SAN FERNANDO, Calif. — Artist Lalo Garcia is best known for his pieces and murals that hang in churches around Los Angeles.
He is particularly fond of painting Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Catholic term for the Virgin Mary. Garcia explained how she comforts him, and so he includes her in every one of his pieces, sometimes hiding her in a pattern or bit of landscape — but she is always there.
“She is really, second to the crucifix, the most important icon in Catholicism,” said Garcia, who has rendered her in every style imaginable: hyper realistic, abstract, oversized, miniature, even carved in wood.
This year Garcia was inspired to work on a piece that veered away from religious art and instead focused on a social and political cause close to his heart — family separation at the border.
“I felt I had to voice my feelings through this mural, to remind people that there is more we can do,” said Garcia. whose own experiences resonated with asylum seekers coming to the U.S. “I can relate to these families. I’m happy my father brought us to this country.”
Garcia moved to California from Michoacán in Mexico as a teenager and recalled how challenging the transition was.
“I came from a village with 13 families,” said Garcia. “California wasn’t just another city it was another planet.”
He thought about how overwhelmed he had been at that time as he was painting the faces of the children in his mural. Seeing the images of children separated from their families was heartbreaking for Garcia, a father of five. He reached out to the City of San Fernando and proposed a mural on the corner of First Street and Maclay Ave.
The mural was installed in early January and is called "Children in Cages."
Garcia wanted the piece to be installed this year, as a reminder that the impact of family separation is still being felt.
Stephanie Alvarado visited the mural with her family from South Los Angeles.
"When I saw that this mural had gone up, I wanted to come see it," she said. "Seeing it makes me shaky. It’s very powerful, and it makes me sad too."
Alvarado added that she was grateful for the piece because it opens up a dialog about what has happened at the border.
The Trump administration's zero tolerance immigration policy was enacted in 2017 and was blocked by the courts in 2018. However, many children remain separated from their parents to this day. There are currently over 500 children who have not yet been reunited with their parents due to family separation.
Garcia doesn't consider himself to be a political artist, but says this was something he had to do.
“These parents are looking to give their children a better life than they had,” he said.
While the mural differs from his typical religious artwork, Garcia included his signature image in the piece. In the mural on the left-hand side, Garcia painted an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe who appears to be looking down on the children.
“She protects us,” he said. “I can’t protect these children, but they need to know that someone from above, more powerful than me, will look after them.”
She is a source of comfort and strength for him, and Garcia hopes she can be a source of strength for the children and parents still waiting to be reunited.