this mural was painted in 2000, in honor of the PEACE AND DIGNITY JOURNEY runners, who passed by this location on their way to TEOTIHUACAN, coming from ALASKA. they where going to meet up with runners from ARGENTINA who ran to TEOTIHUACAN to the TEOKALLI'S (pyramids), and have a big ceremony, for PEACE and DIGNITY they all carried PRAYER STAFFS and along with them the message of UNITY, for the tribal nations of these continents (north and south America). runners came from all 4 corners, east, north, south, & west representing the many INDIGENOUS ABORIGINAL TRIBAL NATIONS of these STOLEN LANDS. they run every 4 years, they carry pryers in those sacred staffs. peace, dignity, JUSTICE! TIAHUI

RAUL GONZALEZ BIO

Raul Gonzalez was born and raised in the Aliso Village housing projects in Boyle Heights, California. Although primarily self taught, he has formal art training from Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts (ISOMATA), East Los Angeles College (ELAC) and Mural Restoration training through the Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC).

During the late 1980's, Raul Gonzalez began painting with spray paint, his influence was the mid-1980's emerging underground graffiti movement and the gang culture in Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles. In 1991, Mr. Gonzalez began his work in community revitalization through art with the Los Angeles Conservation Crops. Through these efforts he gained knowledge and understanding of the social conditions affecting young people in two of the most economically neglected, under resourced, working class and immigrant communities of Los Angeles-East L.A. and Boyle Heights.

Today he is the Executive Art Director and co-founder of Mictlan Murals, which was founded in 1997 to combat and eliminate gang graffiti and barrio warfare. His main area of work and focus is introducing inner-city youth to mural painting as a way of expressing community and cultural pride. Raul Gonzalez believes that by investing and producing images that reflects a community's cultural uniqueness, history and positive representation of youth, families and community members that it will have a greater chance to educate, exhibit safe and healthy lifestyles and in return the community will look after it, protect it and have ownership of their community and its murals.

Mr. Gonzalez has worked with the following organizations, The Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC), City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, Self Help Graphics and Art, InnerCity Struggle, The Annual Festival de la Gente in Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles College Department of Chicano Studies, Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA)-Metro Art, Cesar Chavez Foundation, Nathan Zackheim and Associates, Dolores Mission-Projecto Pastoral, Los Angeles Indigenous Peoples' Alliance and a number of Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Elementary and Middle and High Schools.

His expertise also includes projects with First 5 L.A., American Family (PBS), The Shield (FX) and Sleeper Cell (HBO). Mr. Gonzalez has worked on many large-scale public art commissions for the City of Los Angeles and mural restoration projects like "Hitting the Wall" 110 freeway and the "Great Wall of Los Angeles", in the Tujunga flood control channel, 2,470 feet long, both by Judy Baca.

He currently resides in East Los Angeles with his wife and son.

Raul Gonzalez, Executive Art Director
Mictlan Murals


myspace/mictlanmurals