Last year, I had the honor to get published in @latimes
for my cultura work. It was an incredible milestone accomplishment.
Thank you @tyrone_california for giving me the opportunity to share my story with you. Below are snippets.
"Montenegro began giving public tours of murals to showcase Chicano culture and pride in Santa Barbara as a personal “passion project” a decade ago. It has become his way of pushing back against the idea that only the wealthy and the white can find belonging in this lush beach town of 87,500 people.
On his tours, Montenegro makes it a point to stop at Ortega Park, in the historically Latino Eastside neighborhood where he grew up.
“In East L.A., there’s Salazar Park. In San Diego, they’ve got @chicanopark_official . We’ve got Ortega Park,” he says. “I call it the heart of Santa Barbara.”
Montenegro says he started offering tours to visitors, local college students and others “to educate white folks about brown folks” in a city where many don’t believe they have a problem with race or elitism.
“Si Se Puede,” or “Yes you can,” is painted in chunky graffiti type over images of Serena Williams and other brown and Black female athletes. Those words are fortifying to Montenegro — he raises his pant leg to show that they are tattooed above his knee.
Montenegro says that after Salazar’s death, residents of this neighborhood were so outraged that many drove into Los Angeles to join demonstrations in the reporter’s honor. The subsequent beautification of Ortega park, including the painting of the murals, came as a response to calls for neighborhood improvements that followed Salazar’s killing, he says.
The inscription may have been written nearly 50 years ago but it sends a charge through Montenegro that makes him stand tall.
Words spouted in a viral video may serve to dismiss and erase Latinos in the minds of some, but Montenegro wants all to know what the street art, in all of its forms, makes clear
Title: Let's go to Guadalupe Church on Fiesta Sunday
#santabarbarafiesta #santabarbaracalifornia #raza #peoplewatching
Title: Witnessing Lowriders in Santa Barbara
The video shows @cliquec.c cruising through Cabrillo Blvd to State Street on a Sunday afternoon in Santa Barbara, Califas.
Tourists in the background were thrilled to witness such culture - that they broke out their smartphones and DSLRs to capture the memorable moment.
#santabarbaracalifornia #lowriderlifestyle #lowrider #summer #cruising #santabarbara
🥊Aiden of @knuckle_up_boxing shares why he does boxing ♥️🥊
#santabarbara #youthboxing #communityboxing
#santabarbaracalifornia
Recap news video of the 2024 Cinco de Mayo Mural Bike Ride by @newschannel312 & @tracy_lehr1
I want to say thank you to everyone who attended and supported the event! It was a blast!
Special thank you to @cyclemaynia @sbcag @sbbike.s @boomboombikeroom @rascalsvegan and @bicicentro .
#santabarbara #cincodemayo #bikeride #murals
Recap video of Cinco de Mayo mural bike ride event 2023 🇲🇽🌮🎉🚲
Photography by @ingridbostromphotography
Thank you to @cyclemaynia , @sbcag , @bicicentro, @sbbike.s @boomboombikeroom and @rascalsvegan .
#santabarbaracalifornia #mural #muraltour #visitsantabarbara #bicycle #communitybikeshop #cincodemayo #publicart #people
Another day in Santa Barbara, California.
#santabarbara #santabarbaracalifornia #Chicano #Chicana #people
Happy Saint Patrick's Day! 🍀--- Shout out to all my Chicanas and Chicanos who have Irish heritage!
#saintpatricksday #lowrider #irish #chicano #chicana #santabarbara #santabarbaracalifornia
