Talking Walls in Humboldt Park

After Pilsen, my next stop was Humboldt Park. This neighborhood was founded in 1869, and was named after a German naturalist named Alexander von Humboldt. It was originally inhabited by a large Scandinavan population, then a German community, followed by Poles, Italian Americans and Russian Jews. It wasn't until the 1960s that there was an increase in the Puerto Rican population. Today, those of Puerto Rican descent make up about a quarter of the population in Humboldt Park (this statistic was very surprising to me--from what I saw on my mural expedition and what I have heard of the neighborhood during my time in Chicago, I expected the Puerto Rican population to be much higher). Humboldt Park is the only neighborhood in the nation that is recognized as a Puerto Rican community. The Puerto Ricans in the neighborhood host the annual Puerto Rican People's Parade that takes place in the Paseo Boricua, which I will talk about more later on in this post.

Like Pilsen, Humboldt Park is a neighborhood known for having a plethora of murals scattered throughout its streets. I knew there was no chance I could possibly see each mural in Humboldt Park, so I had to be strategic with my expedition. I decided to start walking along Division Street and then take it from there. I ended up encountering dozens of murals on Division Street alone and spent about two hours photographing what I saw.

My bus let me off at Ashland and Division in the heart of the Wicker Park bar scene. I decided to start in Wicker Park and walk west until I hit Humboldt Park so I could observe the differences in these two neighborhoods. I began walking and passed countless restaurants filled with young, hip, majority white bar-goers. There must have been a sports game on because each bar was overflowing with people and there were police officers patrolling the streets outside.

The murals that I encountered in this part of Division Street were like this one below:

There was another mural like this one with paintings of burgers and drinks on the outside of a burger joint. The murals I saw here seemed largely to act as artistic advertisements for restaurants.

Interestingly enough, I stumbled upon LaSalle Language Academy at Divison and Honore, a magnet school founded in 2008 that stuck out like a sore thumb amidst this trendy restaurant haven. The school caught my eye because of the beautiful mosaic work on the front:

Division and Honore

After some research I discovered that this piece was designed and installed by Julia Sowles-Barlow and Alfonso “Piloto” Nieves Ruiz of Chicago Public Art Group on June 3, 2011. The mural represents the mission of the school, to unify Chicago by bringing together students of diverse identities and backgrounds. I wanted to know about what school existed before this one was founded in 2008 and what the community reaction was. My instructor, Mary Scot-Boria told me that before it was the LaSalle Language Academy it was a normal public school in the community, and that when it transitioned to a magnet school, the families that had been sending their children to the public school were upset that they would now have to either have their kids go through the rigorous applicaiton process to get into the magnet school, or find another public school farther away. The goal of magnet schools is to diversify classrooms by pulling students from different communities to attend the same school, but the downside is that replacing a public school with a magnet school often dislocates the children that used to attend that public school.

Here are some more close ups of this mural:

Once I had finished admiring this mural, I continued my walk down Division. The noise from the sports fans had begun to fade to a soft roar at this point, as restaurants and fashionable boutiques became more sparse. As I approached to the intersection of Division and Hoyne I came across a mural on the outside of a restaurant, but this one was very different from the pizza and burger paintings I had seen earlier on my Division Street Stroll.

The restaurant is called Folklore Argentine Grill and the food cooking inside smelled almost as fantastic as the mural on its outside wall, pictured below:

This mural, entitled Unidos Para Triunfar, was painted by John Pitman Weber in 1971, then revised in 1974, and then restored in 2004. This mural, unlike so many in the city, has seen some love--meaning that it has been restored so it still looks as vibrant as it must have when it was first painted. On the right side of the mural, youth of different ethnicities fight each other, representing the violent turmoil between young people of color during the time when this mural was painted. Then in the middle, brown and black hands are clasped together in unity. On the left side of the mural, people of all races and ethnicities demand justice and unity for all. The coffin was added in 1974 after a Puerto Rican youth was murdered by police. The signs that the crowd on the left is holding reads in English: "Defense of the community, from one generation to the next. The struggle continues". Closer pictures of this mural below:

This mural was the first I saw that had the Puerto Rican flag, signaling that I was very close to entering Humboldt Park, or perhaps already had. It represents themes of resistance, struggle, unity, and justice--themes that have a little more substance, in my opinion, than murals of burgers or pizza.

I passed Saint Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center and on my right I saw an amazing portrait of a man made out of bricks, on the outside of the Roberto Clemente Recreation Center:

Division and Western

This portrait is of Roberto Clemente himself, a professional Puerto Rican baseball player who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1950s. Roberto Clemente was a hero in the community not only because he was a hugely successful Puerto Rican baseball player but because he was a champion of humanitarian work. In fact, Clemente tragically died in a 1972 plane crash will he was on his way to deliver aid to the victims of an earthquake in Nicaragua. His death was mourned by the Puerto Rican community back then and he is still honored and memorialized by his community to this day through works of art like this one.

On the other side of the Roberto Clemente Recreation Center was a mural that took up the full width of the building:

This mural was created in 1993 by Olivia Gude and Carlos Rolon (and in desperate need of restoration, if I might add) and is entitled Aren't I a Womyn? The graffiti letters read "Aren't" and then a painting of an eye to represent the "I" in the title, and then "Womyn" in graffiti letters at the end. The piece features excerpts from Sojourner Truth, Puerto Rican writer Julia de Burgos, and Mexican writer Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz. This was the only mural I saw on this mural excursion that centered women's narratives and experiences.

As I crossed Western Street, I saw a giant metal Puerto Rican flag "waving" in the distance. This is one of two flags that symbolizes the beginning/end of the "Paseo Boricua", the stretch of Division Street in between Western and California. Each of these flags are 59 feet tall and weigh 45 tons. These flags signal that one is entering the heart of the Puerto Rican community in Humboldt Park. The flags were installed in 1995 by city officials and Latino leaders in the community (specifically Alderman Billy Ocasio, Congressman Luis Gutierrez, and Mayor Richard M. Daley) in an effort to provide a way for community members connect with their roots, in the hopes that economic gains would result as well. The flags instilled a sense of pride in the Puerto Rican citizens of Humboldt Park and encouraged them to develop the Puerto Rican community into the vibrant neighborhood that is the Humboldt Park of today. The flags played a part in reviving the neighborhood's economy and also worked to unite the previously scattered Puerto Rican community.

As soon as I crossed over Western Ave., it was like I had been transported into a different land. The contrast between the bars in Wicker Park to the community to the east of Western was quite stark. Instead of young white folks crowding sports bars there were black and brown folks waiting for the bus, sitting outside their local business establishment, or walking hand-in-hand with their families. The infrastructure seemed more weathered, and Spanish was scrawled on signs and awnings. It seemed that every street corner contained a vibrant mural of Puerto Rican heritage and pride.

The mural below was found on the corner of Campbell and Division. It is called the Sea of Flags and was painted in 2004 by Puerto Rican muralist Gamaliel Ramirez, who lived in Chicago for many years but recently relocated back to Puerto Rico. It was painted from a photograph that was taken from the stage during the Fiesta Boricua, an annual event in Humboldt Park to celebrate Puerto Rican culture and history. The painting features cultural icon Lolita Lebron, the lead artist of the mural, and other important people in the Puerto Rican community.

Campbell and Division.

This mural was painted by Danny Torres and was funded by the National Boricua Human Rights Network. Date unknown.

Division and Campbell.

This mural is called Birds of Latin America and was painted by Gamaliel Ramirez in an attempt to beautify the neighborhood. Ramierz teamed up with young people in the community to teach them about mural painting.

Division and Rockwell.

The mural below was painted recently, in September of 2016, by local artist Luis Raul Munoz. Munoz describes himself as an artist, activist, entrepreneur, and educator. He partnered with After School Matters, a nonprofit organization for teens to become paid apprentices or club members in arts, sports, technology, and communications programs. Munoz wants to create community projects that bring empowerment to the artists that create them as well as those who see the artwork. He teaches the young people he mentors about the idea of creative action as a way to empower people and provide community and global awareness of issues.

This particular mural of his is a painted version of a picture of the Young Lords, a Puerto Rican nationalist group in the 1960s and 1970s similar to the Black Panther Party. There was a major chapter in New York as well as Chicago. The Chicago group was founded in 1968 by Jose Cha Cha Jimenez. The Young Lords was a human rights movement originating in the Lincoln Park district that supported Puerto Rican independence and neighborhood empowerment. One of their main campaigns was opposition to the displacement of Puerto Ricans from Lincoln Park. In addition to their political movements, their efforts also included free health clinics, breakfast programs, and clothing drives. Here is the mural and then the picture it was based off of below.

Division and Maplewood.

The next mural I encountered just blew me away. It lives on the outside of a Family Dollar store and its vibrancy captivated me right away. There are several scenes that are depicted on this mural, both an acknowledgement of indigenous roots from which the Puerto Rican people descended from as well as issues that face the Puerto Rican community today, such as police brutality.

Division and Washtinaw.

The next mural I encountered was on the outside of El Rescate, an extension of the Puerto Rican Cultural Center that supports homeless LGBTQ youth in the Humboldt Park community. El Rescate assists young people ages 18-25 who are experiencing homelessness transition into stable housing and independence. The initiatives of this organization provides a continuum of services including access to healthcare, education, and housing.

2703 W Division St.

Right next to this mural was a memorial of the victims of the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando that occurred in the summer of 2016.

Due to its pristine condition and lack of internet presence, I am guessing this next mural is new as well. I couldn't find any information about when this mural was created or who created or funded it. The name that is written at the bottom, Ramon Frade, is that of a Puerto Rican visual artist and architect. This is a prime example of how murals can be used to memorialize.

Throughout my walk, I noticed many paintings, signs, and pictures of Oscar López Rivera, like the one below. Oscar López is a Puerto Rican political prisoner who is a Puerto Rican nationalist and founding member of the Armed Forces of National Liberation who, among others, opposes the U.S. colonization of Puerto Rico. Although there was no evidence tying Oscar to any violent acts, he was sentenced to 55 years in prison and is considered a terrorist by the U.S. government. Several paintings like this one show where this community stands on the issue: Free Oscar López.

This looks less like an officially funded mural and more like informal street art, but nevertheless the Puerto Rican flag is a key component of this piece.

As I crossed over California Ave., another giant flag signaled the end of the Paseo Boricua.

Division and California.

The murals of Humboldt Park are much more than just those on the Paseo Boricua, but the ones featured here are certainly important facets of the community. With themes like unity, justice, and resistance, it is clear that these murals tell a story of the Puerto Rican community. What I noticed about these murals is that many of them paint a scene from history, or freeze a moment in time. The Unidos Para Triunfar, the Sea of Flags, and the Young Lords murals all depicted moments in time, or scenes where people are actively resisting or celebrating. It creates a feeling that the struggles and the celebrations live on today, regardless of when the murals were painted.

Many of the other murals depicted famous or influential figures in Puerto Rican history. Through these murals, the memory and stories of these people can live on. Another theme that was prevelent in essentially every mural was the Puerto Rican flag. Together with the giant steel flags on either end of the Paseo Boricua, the Puerto Rican flag is clearly an immensely important symbol for this community. The presence of the flag was unlike any other neighborhood I have seen in Chicago. The flag stands for cultural pride and unity and the murals reflect its importance to the Puerto Rican people of Humboldt Park.

Sources:

http://www.oururbantimes.com/school-news/lasalle-ii-school-mural-ribbon-cutting-ceremony-was-festive-event

https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20140922/wicker-park/lasalle-ii-principal-says-students-loving-new-playground

http://www.babycenter.com/0_school-types-the-difference-between-public-private-magnet-ch_67288.bc

https://madaboutthemural.wordpress.com/category/john-pitman-weber/

https://naea.digication.com/omg/Aren_t_I_a_Womyn_coming

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/10/puerto-rico-last-political-prisoner-oscar-lopez-rivera

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/8795995/roberto-clemente-role-model-all-mlb

http://www.thechicagoneighborhoods.com/humboldt-park

http://www.paseoboricua.org/tour-paseo-boricua-humboldt-park/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paseo_Boricua

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Lords