Nuke One

As a kid in Boyle Heights my playground was around the murals of the Estrada Courts in the shadow of the iconic Sears Building on Soto and Olympic. Where did these wonderful paintings come from? Who made them?
I thought that they somehow magically appeared or were just always there. My mind was constantly stimulated by the images I saw; from the mural depicting Che Guevara with the text “We are not a Minority” to the giant monolithic representations of Tlaloc, Dios de Agua

But still no answer to my burning questions.

When the 1980’s arrived, I was a young teenager who slowly began to see “other” artists painting around town. My interest and fascination with a new form of music called Rap led me to what would be the culture of Hip Hop. The experience in this culture is where I formed the strength of my art knowledge. I was accepted into a graffiti crew called SDD , Societies Dare Devils and then in U.T.I. which stood for Using The Imagination and started painting with them in places one would not normally find art.

Since there were no art programs we formed our own group or “crew” to test ourselves and push ourselves to excel in this art form. We were a force to be reckoned with.

We created our own spaces and found abandoned lots and dilapidated factories from Los Angeles’s Industrial past. My Canvas was an epic and grand landscape. I found myself painting heavily during the 90’s now along the Los Angeles riverbed behind the Sears building. There I found the solace and strength to endure in a place that saw my art literally on the fringe of the city. Like a lotus flower blooming from the murky waters, my spirit rose upward. It was here also that I would come back and regenerate from my trips to far and distant lands.

During the years of 1990-97 I worked with a group called the Earth Crew. The experience with the Earth Crew taught me many things. I worked along side many artists to produce murals. I was responsible for the maintenance of these murals. Part of this duty included organizing the artists on various trips. Our first cultural exchange was with Mexico City in 1991.
I helped bring together 30 young artist of many ethnicities to paint a mural. A youth group called the Consejo Popular Juvenil hosted us and proposed for us to paint on the historic Hotel Cortez in the Centro Historico. I was sent ahead a week in advance to prepare for our arrival by meeting with the various media agencies to communicate to the press what we were about to do. Since I was oneof a few who apart from having family in Mexico City was also fluent in Spanish. This proved to be very useful as well as challenging for me.
I have worked on various murals for different reasons. Sometimes I have been in charge of producing murals with youth or producing theatrical backdrops. Of the most exciting of projects with the Earth Crew were United Nations Summits both in Rio de Janiero,Brazil 92’ and Istanbul,Turkey 97’.
It was in Istanbul where we were awarded the “Best Practices/Be Part of the Solution Award” by the U.N Prime Ministers Boutros Boutros Ghalie for our work with inner city youth arts programs along with our partners the CPJ.in Mesico City.
As for Brazil I was contracted to produce a mural for the final concert at the Global Forum. I worked with several youth that lived on the streets of Rio de Janiero. This trip was sponsored by Amnesty International in an attempt to bring to global awareness, the plight of the large population of poor marginalized street children

I have been part of several group art shows in and around Los Angeles. These include as follows MOCA, Barsdale Park Art Gallery, Zero One, JANM, DADA Arts , Plaza de la Raza,Self Help Graphics.

My experience also includes working on several hit TV shows and Movies. I have been hired as a mural and street art consultant to such shows as: Murder She Wrote ,The Shield , Sleeper Cell , American Family PBS ,WGBH Culture Shock , Si’ TV, and TedTurner Boradcasting.

In most recent years I have developed in different after school art workshops with the office of the 14th Council District in Boyle Heights , Ca.. One involved a skateboard and safety helmet design and paint workshop involving up to 12 students.They completed the course in 4 months and developed their art skills and prepared them for a path in Design and Marketing.
The other project we completed was recently in the Ramona Gardens Housing District. We produced a mural that measured 30’ feet high by 60’ feet wide on the side of the gym nasium. It was an honor to work among so many of Los Angeles’s historic murals of the Chicano Movement of the 70’s. I was part of a team of 3 artist who collaborated on the conception , design , and execution of the mural.
I have worked under the direction of Judy Baca , Director of the Social Public Art Resource Center,in an effort to repair and conserve some of L.A.’s most historic and enlightening murals painted over the years. As a participant in her organization S.P.A.R.C. I have learned to create large works of art with many people of many colors. I can easily transmit peoples ideas from community to community by using the organizing training I have received from them and from other organizations.