals tell a story of the Chicano movement. Stories from indigenous roots, stolen land, myths, immigration, and the people’s struggle are all depicted underneath the San Diego Highway. It’s become a community space for all Latinos living near the area.

By visiting these murals, you are directly learning the history from primary sources, the artists themselves.

Should archeologists preserve these murals for future generations as they have preserved those of the past?