GINTONG KASAYSAYAN, GINTONG PAMANA (A GLORIOUS HISTORY, A GOLDEN LEGACY) is the largest Filipino mural in the US. The 150ft x 30ft wall highlights Indigenous Filipino culture, the awakening of Filipino national and political consciousness, and the 400-year history of Filipino resistance to colonialism and oppression — both in the Philippines (first half of the mural) and in the US (second half). The mural was the first-ever artistic tribute to the Filipinos who led the farmworkers' movement in California. It is also the only surviving mural about Filipinos in the entire city of Los Angeles.
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Painted by Eliseo Art Silva in 1995 when he was only 22 years old, the mural is located in Unidad Park in Historic Filipinotown and was integral to the successful designation of the neighborhood as such. Much of its content was the result of a community process, which is still ongoing as the restoration continues. The mural extends along the entire western edge of the park, next to community gardens, a playground, and picnic tables. The park is an active and vibrant site for children, families, and Filipino events and festivals.
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In September/October of 2024, nearly 30 years after Eliseo first painted the mural, he selected me to join a 4-person team to restore the first third (~50ft). This section portrayed anti-colonial resistance from Lapulapu, who expelled Magellan in 1521, up to Filipino revolutionary Emilio Aguinaldo, who became the first president of the Philippines in 1899. Given the number of figures, both large and small, in this part of the composition, Eliseo was looking for muralists who were especially interested in and talented at painting portraits and anatomy.
Working with Eliseo, Andri How, and Ria Caranay, I embarked on my first-ever mural restoration project. Eliseo gave us printed-out photos taken of the mural in 1995, and we cross-referenced these photos with the shapes and colors remaining, often very tenuously, on the wall. Often, what remained was actually the underpainting, further confusing us.
It was complex to synthesize the color-inaccurate photo reference with the actual remnants of the painting, but I loved the challenge as well as the opportunities for interpretation that it presented. It was also helpful that Eliseo, the original artist, was available to give guidance — and that he was humble and more concerned with the mural looking spectacular than being faithful to his original. "Please," he often said, "make it better than what I painted when I was 22!"
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I also really enjoyed this project because — just as I did with 900 YEARS OF IRISH RESISTANCE while painting in Belfast — I got to learn so much about Filipino history through painting in Unidad Park. Eliseo and the team told me stories about the people, animals, buildings, and patterns we brought to life, and I also often had to research them more on my own to find additional visual reference material. We had political discussions and even arguments, especially about Emilio Aguinaldo, whom I spent days painting. They played music, recommended movies, and took me out to eat amazing food. I am really grateful to have had this experience and to have helped restore such a monumental piece for the community to enjoy for years to come. I am most proud of my renderings of Emilio Aguinaldo, the Philippine Eagle, and the children at the bottom of the mural.
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RESTORATION
RESTORATION PROCESS
THE FULL MURAL AND UNIDAD PARK
