FOUNTAIN VALLEY

A majority of La Colonia Juarez residents surveyed recently by the city want a mural on Calle Zaragosa to be removed and the block wall painted white, according to results tallied by housing coordinator Chris Corbin. About 81% of the property owners and tenants requested removal of the chipping and fading mural, completed in 1976 as a project to discourage graffiti in the historic Mexican American neighborhood off Ward Street. The painting--done by professional artists, art students and local children--depicts various aspects of the neighborhood’s cultural identity and struggles in each of its five sections.

Of those 81% of respondents, about 40% indicated that, although the mural should be removed, the city should explore ways to memorialize the wall and the history of the neighborhood. Although the city has to comply with what the majority of the residents want, Corbin said, the city will consider ideas for memorializing the mural, such as preserving a few sections of the wall or building a historical monument in Colony Park.