Monterey Park, CA
Greetings from Monterey Park, CA! We collaborated with the city to create another mural in the San Gabriel Valley, located on the side of 157 E. Garvey Ave. facing the city’s parking lot (intersection of Lincoln Ave.) After working on projects across the country, it’s especially meaningful to contribute to places where we have personal connections. Victor’s parents live in Monterey Park, and generations of our family now call the surrounding neighborhoods home. This year started on a heavy note—we had to evacuate and stay with Victor’s parents here after the Eaton fire. On a positive note, we ended up learning so much more about the city and developed a much deeper connection to it. Monterey Park has its own healing journey from a tragedy a few years ago, and we wanted to ensure this mural would become a meaningful and timeless addition to the community.
We scouted all over the city to find the perfect wall for this project and were lucky to end up with our top choice that was right in the heart of town. Because the public art mural was going to be on private property, we wanted to make sure the artwork could be preserved in case of any future changes. The solution was a product called Mural Cloth, which allowed us to keep the texture of the wall with the ability to relocate it if needed. As always, thanks to our partners at Mural Colors for helping us install this unique canvas as well as the UV and anti-graffiti coating afterward. This was our first time working with this type of canvas, and even some of our artists had no idea while working on the mural until we told them!
We kicked off painting the mural at the same time as Monterey Park Play Days, celebrating the city’s 109th birthday. As luck would have it, we ended up painting during a record breaking heatwave! Of course, it was also when we were doing the most physically demanding part of filling in the background and lettering outlines. A shout out to Ernie Nazarian for toughing it out with us through the heatwave for the first two days on the blocking out all the colors.
Once the shell of the mural was complete, we focused on the imagery inside each letter, where we could stay in one place under a shade umbrella. Since the letters were stacked, we also had to coordinate carefully so that artists wouldn’t block each other while working—definitely some logistics involved. When people see the initial progress, they often assume the entire mural will come together as quickly as the background. But each image inside the letters is like a mini-mural of its own, requiring much more time and detail. Altogether, the painting process took about two weeks to complete.
We originally met John Truong a postman on his route during our Pasadena art deco style mural across from PCC. He just happened to be a Monterey Park resident living nearby our new wall and surprised us with some Vietnamese food for lunch with some ice cold passion fruit teas! It was a much needed refreshment and we were humbled by the kindness of the locals. The neighborhood’s demographics brought back memories of painting our Greetings from Chinatown mural in NYC—it’s not often that Victor gets to overhear people speaking Chinese about our work. There was a steady stream of curious onlookers, many of whom had never seen a large-scale mural being painted before. The most common reaction? A big thumbs up paired with an enthusiastic, “Number one!”
The area where we painted was known as “Fatman Ding Plaza”—also known as Fatty Ding Square—a well-known landmark within the Chinese immigrant community. For years, this plaza has been a vital gathering place for newly arrived immigrants seeking resources, job opportunities, and a sense of belonging as they start their lives in a new country.
Just around the corner from the mural is Mama Lu’s Dumpling House, part of a well-known chain of independently operated Chinese restaurants throughout the San Gabriel Valley. It became our go to lunch spot during painting and we often used this popular spot as a landmark to help people find the mural.
A huge thank you to local photographer (& pastor) Abner Ramos for the photo documentation and to Robert Aguirre from Monterey Park Recreation and Community Services for all his hospitality throughout this process. As always, thanks to Sherwin Williams and Montana Cans for their continued support for our nationwide project. We hope this mural sparks more public art throughout the city and becomes a future landmark in its own right one day. We encourage everyone to come check it out all the little details in person if they can.
Community Input on The Mural Design
We reached out to the Monterey Park community to gather ideas for this mural, even setting up a public voting page so everyone could have a say. We had postcards asking for input at various community hubs and several discussions with various community leaders. The vote results you see above reflect the community’s favorite suggestions. While we had to work within time and budget constraints, we did our best to include as many of those ideas as possible in the final design. We also hope this mural inspires other local artists to create public art that highlights the stories and subjects we couldn’t fit in.
MO - Cascades Park Falls
NT - Cinco De Mayo Festival & Chicano Culture (by Vyal One)
Cascades Park Falls, one of Monterey Park’s most iconic landmarks, received the highest number of votes, so we featured it prominently in the first two letters of the mural. We’re glad to have our good friend Dominic Corry back in Los Angeles and thanks for helping with the crispy architectural elements in these letters.
The images in the “N” and “T” were designed & painted by renowned street artist “Vyal One” Reyes, who celebrated his Mexican/Chicano heritage with imagery from the Cinco de Mayo Festival, piñatas, lowriders, and Día de los Muertos. Born and raised in Monterey Park, Vyal now creates his iconic work around the world, and it was an honor to give him the chance to contribute something meaningful and give back to his hometown. It's really important to us to create a platform where local artists can express themselves authentically through the work we do together.
ER - Lunar New Year Festival / Traditional Lion Dance
EY - Chinese Cuisine Dim Sum & Tai Chi
Coincidentally, we painted this mural during AAPI Heritage Month, making it the perfect time to highlight elements of Asian culture. With Monterey Park’s population being 66% Asian (according to the latest Census,) it was especially important for us to reflect that identity in the piece. On a personal note, our son is currently obsessed with lion dances, drumming and egg tarts so incorporating those elements felt extra special. That part will serve as a personal time capsule, capturing this moment for us to reflect on in the future.
We made sure to reference the specific costumes of the locally based Immortals Lion Dance Team. It was a fitting tribute to the recent passing of their organization’s founder, Jeff Chan. As a tribute to the city’s elders, we also included a peaceful scene of seniors practicing Tai Chi in the park. A big thank you to David Wang, who flew in from Boston to help paint some of the more intricate details within these letters.
P - Cherry Blossom Festival & Japanese Garden @ Sequoia Park
A - Tongva Artist Collaboration w/ River Garza
The Cherry Blossom Festival is a very popular event in Monterey Park, so we chose to highlight Japanese culture within the letter “P.” In the background, you’ll find the Japanese Garden at Sequoia Park, layered with cherry blossom branches and flowers in full bloom.
For the letter “A,” we had the honor of collaborating with River Garza, a Los Angeles-based artist from the Tongva community. Including the Tongva people—whose ancestral land we’re painting on—was one of the most highly requested elements in the public vote. You can’t get more local than that. “My contribution to the mural is inspired by Tongva and Southern California Indigenous basket weaving traditions. This ancient art form connects tribal people to the land and is a reminder of the beauty and harmony between the people and the land that provides for us.” - River Garza
RK - Garvey Ranch Observatory, ELAC Husky Sculpture & Laura Scudder’s Potato Chips
In the “R” and “K” letters, we featured the Garvey Ranch Observatory, a local gem where the Los Angeles Astronomical Society hosts public stargazing nights every Wednesday. We painted a full moon in the background—a symbol that’s rich with meaning across many of the cultures represented in this mural.
We also hid in a few final easter eggs within these letters. Monterey Park was home to Laura Scudder, who revolutionized potato chip packaging by introducing wax paper bags to keep them fresh—so of course, we had to include a nod to her with a bag of chips in the artwork. We also painted the ELAC husky statue, a familiar sight on the East Los Angeles College campus and a tribute to education and one of the city’s major employers. Thanks to Abner Ramos for that last suggestion!
Mural Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
On May 27th, the city hosted a mural ribbon cutting ceremony. We invited the artists involved and the community to take a big group photo in front of the mural during this time as well. We appreciated all the conversations we had with everyone that showed up this day. We really loved how much pride so many of you had for this city. This will be a nice time capsule to look back on years from now!
“Working with Victor was an absolute pleasure. He made the entire process smooth and collaborative. The mural is more than just art; it’s a meaningful addition to our community that has brought people together, sparked conversations, and will be an enduring part of our history.”
“A picture is worth a thousand words…we are thrilled with Victor’s depiction of our City’s Welcome Mural. His research, community engagement and collaboration with local artist is a testament to his successful work.”
Press:
Colorado Boulevard Newspaper - Monterey Park Unveils Community-Driven Mural Honoring Local Culture
Letter Guide:
MO — Cascades Park Waterfall
NT — Cinco De Mayo & Chicano Culture by Vyal One
ER— Chinese Lion Dance & Drummer (Immortals)
EY — Tai Chi & Dim Sum
P — Sequoia Park & Cherry Blossom Festival
A — Indigenous Art Collaboration with River Garza
RK — Garvey Ranch Park Observatory (ELAC Husky & Laura Scudder Tribute)
Year: 2025
Mural Size: 18'H x 25’W
Location: 157 E Garvey Ave, Monterey Park, CA 91755 (East facing wall towards parking lot)
