New Day Viene: Fresh Paint and New Ambitions

Day 2 / Christmas Eve eve

Day 44 / Finished

by Nathan Zarate

photograph by Jaime Ojo

Artist Francisco Delgado, his brother Oswaldo, his friend, artist Mauricio Olaque and a large helping hand from Bowie High School students and neighborhood residents began the Sagrado Corazon Mural on the night of Christmas Eve eve, 2006.

The mural, with support from Sagrado Corazon, local businessmen, concerned residents and ex-residents of the Segundo Barrio,was done in a spirit of neighborhood renewal, hope, affirmation and resistance to colonial imperialism as demonstrated by supporters and funders of El Paso’s so- called Downtown Plan.

The Plan, first announced on March 31, 2006 in a mock civic meeting held at the Community Foundation’s new elite showcase, The Plaza Theater, was presented as a fait acompli and for those who had reservations, emminent domain was threatened. At that meeting, unspecified and undiagramed promises were murmured about new housing for soon-to-be displaced residents of the Segundo Barrio. Mention was made in the form of unofficial promises that current residents of the Segundo Barrio would be offered new housing somewhere east of the current neighborhood (Fabens?).

Given the past history of barrio appropriations -the most relevant example was the destruction of Chavez Ravine in Los Angeles and its forced removals- a survey revealed that among the residents of the Segundo Barrio, in a Paso del Sur Poll, 110% did not believe the promises.

In a sham neighborhood tour, last May, conducted by neighborhood Representative Beto O’Rourke (non Spanish Speak) and County representative Veronoica Escobar (Spanish Speak), with full media coverage arranged in advance, trailing this PR circus through the ‘hood like a pack of demoralized parrots, residents,that could not avoid them, were asked if they approved of the plan (after proper English to Spanish translation, fron non Spanish Speak O’Rourke to Spanish Speak Escobar and then to the cornered residents, all Spanish Speak and mostly English Speak, too) reportedly said they agreed with the plan which the notoriously power friendly El Paso Times promptly reported (as well as assorted other Paso del Norte Group-owned media). Venetian blind and door lock sales were reportedly brisk at local ferrerterias the next day.

In a spasm of affirmation, the next morning’s Times declared that the majority of south side residents overwhelming approved of the plan and the new housing that was promised, not to mention the great new bus boy jobs that would undoubtedly arrive once middle class youth felt comfortable enough to drink coffee and eat spinach salad in El Segundo Barrio. The ariticle was accompanied by a picture of the towering Beto O’Rourke interrogating an apartment dweller who was cowering behind her half closed door.

Neither O’Rourke nor Escobar have been seen in the neighborhood since the May tour. Residents in the neighborhood subsequently interviewed by The Border Blog have overwhelmingly expressed displeasure with The Plan, anger at its seeming colonialist tone and fervent anger at neighborhood collaborators that have spoken for El Segundo Barrio without any neighborhood approval or consent and, in some cases, outrage that certain Segundo Barrio institutions (some founded on the idea of improving the health of the community but now adding poetry readings and Photoshop lessons) and their Director, have been known to have worked with outside business interests for over four years, in private and secretive consultation with Paso del Norte Group members. It is rumored that in The Plan there may end only being two buildings: Wal Mart and La Fe.

The new Mural at Sagrado Corazon (Father Rahm Street between Oregon and Mesa Streets ( a mile south of Central Downtown, centered around the Plaza de los Lagartos) is the beginning of a major, from-the-ground-up movement that has the ambition of snatching the barrio’s soul and heart back from the machinations of Downtown Plan Wet Dreamists (DPWD, the government branch of the PDNG) and resisting the destruction of the historic and spiritual Segundo Barrio.

Signifcance of the Mural and New Political Movements

Delgado’s mural is the Segundo’s Mural and it is just the beginning of a movement that will demonstrate the south side neighborhood’s depth of artistic, literary, spiritual and political muscle, local activists and residents believe.

“First we must stand and defend what is ours. We will show the beauty of our culture, its richness and grace and we will renew ourselves even though we have never received equal treatment from this city,” declared Neto Zero, rumored to be a potential candidate for City Council (and O’Rourke’s seat).

“We will renew the neighborhood together, like a family, without waiting for the city to do what they have always been tasked with doing, but have never done, which is help us renew our neighborhood, and then, when we finally have proper and representative representation from this neighborhood, after the next election, we will demand that the city do its duty, do the proper housing inspections and force bad landlords to follow the same rules that every other part of this city lives by and, finally, we will ask where the city has been in the past, why they haven’t enforced the laws, why they were willing to hand our precious neighborhood over to wealthy and vested private ‘groups,’ so they could be comfortable with their kind of businesses in our neighborhood, and we will ask if what has transpired between PDNG and the city is legal. We know it has not been ethical and the next candidate for this district will need to make that point clear. I think it already is.”

When asked if he was running for O’Rourke’s Council seat, Zero said, I don’t want anything to do with that guy’s seat, but, after we raise the little army we’re raising, to reclaim our neighborhood, hey, who knows. I’ll listen to la raza’s sweet voice.” “But first,” he added, “we must ask why they used the city’s scarce and precioius resources to hire very expensive consulting firms (from California) to produce insensitive, rascist and inept plans that the lowest cucharacha could see was thought up by somebody who doesn’t have the first clue of what matters to us. We will ask for names and we will act properly to get answers,” declared potential City Council candidate Zero. “There is no statute of limitations on corruption that I know of,” he concluded.

Zero would not confirm or deny his political intentions, but did state, “Whover is our next representative must be from this neighborhood. We have been represented by carpet baggers like senor Beto, who don’t even live here, for too long. I would, personally, only promise one thing : I will never appropriate other people’s homes and businesses for my or my friend’s personal financial gain and if elected I would promise unequivocably not to ‘take,’ other neighborhoods properties by the use of emminent domain.”

“For example,” he added, “I would resist the suggestion that was made to me that we use emminent domain to declare Cinncinatti Street, near the UTEP campus, blighted, because it no where near pays the taxes that a good Wal Mart, put there, would produce. I’m against that. The only reason I would use emminent domain there is to franchise Ben’s Taco’s, Sofia’s sock store on Stanton, or, even, put an El Paso To LA bus station.”

“It’s tempting, said Zero, “but hey, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. No?”

In the meantime the neighborhood is preparing an all day celebration of its new mural on February 10, at the above mentioned site of the mural. There will be music, dancing, food, a film festival, lots of flirting and instructional lectures.

All people -regardless of ethnicity, political party, hair color, or imperialist affiliation- are invited.

[Editor’s note: An earlier article, “Mural Project is Officially Cool,” appears below.]