Villaraigosa Mural Draws More Controversy
Categories: politics
Last Monday, we wrote about a mural of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa that drew the ire of someone in East Hollywood, who splattered red paint on the face of a somber-looking Villaraigosa and wrote "THIS IS OUR TOWN" in black spray paint on the sidewalk below the mural.
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| Ted Soqui |
| Villaraigosa mural at Susy's Meat Market in East Hollywood |
L.A. Weekly photographer Ted Soqui snapped a picture of the vandalism, which drew the attention of some bloggers, including Michael Higby at Mayor Sam. So Soqui decided to stop by again to see if the mural was cleaned up -- exactly the opposite happened.
Last Friday, Soqui saw that someone had written "VENDIDO" on Villaraigosa's left collar. In the Mexican American world, that's not a good thing -- it's basically the equivalent of being called an "Uncle Tom."
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| Ted Soqui |
| Villaraigosa mural on Friday, September 25 |
"A vendido is one who sells out their people," Soqui tells us, who returned a few hours later and saw that the insult was subsequently painted over with white paint.
Over the weekend, the mural stayed that way -- "vendido" gone, but the red paint and "THIS IS OUR TOWN" (which may be a play on the Dodgers' "This Is My Town" advertising campaign this season) still there.
Contact Patrick Range McDonald at pmcdonald@laweekly.com.
Over the weekend, the mural stayed that way -- "vendido" gone, but the red paint and "THIS IS OUR TOWN" (which may be a play on the Dodgers' "This Is My Town" advertising campaign this season) still there.
Contact Patrick Range McDonald at pmcdonald@laweekly.com.
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