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The Mission
Saadi Halil, Acrylic on canvas 2015
The Mission district is arguably the most culturally rich neighborhood of San Francisco. This art piece is a tribute to the colorful murals that cover the walls and buildings of The Mission, contributing to the feeling of it being a living entity all to itself. The neighborhood has remnants of early colonial history with Mission Dolores, (the oldest structure in San Francisco dating back to 1776), to new age fusion eateries and stylish bars. The neighborhood is full of life, music, art, political activism, local pride, LatinX, Hispanic and Chicano culture and community spaces.
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Mission Dolores - Est. 1776
The Women's Building in The Mission
The Mission panel you see before you is full of references and easter eggs. From top right going counter clockwise:
- Mission Dolores
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- 24th and Mission plaza where many political gatherings take place. The sign held in the square reads "el barrio no se verde" -- 'The neighborhood is not for sale' -- as a statement against gentrification.
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-Below is a bucolic scene painted in a Latin American folk art style
-Center bottom with the eagle is the symbol of the UFW "United Farm Workers", the longest enduring farmworkers union founded by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta that fought <and continues to fight> for civil rights, better working conditions and practices for agricultural workers. Among other accomplishments, It won a landmark case in 1975 confirming the passage for farmworkers to unionize
- "Mereces lo sue sueñas"-- 'You deserve what you dream' , a quote by Octavio Paz that spoke to Saadi as an affirmation upon starting the creamery with his brother Adar - a dream that they had developed and worked tirelessly on for years.
-Next to the UFW eagle shows a relaxed sunny day at Dolores park
-Above is a percussionist with the striped backdrop representing the colors of all the flags of Latin America.
-Above is written, "Amor, vida, pas, felicidad" -- 'Love, life, peace, and happiness'
-At the center of the mural is an interpretive portrayal of a mother-earth like figure with traditional braids and outstretched hands offering a seed. What that seed represents is up to you: inspiration, creativity, change, life, ?
Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez
