Anti-Smoking Mural Is a Bright Idea in Making Area More Attractive : Art: Children provide a pleasing alternative to the cluster of fast-food signs with rainbow-colored project.

Drivers on Oxnard Boulevard will now have something brighter and more educational to look at than the sea of fast-food signs.

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A rainbow-colored anti-smoking mural was uncovered Tuesday on the wall of an auto repair building near the boulevard’s intersection with Cooper Road.

It was painted by more than two dozen neighborhood children under the auspices of El Centrito de La Colonia, a nonprofit community organization.

“I hope that people driving by will see it and get the message that smoking is bad for you,” said Gabriela Marron, 14. “Maybe young people won’t start smoking if they know what it does to them.”

The mural depicts a skull arising from a cigarette in an ashtray with the words “Fumar es Morir , “ or “Smoking Is Death.” The skull transforms into two Mayan dancers and then a group of smiling children--many of whom were in the audience at Tuesday’s dedication--with the words “Queremos Vivir Mas,” or “We Want to Live Longer.”

“I like the mural because my sisters are in it,” said Andres Barajas, 11. “That’s cool.”

Andres’ sister Graciela said she liked the mural because it was fun to paint.

“We got to throw paint around and once in awhile we had to get work done,” she said.

The mural is on the wall of Carrillo’s Auto Repair beside another mural depicting the evils of drinking and driving, which was painted by El Centrito last year. The murals represent a colorful contrast to the empty lots next door and the drab railroad tracks between the mural and Oxnard Boulevard.

The children spent about a month planning the mural and then another six weeks painting it under the direction of Ventura artist M.E. Hanrahan. The $3,500 mural was paid for with a state grant.

Many of the children were hesitant about designing a mural because they had no experience in art, said Maria Campos-Herrera, who oversaw the project for El Centrito.

“But the students knew it was an important message and they wanted to be part of something positive,” Campos-Herrera said.

The message really hits home for Monique Sandoval, 15. Several members of her family have died or are suffering from lung cancer.

“I’ve seen what smoking has done to my family and I wouldn’t want that to happen to me,” Monique said.

Ivan Ramirez, 13, said the project kept him busy.

“If I hadn’t been painting the mural I would have been home watching TV or getting into trouble,” Ivan said.

The children were especially heartened by an endorsement from Robert Garcia, junior lightweight champion of the American Boxing Federation.

“As a professional boxer I have to be in shape, so I don’t have time to mess with tobacco and other drugs,” Garcia said to loud applause. “This mural is a great message to every teen-ager out there.”