PILSEN
Compiled by Jacqueline Serrato Neighborhood Captain
NEW MURAL THAT'S GOING UP AT THE CORNER OF 18TH AND THROOP, PHOTO BY MARC MONAGHAN
I
t was already hard for many lifelong Pilsen residents to hold on to the place they call home with the rising cost of living and the pandemic didn’t make things easier. Homeowners and business owners have noticed their property taxes double, the viaducts are sheltering more houseless people than ever, gang violence is a constant, and some families are asking themselves whether they should put that rent money toward a mortgage somewhere else. While preliminary Census numbers suggest the community has lost an additional five thousand Mexican and Latinx residents in the last ten years, likely an undercount, it doesn’t mean community members are giving up. In 2021, 18th St. saw local businesses begin to reopen. Relationships are being rekindled, grassroots efforts are being revitalized, and culture continues to be practiced. These things are the building blocks of Pilsen. This year it feels appropriate to lift up the work of artist Salvador Vega, who’s in the process of renovating a mural on 18th, which he originally worked on with artist Aurelio Díaz in 1978 to honor the life of reformed gangbanger David “Boogie” Gonzalez. Boogie was shot in the chest in 1973 in Zapata Park, today known as Harrison Park, after attempting to diffuse a conflict between rival gangs. “Our carnal (brother) 72 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY
¬ SEPTEMBER 16, 2021
was trying to talk ‘peace’ with members from different clubs who were about to get it on,” read a flyer announcing a march in his memory a month after his death. He and others had spent a year brokering a peace treaty that was abruptly cut short. Today, with the blessing of the Gonzalez family, the building owner, and the alderman, Sal is recreating the faded mural on 18th and Throop through a kaleidoscope of bright colors, a reference to Tenochtitlan, and a portrait of Boogie next to a dedication that says, “Boogie was the first to unite the clubs on 18th St. to bring about peace and unity.” Both Sal and Boogie lost their brothers to gang violence, and the relevance of the mural more than fifty years later is a tragic reminder that while the community has made strides across generations, it continues to hope for a better future for its children and youth. It reminds lifelong residents of all the sacrifices they’ve made, and that there are unfinished battles within and outside the community to be fought. This collaboration between a Pilsen family, a local artist, a property owner, and an elected official is a testament to different sectors of the community working together toward a common vision of community. ( Jacqueline Serrato) Neighborhood captain Jacqueline Serrato is the editor-in-chief of the Weekly.
