The center is dedicated to the life and legacy of David Alfaro Siqueiros. His mural, América Tropical, continues to have a profound influence on the Chicano Muralist Movement in Los Angeles. The messages he relayed through his provocative art have impacted people in the world over.
When Siqueiros arrived in Los Angeles, the Plaza at El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument was already a place of political free-speech. He began teaching fresco techniques to young artists at the Chouinard Art Institute. Siqueiros soon forged long term relationships with influential people which led to his being commissioned to create the mural at El Pueblo de Los Angeles.
The mural has survived years of weathering and natural disasters and is now conserved and on display to the public. What exists now is but a ghost of what Siquieros revealed in 1932. Introducing the mural once again, the América Tropical Interpretive Center hopes to invite a new generation of people to analyze and discuss its universal themes of censorship, tolerance, and social justice.
