Unity Coming to Cabrillo College: Alum Francisco Alonso Painting Mural on Campus

COMMUNITY NEWS Unity Coming to Cabrillo College

Alum Francisco Alonso Painting Mural on Campus

On Aug. 2, Watsonville artist Francisco Alonso began painting a huge Latinx-inspired mural at Cabrillo College in Aptos.

The mural is going up on a campus elevator tower just beyond the Martin Luther King bust. Students are expected to participate in the project, which will likely take a month to complete.

“I am honored to have been selected to paint this mural, which I am titling “Unity,” said Alonso. “I started at Cabrillo College working as a dishwasher in the cafeteria and with the encouragement of faculty and staff, followed my lifelong passion for art and mural painting and took art courses at Cabrillo, eventually transferring to San Francisco State University and earning my B.A. in art. Since then, I’ve traveled around the world painting murals. I love Cabrillo, and the opportunity to contribute my artwork to the school that’s given me so much really brings it full circle.”

The mural, commissioned by Cabrillo and funded by funded by a grant from the Cabrillo College Foundation and the Associated Students of Cabrillo College, is part of the college’s ongoing efforts to promote its diversity and celebrate its Hispanic Serving Institution status.

In May, for the first time in the college’s history, 50% of the graduating class identified as Latinx.

The goal is to foster a greater sense of belonging among its diverse student body, celebrating Latinx culture and centering Black, Indigenous, and People of Color and their racial, cultural, and linguistic ways of living and knowing.

Staff, faculty, and students reviewed an array of applicants, and Cabrillo leadership selected the artwork proposed by Alonso, a mural artist who attended Cabrillo in the 1990s.

As a student, Alonso was involved in Puente and Extended Opportunity Programs and Services, and helped establish a MECHA program for Chicano students to bring educational and cultural events focused on healing and overcoming racism. In addition to having lived in Santa Cruz County, Alonso has resided in and traveled across the Americas, and his mural design integrates imagery that represents ancestral wisdom and knowledge. “Our committee reviewed a total of 11 excellent proposals from local artists, ultimately narrowing it to a top five and sending those five out to Cabrillo’s student body for input,” said Claudia Hernandez, Cabrillo academic counselor and member of Cabrillo’s Chicano Latino Affairs Council. “The timing of this project and the message of “Unity” conveys a positive vision and an important message.” n ••• For more information, visit https://www. cabrillo.edu/title-v/the-mural-project/. Winning design by Cabrillo College alum Francisco Alonso. Image shows planned location.

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