Gayle Anderson was live in East Los Angeles, where renown East Los Angeles painter and muralist George Yepes is working with his team of artists to restore the mural he painted as a young artist on the exterior of St. Lucy’s Catholic Church in 1993.
For 27 years the “El Tepeyac de Los Angeles” mural at St. Lucy’s Catholic Church stood as a beacon of hope and faith for the City Terrace/East Los Angeles community. It has been acknowledged worldwide as an iconic archetype mural of Chicano Art from Los Angeles. For 27 years, since 1993, the mural has stood untouched as a symbol of endearment by the community, until in early April 2020 a 12 foot X 12 foot section of the mural was destroyed by in a bus accident.
Neither St. Lucy’s Church or nor community has funds for the expenses of the mural restoration. As part of his expression of faith and his continued sacred vow to the Virgen de Guadalupe to keep her image alive as a resource in the East Los Angeles community and beyond, he is working to restore, not only the 12 foot X 12 foot damaged section, but also the entire 50 foot X 50 foot mural. The goal is to restore the “El Tepeyac de Los Angeles” mural at St. Lucy’s Church to its original 1993 splendor.
Yepes has set up GoFundMe Page hoping the public will help cover the costs of art materials including paint, equipment, scaffolding, tools, supplies, paint brushes, UV Top Coat Sealer protection and other materials necessary for the complete mural restoration.
Forty years from now, Yepes says it will be time to restore the mural again. He says his Academia de Arte Yepes students will then be responsible to once again restore the mural at St. Lucy’s Catholic Church to its original 1993 splendor. Therefore, in preparation for the year 2060, during this Summer of 2020, he is also providing a comprehensive educational program to teach the Academia de Arte Yepes students how to restore the “El Tepeyac de Los Angeles” mural at St. Lucy’s Church during the Go Fund Me mural restoration project.
To help and for more information on the Academia de Arte Yepes, visit their website.
If you have questions or complaints, please feel free to contact Gayle Anderson at 1-323-460-5732 or email at Gayle.Anderson@KTLA.com
Gayle Anderson reports for KTLA 5 on September 7, 2020.
