SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Students Show Off Their Mural Virtue

With a flourish, the Marco Forster Middle School students pulled away a cloth to reveal a colorful mural painted in defiance of prejudice.

About 600 students and teachers jammed into the school’s “cafetorium” Wednesday for a special assembly and unveiling of the 35-foot-long, 8-foot-high mural.

Seven students spent much of the last two months creating the mural in response to racist flyers that were stuffed into 1,200 lockers on the campus in January. The flyers targeted Latino students, who make up about 30% of the student population.

“I told them that if they reacted in a negative way (to the flyers), that would be exactly the reaction desired,” said Dale Carter, the art teacher who worked with the students on the project.

So the students decided to paint a mural to show pride in their culture and promote understanding and unity within the school.

“They didn’t fight back--they painted back,” said Marc Lavine, director of in-school detention.

The mural depicts an eagle, a Mexican village and cornfields, Aztec symbols, the U.S. and Mexican flags and a portrait of Benito Juarez, the Mexican general who defeated the French army in 1862.

It also depicts a traditional blue alcove where candles burn, and the smoke spells out the names of the artists. Next to a likeness of the Virgin of Guadalupe is the quote: “Between individuals as between nations, respect for another’s rights is peace.”

“It makes us feel proud to be who we are,” said Yohana Sandoval, 14, one of the student artists. “It’s a way to show that.”

The assembly focused on Mexican culture, with traditional dances performed by students and a video of the making of the mural. The mural was previously unveiled at a Cinco de Mayo party for the artists and their families.

Some students, like Leonel Perez and Julio Peraza, were so inspired by the project that they plan to take art classes in Pasadena during the summer, Carter said.

At the end of the first assembly, which had to stop so that the ceremony could be repeated for the other half of the school, Sandoval concluded: “We hope Marco Forster can be united forever.”