No trip to San Francisco would be complete without a visit to my former neighborhood: The Mission.  On this trip, I decided to take Baby Ruth to see the “Chata” Mural.

Carlos “Kookie” Gonzalez is the artist behind the “Chata” mural.  The mural depicts a neighborhood legend who was a popular radio host and DJ named Micaela “Chata” Gutierrez, In 2013, she passed away after battling liver cancer.

The mural has its origins in the design of a fundraising flyer that was used to help raise funds to cover Chata’s medical bills. People loved the design.  After she passed, it took a few years to raise the necessary funds to paint the mural, but after the funds were raised, this beautiful mural was painted at the corner of 24th and Suuth Van Ness streets.  

The location of the mural has become a gathering place for people in the community.  They gather there to celebrate, to mourn, to protest, to meet etc.  The mural is both colorful and historical and represents what much of the current battles for the soul of the Mission are about: protecting and persevering a vibrant colorful, socially justice conscious community which is seeing itself being engulfed by a cultural and economic shift that is leaving many feeling alienated and evicted from the community that they love.  

CHECK IT OUT NEXT TIME YOU ARE IN SAN FRANCISCO

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