Bank Celebrates Chicano-Era Mural On Eastside

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The Pan American Bank in Boyle Heights announced Friday that its Chicano-era mural will turn 45 at the end of the year. The Jose Reyes Meza piece, a series of five panels on the bank's facade, "set the stage in East Los Angeles for the birth of the mural tradition that featured both ornamental murals as well as murals highlighting the social issues affecting East Los Angeles' Chicano community," according to a Pan American statement.

"What East Los Angeles has lacked over the decades, it has more than compensated for through artistic talent -- both home-grown and imported," states Pan American Bank CEO Jesse Torres.

The work at 3626 East First Street depicts the battle between indigenous people and Spanish colonizers. Pan American is said to be the nation's oldest Latino-owned bank.