Unity, community and art are the elements that artist Robert Vargas wants to outline with the creation of a mural of the legendary Fernando Valenzuela that will be unveiled on his birthday, November 1, in the heart of Boyle Heights.
It is what ‘Toro’ inspired in Vargas and he wants to do the same with those who aspire to achieve great things, just as the Mexican champion did in the Major Leagues.
Three iconic images of the former Dodgers pitcher will adorn the giant wall of the Boyle Hotel, which faces the Highway 101 entrance to Hollywood and just steps from Mariachi Plaza.
Valenzuela passed away on October 22, one day after the fifth-generation Los Angeles artist had announced, through a press conference, his plans to carry out his next work to honor the Cy Young Award-winning rookie pitcher in 1981. However, the news took him by surprise and Vargas turned to his followers on his social networks in tears.
“I had heard that he was getting better, so hearing that he took a turn for the worst and died was very hard,” Vargas said. “I feel terrible, but I also feel a responsibility to archive this moment for all of us, turning it into a place of healing, of mourning, but also an altar to celebrate life and this became a community effort to complete this giant offering surrounded by flowers.”
A mile away, in Little Tokyo, across the bridge from the mural, Vargas had delivered another 150-foot-tall work of art to the world on March 27, the image of Korean superstar Shohei Ohtani who was a day away. to officially debut with the Dodgers in the Opening Game of the 2024 Major League Baseball season.
Vargas’ vision with Ohtani and Valenzuela is one of connection, as symbols of unity in the surrounding communities between different races.
“This comes directly from the heart, the intention is what counts, it is bigger than me, bigger than words, it is Fernando, the community, the unity and he continues to inspire and unite us all”
—Robert Vargas, Boyle Heights muralist
“This comes directly from the heart, the intention is what counts, it is bigger than me, bigger than words, it is Fernando, the community, the unity and he continues to inspire and unite us all. “I have been seeing people from all kinds of backgrounds show support for Fernando and it is something incredible.”
The Boyle Heights native has a team of collaborators who accompanied him during the days he worked on his mural. One of those people is the renowned writer Josefina López, who is the artistic director and founder of the Casa 0101 theater.
López said he had asked Vargas a few days earlier to speed up the mural process as soon as he learned of Valenzuela’s failing health.
“I told Robert ‘you have to do it, you have to celebrate it because I hear that she is not in good health,’” said the co-writer of the film Real Women Have Curves (2002). “With this, the community celebrates it and for us here in Boyle Heights, many of whom are immigrants, I was undocumented… When I was a child, seeing him win, taking the Dodgers to the World Series, inspired me so much and so did my dad.”
López was undocumented for 13 years until she received amnesty in 1987 and eventually became a U.S. citizen.
For her work as a writer on several projects, which gained national and international recognition, López was the recipient of many awards, including the Gabriel García Márquez Award that was awarded to her in 2003 by the then mayor of Los Angeles, James K. Hahn. .
“For us he was a hero because there were many stereotypes and so many racist behaviors against Mexicans, against immigrants, and having someone like Fernando Valenzuela changed everything and then they couldn’t say anything anymore because there was a champion who was doing something extraordinary,” he said. Lopez.
After learning of Valenzuela’s death, Vargas did not change his plans in relation to the images he had planned to present. On the contrary, he added an altar with an improvised offering of flowers and asked to cover a fence with a white mantle in which he allowed People leave a message to the deceased Valenzuela.
Vargas’ intention was to unveil the mural on Valenzuela’s birthday, but that November 1 celebration will become a tribute to his life during the Day of the Dead.
“It’s therapeutic, it’s healing, it’s also a celebration, because the intention of all of this is to celebrate Fernando and his contribution to our Latino community in Los Angeles,” Vargas said. “I was painting from a place full of love and gratitude, so what happened only amplifies the initial intentions.”
The impact of Valenzuela’s achievements has proven to stand the test of time.
“He came to open many of those doors that our parents tried to open, many manage to open them as immigrants and he achieved it in the sporting aspect as a great pitcher,” said the producer of the radio program Erazno and the Chokolata Show, Raúl ‘El Diablito’ Martínez. “Many know him for what he did in 1981 when he won the World Series against the New York Yankees, but he is also known as a member of the community. He was recently one of the Dodgers commentators on the radio, so he left a lot in his life.”
Abraham Boche is a Dodgers fan and friend of Vargas who came forward to help in the development of the altar to Valenzuela.
He was with Vargas and others when they heard the news of the death of the legendary Mexican pitcher. They were at a restaurant in Little Tokyo, near Ohtani’s mural.
“When the news came, we started crying because it wasn’t what we wanted, but we already agreed that if he died, that this mural was going to become the largest offering in the world for him,” Boche recalled. “The day he held the press conference here at the Mariachi Plaza, I had told Robert that Fernando was better and was in Sonora… It was the news we wanted to hear, we were happy. When we found out that he had died, it hit us very hard. “Robert told us that he wanted to return to the wall, that he wanted to touch it, and when we got here, the news was on and we agreed to do all this while he painted.”
On September 8, Vargas was invited by the Dodgers to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. During that experience he had the opportunity to meet Valenzuela.
“It was kind of brief, I was hoping to see him here… he’s not in person, but he’s here in spirit and the presence of the people here supports that,” Vargas said.
