"A community-inspired mural project aims to beautify and revitalize a neighborhood in East San Jose. Artists gathered for the East Side Stories mural painting festival Saturday, complete with a DJ and lowrider cars around Tropicana Liquors on Story Road. Muralists created images of the Virgin Mary, lowriders and Mesoamerican symbols on the liquor store's exterior walls. They also transformed the exteriors of Car & Truck Auto Clinic, East Hills Veterinary Clinic and Wash America on Story Road and S&S Market on Capitol Expressway. The festival, curated by 1Culture art gallery owner Andrew Espino, celebrated the heritage and traditions of immigrant cultures in the area."
""It went from an idea of being one property with five murals to over two dozen murals with five different locations," Espino told San José Spotlight. "We could really beautify something. This is a working-class neighborhood and we're changing their thought process and sparking imagination.""
""I was one of them little kids looking at murals and thinking, 'One day I would like to paint something,'" he told San José Spotlight. "It's a full circle moment for me to help create that ... from a young kid's perspective dreaming about art, to one day becoming a full-time artist.""
A mural festival called East Side Stories brought Bay Area and East San Jose artists together to paint dozens of murals across multiple business exteriors on Story Road and Capitol Expressway. Murals depicted the Virgin Mary, lowriders and Mesoamerican symbols, aiming to beautify and revitalize a working-class neighborhood. Organizers secured permission and donated wall space from local business owners to expand the project from one property to multiple locations. The festival included DJs and lowrider cars and sought to celebrate immigrant cultural heritage while inspiring youth and fostering community pride and imagination.
Read at San Jose Spotlight
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