♪ Washington, DC is home to hundreds of murals, some of them decades old.

Hola Cultura, an organization celebrating Latino arts and culture, is documenting the history of Latino murals in the city.

I met with Christine MacDonald and Yoana Reyes-Zapata from Hola Cultura to hear more about these public works.

Hi, Christine and Yoana.

Hi!

Tell me a little bit about why you chose this particular corner.

Well, we're here because of the "Unity Mural," a beautiful mural that was painted by members of the community in 1982.

What's so special about this particular mural?

So I guess what's so special about the mural, really, in my opinion and, I guess, just overall, is the symbols within the mural.

You get a mix of Aztec symbols, Jamaican culture, and then even some of the Central American flora and fauna that combines together the unity of Adams Morgan.

MacDonald: It was also an effort to bring African-American and Latino youths together at a time in the early eighties when there was tension in the schools between these two groups.

♪ Was the idea that Hola Cultura works with murals something that excited you about working with the organization?

Reyes-Zapata: Definitely.

Being Mexican-American and growing up in rural South Carolina, you don't know much about your history back over there, just from what your parents tell you.

I like that the murals in DC tell a story within the Hispanic community.

Although I didn't grow up in the area, it still somewhat tells a story that's part of me.

MacDonald: We've researched and documented more than 50 murals painted by Hispanic muralists in the community, and most of them have been demolished.

There was a beautiful mural called "America Discovers Itself" that was up in Columbia Heights on 15th Street.

In the center of the mural are some of the famous Mexican muralists like Diego Rivera, who really started this public muralist movement, like, a century ago.

What other themes do we find in Latin murals here in the city?

MacDonald: "Un Pueblo Sin Murales" mural, the oldest in the city, was almost demolished twice, but the community was able to save and restore that mural twice.

There are many symbols of the city: the Washington Monument, children playing on the streets, the Latin band playing, but you also have folks playing Monopoly in the corner, but really, they represent developers who were gentrifying this neighborhood.

Gentrification was a major concern in this neighborhood, all the way back to the 1970s.

♪ Hi, BB and Elizabeth!

Thank you so much for meeting me here at this incredibly gorgeous mural.

What is the history behind this beautiful piece?

CentroNia became home to a lot of families and children who were finding their way in this community.

You have a poor African-American community, and then you've got an influx of immigrants.

The mural is an expression of our young people at that time.

Elizabeth, what is this mural about?

The young people themselves wanted from a kind of graffiti art, sort of urban aesthetic.

The center pieces are Olmec heads, which is representative of Central American culture.

♪ The names, of course, of all the young people who participated is kind of a declaration, a presence, a sort of affirmation that "we are here, we were here, we are still here."

Obviously, it takes up an entire alleyway, so you can see the community is coming through and walking by.

What do you hope they take from it?

That this is a place for community and that it's respected, and you can see that.

It's got a couple of tags here and there, but people have respected it.

And kids have come back over the years and helped refurbish it, paint it up again.

This mural was a collaborative one between the teaching artists who led the project, CentroNia leadership, as well as the young people, as well as the DC Commission on the Arts.

I am actually going to head off to have a conversation with some of the folks over at the Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

Thank you for sharing this beautiful mural.

Thank you for the work that you continue to do to keep community alive and in place.

Thank you.

Curry, voice-over: I'm meeting Deirdre Darden for the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

She'll be with artist Joel Bergner, who is painting a NASA-sponsored mural at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority-- WMATA for short.

Hi, Deirdre and Joel.

Hi.

Thank you so much for meeting me here.

Deirdre, I know you have been with the Commission on the Arts and Humanities for quite some time.

What does the Commission do?

DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities-- sometimes called "The Commission" or CAH-- is the District's granting agency.

We have two mural-based grant programs-- Murals DC and Color the Curb School Safety Project-- and in that program, we specifically paint murals on the ground to increase pedestrian safety around elementary schools in DC.

And, Joel, I know that you have worked with the Commission on the Color the Curb mural project.

Yes.

Is that true?

Yes, that's true.

Last year, we created a entire ground mural in an intersection by Brightwood Elementary School, where we actually worked with fourth-graders to make a beautiful and more safe intersection.

I love that.

How do you think mural-making, from the Latinx perspective, has changed over the years?

It's still a very strong tradition.

You look more in graffiti and street art, there was a big Latino influence in that as well.

That's why it's so important that the Latin-American community is celebrated as part of this process and continues to be many of the artists that create this work.

A lot of the community is-- like, I mentioned Brightwood, that we did the Color the Curb mural--those kids, most of them were from Latin American immigrant backgrounds.

We had the opportunity to go over to the "Unity Mural," and we know that it is in danger and in disrepair and in trouble.

What kind of work does the Commission do to save murals that otherwise might be destroyed?

We try to get on the front side of it, where we issue best practices to our artists on what materials to use, how to prep the site to protect the longevity of the mural, and if something is at risk, that is a concern of us, and we do our best to help support that community to save the mural.

And, Joel, as an artist, is that something you're concerned about?

So, for me, as a mural artist, I just have to take the perspective that art is ephemeral when you put it out on the street, but they're going to reach so many more people because they become part of the community.

So that's why I think it's so special and kind of reaches people that wouldn't usually get to experience art.

I completely agree with you.

It's not just art that's on a wall, but we're changing lives, essentially.

How does that make you feel?

Well, it makes me proud, you know, to be at the Commission and to be able to support artists like Joel, that have that commitment to community engagement and to community wellness.

So, when we hear that positive thing, that's what it's about, it makes us feel really good.

Thank you both for the work you're doing to make public art accessible to the entire community.

It means so much, and thank you for chatting with us today on "WETA Arts."

Thank you.

Thank you.

Curry: You can find the latest murals supported by DC's Commission on the Arts and Humanities on muralsdcproject.com and information about DC's Latino murals at holacultura.com.