The mural honors this place and its people during many phases of change throughout time. We respect diverse cultures and the people who bring these cultures together. A community is nurtured by and connected with the Earth and the generations from the past, current, and future. Preserving and celebrating Mother Earth and our cultural traditions sustains, feeds, and strengthens our souls and ensures the same for future generations.

The mural design reads from right to left starting with an Ohlone dancer who is the original native and preserver of the area. He moves through a portal (the window on the building). It is a gateway connecting two neighborhoods (24th Street and Potrero Hill) and their attributes (garden, businesses, people) and their histories, present, and future.

The Ohlone figure is moving from past indigenous roots to the next culture and people who inhabited the area, the current Latino culture that has planted deep roots here. We walk into Zapata, the Mexican revolutionary - who is playing the guitar. This also emphasizes the importance of music celebrated by all cultures.

The next figure is a pregnant African-American woman from the seventies with a sign expressing the needs of her community that is still relevant now. She too is looking through another portal (the other window) and the other side of the window represents our current neighborhood. Below are a group of children planting and harvesting in an abundant garden and dancing in a circle.

The next figure is a mother pushing a stroller, joining the present-day cafe scene. The cafe is alive with people from different cultures and times. The African drummer is an important representation of the pulse of the community.

We greet the Aztec inspired figure who has stepped out of the past experiencing yesterday's and today's landscape. Potrero Hill, known as goat hill, is in the form of a breast - where nourishment provided food for the surrounding community. You see the view from Potrero Hill over the bay and prominent institutions such as SF General Hospital and the housing projects. In the cloud above the hill is a custom low-rider bicycle, part of Mission District culture, emphasizing our need to seek ways to preserve our environment and encourages this as a modern alternative to other modes of transportation. The clouds enveloping the sky move on to become cultural motifs.

The Aztec is sharing a cup of java with a beautiful Cambodian princess. Her dress and body art compares other traditions and shows elements of different cultures and how they express their appearance. This figure reminds us of all the Asian refugees who also helped build our communities in the bay area.

The woman with the outstretched arms with a coffee/heart tattoo is a modern symbol of the origins of coffee (past and present). Her tattoo becomes tattoo flowers growing in the foreground.

Finally, our eyes rest on the sun. The sun is a very strong and colorful image symbolic of this place. In the center is a hawk inspiring and encouraging us to remember and go back to a vital place where we feel our connection to the Earth, the seeds, the water, the creatures.. The circle is divided into the four directions, north, south, east, and west.

The rays of the sun are the colors of a sunrise - a new day. The rays are also decorated with a treble clef and staff. The musical notes and birds (dove and cranes - peace; humming bird - spirituality; albatross - freedom) symbolize harmony, hope, and creativity. These ideals are also vital to a growing and changing neighborhood.

By Precita Eyes Community Mural Workshop participants
Lauren Quock, Schahera VanDyk, Ana Szumonski, Justine Ferguson, Adrian Cotter, Zandra Urbina, Marian Ring, Bodil Schmidt, Erica Kent, Fred Alvarado, Cory Calandra, Cynthia Roman, Brtenda Miller, Ernesto Aguilera, Kristen, Naomi Miller-Wave. Directed by Susan Cervantes, Founder Precita Eyes Muralists.