In September, South Gate residents were treated to vibrant new artwork on the facade of a local flower shop: A yellow mural featuring a man painted blue, holding a microphone out, as if to the community.

“When spaces don’t exist, create them,” reads the mural, celebrating local poet and activist Eric Contreras, who started an open mic in his family’s garage because he felt there weren’t enough cultural spaces in his community.

So you can imagine how organizers of the project felt when they heard the mural was greeted with hostility by some in the community for posting about “defunding the police.”

Estrella Jalisco’s senior director, Jayden Kahl, said the mural celebrates an important community leader.

“This mural was created in partnership with Estrella Jalisco’s Artists In Residence program, which is a $1 million commitment to bring color and brightness to 100 communities in the U.S. The mural features local star, Eric Contreras, who is a teacher and poet that is using his platform to support local artists by creating a safe haven for all creatives to showcase their work either through a gallery setting or performance space. Through his project ALIVIO, he welcomes all local artists to showcase their work and empower them to build a brighter community for all,” said Kahl.

Contreras and a nonprofit involved in the project, Beautify Earth, did not comment despite a call and email. Contreras’ open mic nights in the city of Bell have been featured in a number of local news outlets.

“The mural is about stepping up for your community. It wasn’t meant to divide people,” said muralist Marcel “Sel” Blanco, who created the artwork. He said there was no political agenda and he wasn’t aware of the backlash his mural had received until hearing from the UT.

“My inspiration behind the murals was influenced by the work Eric has done to help bring culture into his community,” he wrote in an Instagram interview. “To take the initiative and create a space to showcase different forms of creativity and thoughts where one didn’t exist before — I find [that’s] pretty powerful and feel it’s worth honoring.”

“Part of the beauty of art is that it’s subjective. Some people love a piece and others will hate it and everyone is entitled to see it how they chose to,” he said. “I don’t know what Eric’s political views are and it wasn’t relevant for what the project’s purpose was, which is to raise awareness of local people doing good in their community.” 

He added, “From my short time spent in South Gate, I saw a beautiful community with people that showed a great deal of pride in their neighborhood. People walked by and shared stories about growing up there and how they appreciated the art and loved seeing it go up.”

Many residents appreciated the artwork and have stopped to take photos in front of it.

Those who don’t say it’s because they don’t want to see political views that don’t represent their own in such public places.

Andrea Paulino, a South Gate resident since 1987, said that people had good intentions with the mural but “things quickly went sideways.” 

“It’s really too bad we couldn’t have had someone who really represented [South Gate], maybe even Amelia Earhart,” who learned how to fly at Kinner Field in South Gate, added Paulino. “But I understand when you have the mural sponsored, you pretty much lose control over the content. If the city had paid for it themselves, they could have controlled that.”

Paulino, who doesn’t agree with the defunding of the police added that “hopefully, a lesson was learned” after the backlash the mural received.

Robert Montalvo, a South Gate resident for over 15 years, said that he liked the mural at first but upon finding out what other residents were saying about it, he quickly changed his mind.

“I’m kind of torn because it’s a nice mural, and I understand why it’s there,” said Montalvo. “But at the same time, the sentiment that the gentleman brings is really anti-police.”

Montalvo added, “As far as defunding the police, I understand it, and I get it, but we do have money and resources that are meant for community projects for helping our youth homeless, and they’re just not being used for that in South Gate.”

Community News reporters are enrolled in JOUR 3910 – University Times. They produce stories about under-covered neighborhoods and small cities on the Eastside and South Los Angeles. Please email feedback, corrections and story tips to [email protected].