Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles

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Address: 

3600 Whittier Blvd. (mural on Esperanza), Los Angeles, CA 90023. (click to view)

Size: 
N/A
Medium: 
Acrylic
Date: 
1987
Type: 
Contemporary
Political
Description / Interpretation: 

A highly graphic montage in solidarity with workers, especially the undocumented. Images of Superman (Truth, Justice, and the American Way) recur, but he doesn't seem to be a match for the determination and militancy of farmworkers, illegal immigrants, and others who are struggling for a broader application of American justice. The title (upper left corner) is written in the same style as a Coca Cola advertisement.
Ricardo Flores Magon (1884-1922), pictured in the mural, was an anarchist and newspaper publisher. His revolutionary agitation led to his expulsion from Mexico in 1904. His radical Spanish-language newspaper, Regeneracion, originally published in Mexico City, was then published from various U.S. cities, and in Los Angeles beginning in 1914. He and his brother Enrique were imprisoned in Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary for violating the U.S. neutrality law, and Ricardo died there in 1922. Photo © Robin Dunitz.