Let’s protect this mural by turning it into a Historic Cultural Nomination
****Update December 2022****
At its meeting of November 17, 2022, the Cultural Heritage Commission took the actions below to include Tenochtitlan: The Wall that Talks in the list of Historic-Cultural Monuments, subject to adoption by the City Council:
1. Determined that the proposed designation is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to Article 19, Section 15308, Class 8 and Article 19, Section 15331, Class 31 of the State CEQA Guidelines;
2. Determined that the property conforms with the definition of a Monument pursuant to Section 22.171.7 of the Los Angeles Administrative Code;
3. Recommended that the City Council consider the Tenochtitlan: The Wall that Talks for inclusion in the list of Historic-Cultural Monuments; and
4. Adopted the attached Findings as the findings of the Commission.
The Commission vote was as follows:
Vote: 4-0
Tenochtitlan: The Wall That Talks historic monument designation application has moved out of the LA Cultural Heritage Commission and is on its way to the City Council. The Heritage Commission has determined that the mural “conforms with the designation of a monument,” and therefore “recommends that the City Council consider Tenochtitlan: The Wall That Talks for inclusion in the list of Historic Cultural Monument”. Please consider supporting the designation of this mural as it will be the first free standing mural to become a Historic Cultural Monument.
****Update****
In October, a sub committee of the Cultural Heritage commission along with the Department of City Planning staff will visit the mural. The purpose of this site visit, is to inspect the wall and review photographic records. Please check back soon for more information.
A little bit of history behind this piece…
Tenochtitlan: The Wall that Talks is a mural painted on the exterior wall of the commercial building located at 6039 North Figueroa Street at the corner of North Avenue 61 Council District 1) in the Historic Highland Park neighborhood of Northeast Los Angeles, California. The mural is at street level and can be observed from the intersection of North Figueroa Street and North Avenue 61. Painted in vibrant colors Tenochtitlan: The Wall that Talks runs along North Avenue 61 and is 12 feet high and 75 feet long. The mural, strife with symbolism, features a 12 feet high and 70 feet long feathered serpent, the Aztec God Quetzacoatl, which cradles depictions of historical scenes and figures that emphasize the Mexican and Central American’s Indigenous heritage, knowledge, culture, technology, philosophy and spirituality with an awareness of the kinship between the original peoples of Turtle Island, the area known as North and Central America. The images thematically address Chicano contributions to social political movements throughout history and up to the resurgence of Chicanismo in the 90s.
Please join us on Thursday, September 15, starting at 10:00 am for a Zoom presentation to the Cultural Heritage Commission in support of our recommendation to approve Cultural Monument status for the Mexico-Tenochtitlan mural.
How to Help (This method is no longer available; Thank you to everyone who answered the call to help with the nomination)
The agenda is posted online with links to materials related to items on the agenda and instructions for accessing the meeting hosted on Zoom link below:
https://planning.lacity.org/dcpapi/meetings/document/72775
All members of the public who wish to provide public comment will have access to the live Zoom meeting video, but can also join via phone for audio-only access. Meeting participants will be automatically muted upon entry.
If you are planning to call into the meeting to speak on our agenda item as part of the presentation, you will appear simply as a phone number on the Zoom screen accessible to the Commission and Planning staff. In order to identify you upon entry into the meeting and unmute you when it is your time to speak, please e-mail chc@lacity.org the following information by Wednesday, September 14:
- Case Number/Agenda Item you represent.
- Full Name
- Whether you will be participating by phone or online
- Phone Number you will be using to dial in (if calling in) [NOTE: Blocked numbers will not be allowed to speak since the Commission Office will not be able to see/identify a number to call out for your turn to speak.]
Instructions for Public Comment
The easiest option is to email the committee your comments and concerns to help protect this magnificent mural, but please do so before Wednesday, September 14 5pm. Below are the steps on how to send your email to chc@lacity.org .
In the subject line of your email type:
CASE NO.: CHC-2022-5945-HCM
ENV-2022-5946-CE, Tenochtitlan: The Wall That Talks
In the body of the email, type your support:
I support designating the Mexico-Tenochititlan mural a cultural monument in our community because__________________
No need to know the cultural meanings symbolized in the mural in order to give your support.
You must submit your email before Wednesday at 5:00 pm.
If you do not have access to Zoom, members of the public who wish to provide public comment will be able to listen or view the meeting via their phone or other electronic device. Each speaker’s audio will be unmuted as they are called upon. Speakers are typically given 1-2 minutes to speak and at the end of the time limit, you will hear a buzzer sound or verbal indicator. Soon thereafter, your audio will again be muted.
To comment on an agenda item online via Zoom, use the login information provided above. Following the Commission President calling the item, click the “Raise Hand” button at the bottom of your screen. Commission Office staff will call your name, if available, when it is your turn to speak. You will see a prompt stating, “The Host would like to unmute you.” Please click on “Unmute.”
If you would like to offer public comment over the phone, use the following information (please follow the steps below):
Call (213) 338-8477 or (669) 900-9128 and use Meeting ID: 81020561535 and then press #.
Press # again when prompted for Participant ID. You may use passcode: 638501
To comment on an agenda item, press *9 to “raise your hand” virtually following the Commission President calling the item. Commission staff will call upon speakers using the last four digits of the phone number, if available.
Thank you so much everyone for your support of this historic mural.