Art over letters: Pilsen youth combat violence with murals
Kaitlyn Laabs, Reports Chicago
Published: November 8, 2011
When she was 8 years old, Vanessa Martinez received a clear message about her Pilsen neighborhood: Don’t go outside alone.
“When I was in elementary school I was afraid to walk four blocks to school by myself,” Martinez remembered. “My parents wouldn’t even let me play soccer outside with my friends because of all the gang activity happening around us.”
Now at 17, the Benito Juarez High School student decided to change that message.
Recently, after a string of youth violence incidents hit the community last spring, Martinez and a group of area high school students unveiled two new murals that depict the kind of neighborhood they hope Pilsen can become.
“We wanted to show some of the positive changes happening in the community,” said participant Cecilia Sanchez, 17. “We painted people young and old getting together, uniting against violence. We wanted to show that there are people who do actually care about what happens here.”
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Posted in Pilsen Community, Arts, Community Events, Community Organizations
