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Arte En El Parque: The Murals of Chicano Park Lecture and Painting Workshop
You see the murals when you drive over the Coronado Bridge, at this event you'll learn about the art @ Chicano Park from Dr. Alberto López Pulido. Following a brief lecture about the history and the deep significance of the pillars, you'll participate in a hands-on workshop led by artist Maira Meza. Participants will paint their own creation and link the significance of the presentation with the art created by the artists.
Space is limited for the art portion of this event. Please register to reserve your spot. If you are unable to secure a spot for painting, all are welcome to attend the lecture portion of this event.
Alberto López Pulido is the founding chair of the Department of Ethnic Studies and has been on the faculty at the University of San Diego since 2003. He grew up in the southern section of San Diego more commonly known as the South Bay and lived a life between borders and fronteras that highly influenced his fronterizo ways of understanding the world. He began his postsecondary education at Southwestern College in Chula Vista and then transferred to the University of California, San Diego, where he received degrees in Sociology and Chicano Studies. He had a desire to explore postbaccalaureate studies in Ethnic and Chicano Studies that led him to apply and was accepted to the University of Notre Dame where he studied with Julian Samora as a student in the Mexican American Graduate Studies Program established in the 1970s. Dr. Samora had successfully applied and received financial support from the Ford Foundation who at the time sought to address the protest and civil unrest throughout major U.S. cities by giving monies to start and support ethnic studies programs in higher education. Professor Pulido, better known as El Profe to his students, would represent one of fifty-seven students who would graduate from the Mexican American Graduate Studies Program at Notre Dame and proudly considers himself a Samorista.
Pulido works with several community organizations and guides and none more important than the Chicano Park Steering Committee who serve as the stewards of Chicano Park in San Diego, California. He learned a great deal about community organizing through collective struggle and self-determination. This would guide and inspire him to direct and co-produce an award winning documentary on the history and value of lowriding as a cultural expression in the borderlands of San Diego and Tijuana. Soon after, he would be approached by the acquisition editor for History Press to write a book that would augment the history of lowrider culture in San Diego.
Maira Meza is a first generation Chicana born in San Diego, California. Her parents—born in Tijuana, Baja California, and Villa Union, Sinaloa—arrived in Santa Cruz, California in 1965. Growing up in low income apartments opened up an artistic opportunity for Maira. She had the privilege of entering and winning several national poster contests throughout her teenage years and she found art to be her favorite hobby. Her love for art was put at a halt when she started her own family as a young adult, giving birth to four beautiful children: Nina, Alejandra, Fernando, and Giselle. In 2010, she faced another life changing event—here begins her unexpected life full of doctors, surgeries, and medications. It was, and continues to be, a long journey full of health complications. At a certain point, she was even forced to get around in a wheelchair for quite some time. Although this is where she found the time to reconnect with art after so many years of not doing so, she turned to art as an escape of her own reality. She turned to art for therapy, and to this day continues to escape the real world by letting her mind and hand bring her into a peaceful zone.
Given her medical situation, Frida Kahlo has been a major inspiration for Maira. In 2015, Maira first attempted painting. This is where she fell in love with the process and found it to be a part of her daily life. She was motivated by her fiancé to apply and share her work at group art shows throughout San Diego. Since then, Maira has been a part of many group art shows, has held two solo art exhibitions, illustrated the award winning children’s book, The Spirit of Chicano Park and also started her own business hosting paint night events at local businesses and schools in San Diego. COVID-19 brought us all uncertainties, so as a way for families to stay busy, she offered free paint sessions virtually and has painted with families across the nation, and even other countries including, Mexico, Argentina, and Peru. Maira looks forward to what the future has in store for her artwork and is grateful for all the opportunities and all her supporters.
