Chicano Park’s 47th Anniversary Worthy of Celebration

<figure id="attachment_34810" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-34810" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="http://laprensa-sandiego.org/featured/chicano-park-celebrates-46-years/…; rel="attachment wp-att-34810"><img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/2016/04/USE-THIS-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" class="size-medium wp-image-34810" srcset="https://dev-laprensa.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/USE-THI… 300w, https://dev-laprensa.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/USE-THI… 1024w, https://dev-laprensa.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/USE-THI… 900w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-34810" class="wp-caption-text">Photo: Mario A. Cortez</figcaption></figure>
It’s now been 47 years since the community park in Barrio Logan was established to honor the past, present, and future of our community, and this Saturday will mark the first time the annual celebration is held in what is now a National Historic Landmark.
This January, the U.S. Department of the Interior granted official designation of Chicano Park as a National Historic Landmark, adding the Park to the list of 146 sites in California selected for the highest level of recognition. In the United States, only 2,500 sites are currently listed at this highest designation.
Chicano Park was founded on April 20, 1970, when community members seized the site under the Coronado Bridge that was slated to become a California Highway Patrol station and jail. After decades of broken promises by city and state officials to create a park for the community, local residents, students, and activists held a sit-in until city officials finally designated the site for a community park. The annual Chicano Park celebration is held on the closest Saturday to April 20, and this year will be on April 22.
What is now one of the most prominent features of the Park is also one its most important aspects; the murals and artwork that adorn the freeway overpasses, walls, and bridge columns. The beautiful and poignant artwork reflects the history of the Mexican, Chicano, and Latino cultures. From revolutionary figures Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata, to César Chávez and Che Guevara, the murals serve to document and honor our collective histories.
The Park has served as a community meeting place, open space, and site of vigils, protests, and celebrations for nearly 50 years. Several annual events, car shows, and festivities have become important aspects of life in San Diego, not only for Latinos, but for an ever-growing eclectic group of visitors.
A new mural recently completed in the Park depicts an important message that is common to many of the existing works. The new mural on a tall bridge column illustrates the important story of migrant workers and their struggles along the border. Completed by Sal Barajas, one of the original artists of the 1970s murals in the Park, the new mural seems timely now during these turbulent political times.
Although some have complained about the mural’s message, the mural is an important addition to the Park.
 Immigration is what got us all here, whether recently or generations ago. Today, the topic of immigration, both documented and not, is one of the most vexing political issues in this country. To ignore the topic, or sugarcoat it, would not help us deal with the realities of the economic, personal, and emotional issues we must address honestly when dealing with border issues.
We must also remember that immigration does not only mean from south of our border. President Trump has attacked not only Mexican immigrants, but those from Muslim countries, and now with his recent Executive Order regarding H-1B Visas, immigrants from China, India, and Europe, as well. Hate will only serve to divide us.
The Park’s new mural includes the Border Angel’s slogan, “Love has no borders”. That term reminds us that being fair to immigrants is not un-American, its compassionate. And it’s smart, too.
Our economy is dependent on the millions of immigrants that work in the fields, in restaurants, stores, hotels, and even our landscapers. They are hardworking people that came to this country in search of  better lives for themselves and their families. That’s the American dream. They should not be targeted, discriminated against, or scapegoated.  We must find common ground solutions for real, sensible immigration reform.
Chicano Park celebrates the Chicano experience, which is similar in many ways to those of the many other cultures that have blended to make this melting pot of America. Self-determination and community empowerment among underserved communities leads to more equity, equality, and prosperity.
Come to Chicano Park this Saturday from 10a.m. to 2p.m. to celebrate the past, present, and future in a place that reminds us of the struggles and successes of the past, and of the work still to be done.
We all owe a special thank you to the Chicano Park Steering Committee for their tireless work to preserve the legacy of the Park.