If one takes a leisurely drive down any of Southwest Detroit’s main streets such as W. Vernor, Michigan, Livernois, Bagley, Springwells among others you will be treated to a wide range of beautiful wall murals. The area is well known for the sheer number of striking murals covering everything from hometown heroes like Sixto Rodriguez, cultural pride, youth activism, nature and much more. There is the prolific work of artists like Elton Monroy Duran and a number of those that have been commissioned by Garage Cultural over the years. So many prolific artists call Southwest Detroit home. Detroit’s landscape as a whole now is becoming known for its diversity and number of murals.
There is a rich tradition of muralism going back to the early 1970’s by artists from El Barrio (as we used to call our neighborhood). A number of those murals have long disappeared, some have not been documented with photos and a few are in restoration. What follows is my humble attempt to collect some of that history. Further, let’s say this article serves as a “call” to other community historians and interested members who may have photos, documentation and/or stories about this exciting and yet not often told story. I will, at this point, present some of what I recollect and more recently learned from others about mural efforts between the 70’s and the 90’s. Let’s be clear what follows is by no means a complete list. Just a humble attempt to get the ball rolling.
In the early 1970’s, student Eddie Rivera painted a wall mural in the Chicano-Boricua Studies (CBS) suite of offices on Wayne State’s campus, that presented on Latino aspirations and struggles. CBS started through a collaboration with the community agency Latin Americans for Social and Economic Development (LA SED) and New Detroit and was clearly rooted in community projects and activism. The mural was a clear attempt to maintain that community connection. Current staff have been unsuccessful in finding pictures of that work. I remember that Eddie Rivera, as well as other artists of that time, were inspired by African American murals that were prominent on the eastside of Detroit and the Shrine of the Black Madonna as well as the flourishing Chicano murals all over Chicago. In fact, a number of us would regularly go to the Mexican American communities of Chicago during the 70’s and learn from their efforts.
During this same period, the early 70’s, Ray Guadiana painted a three-sided wall mural within the American G.I. Forum facility, then located at the corner of W. Lafayette and Waterman, that vividly captured Chicano and Mexican culture and history. So many of us remember attending many a dance or activity at the hall and being mesmerized at being surrounded by this beautiful artwork. A number of long-time activists are trying to find photos of that work.
In 1979, Latino Family Services’ Youth Center commissioned local artists Blanca Sosa & Marisa Bandico-Davis to guide and instruct youth center members in painting a mural on W. Vernor east of the Livernois viaduct overpass on what was a soda pop processing/distribution center. The building was torn down some time back. The following summer in 1980 Latino Family Services youth under the artistic mentorship of Eddie Rivera (mentioned earlier) painted a “collage” of individual youth paintings surrounded by a mural entitled “Tree of Life”. Long since erased it was located on the northeast corner of Lansing and W. Vernor on what was then the V & L Lounge.
A significant mural of that period was the 1979 “City Spirit” done in the Hubbard Richard community by renowned artist and educator George Vargas in collaboration with Martin Moreno from Adrian, Michigan. It is in need of restoration and can still be seen at the southeast corner of the intersection of Ste. Anne’s and Bagley. George Vargas has written on Chicano art, most notably the book Contemporary Chicano Art (2010 University of Texas Press).
Casa de Unidad commissioned a mural by Carolina Ramon in 1983 or ’84. It was “portable” in the sense it was not painted on a standing wall but rather on canvas, which could be set up at different locations. It was displayed in both inside and outside settings. Many of us remember its display in Clark Park at the annual Unity In the Community Festivals, which were held for a couple of decades.
Within the Roberto Clemente Recreation Center located on Bagley between Ste Anne’s and 18th St. you will find a mural painted by William “Bill” Mora. It was finished in September 1985.
LA SED’s Youth Center organized a couple of youth murals at their center on W. Vernor at Green St. I am still trying to track photos and data about these pieces of art but if memory serves me right, they would have been completed in the late 80’s or 90’s.
In 1998, Vito Valdez, another well-known artist, painted “Cornfield” in the Hubbard Richard Community. This mural is located at the intersection of Ste Anne’s and Bagley but on the northeast side. Vito is seeking funds to restore it.
The year before, in 1997, Vito Valdez led a group of young people in painting a mural called the “Cadillac & Fleetwood Memorial Project” on what was then the E & M Party Store on the corner of Scotten and Toledo. It is now home to Taqueira El Rincon. The effort was organized by Lolita Hernandez, former Cadillac plant worker, union organizer and nationally acclaimed writer. The party store had been a favorite spot for plant workers during their breaks from working at the Cadillac plant just a few blocks down the street. As its title denotes, it was a memorial to the plant’s closing in 1994 and the lasting impact it had not only on the displaced workers but also the surrounding community.
Southwest Detroit Business Association (SDBA) commissioned a mural painted by Steve “Pablo” Davis around 1979-1980. In 1997, Vito Valdez restored the mural. It can be seen on the east side of their building located on W. Vernor near Central facing the parking lot.
Any information you wish to share that can contribute to increased documentation of the early years of muralism in Southwest Detroit can be sent to me in care of EL CENTRAL at elcentraldetroit@gmail.com It will be greatly appreciated!! Stay tuned for another installment of this historic look at the early murals in our community.
